MHCE APRIL 2024

22 | MHCE - News www.mhce.us APRIL2024 EDITION WWW.MHCE.US
Monthly Newsletter | 23
“It just means we are here and that
reassured our allies and partner
nations,” Capt. Paul Burkhart,
commanding officer of the Bataan,
said after disembarking the ship.
Hampton Roads Sailors
from Bataan Group Return
from 8-Month Deployment
“Let’s go home,” Petty Officer
3rd Class Marquez Martinez said
while adjusting his sea bag on his
shoulder.
“Yes, let’s go,” beamed wife
Katarina Martinez, toting
8-month-old Alaina on her hip
while 2-year-old Mason sat in
the stroller. The kids donned starspangled
pants that complemented
their father’s dress blues.
Martinez, an information systems
technician, was one of 1,000 sailors
welcomed home Thursday from
the Bataan Amphibious Ready
Group following an extended
eight-month deployment to the
Middle East. The group included
assault ship USS Bataan, which
pulled into port Thursday at Naval
Station Norfolk, and dock landing
ship USS Carter Hall, which
returned to its homeport of Joint
Expeditionary Base Little Creek
in Virginia Beach. Transport dock
USS Mesa Verde, homeported at
Naval Station Norfolk, returns
Friday.
The 26th Marine Expeditionary
Unit deployed with the Bataan
group July 10 from Hampton
Roads to create an interoperable
force capable of storming foreign
shores. The rapid response Marine
force returned home to Camp
Lejeune, North Carolina.
The mission for this deployment
was all about presence.
Less than two weeks after the
group deployed, the Bataan
and Carter Hall were ordered
to sail to the Middle East to
bolster maritime security. After
roughly four months of deterring
aggression, the Department of
Defense sent the Bataan group
toward Israel following the Oct. 7
attack by Hamas, long designated
a terrorist organization by the
U.S. The Bataan and Carter Hall
operated in the Red Sea before
later rejoining the Mesa Verde in
the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Bataan group participated in
Operation Prosperity Guardian,
a U.S.-led multinational security
task force formed in December
to respond to increased Iranianbacked
Houthi attacks on shipping
in the Red Sea.
“It’s all about contingency
response — special operations
that we see are necessary in
today’s world to do the wide
variety of missions, specifically in
the Eastern Mediterranean,” said
Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander
of Norfolk-based U.S. Fleet
Forces.