CG Cutter Tampa returns from Caribbean

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - The Coast Guard Cutter Tampa returned to Portsmouth Sunday after a 23-day deployment to the Caribbean.

During the deployment the crew patrolled the region for illegal narcotics, migrants and contraband, according to a Coast Guard press release.

The crew also stopped in Cape Canaveral on Feb. 6 to present a Purple Heart to the family of Charles Henry Klingelhoefer, a crew member of the first-commissioned Tampa who was lost in combat during World War I.

Cmdr. Susan Polizzotto told WAVY.com what is in store for the crew now that the deployment has concluded.

"From here we've got three more weeks of our annual training cycle. We're going to be working offshore doing everything from gunnery exercises, to towing exercises, man over board, fire and flooding drills. Just to keep the crew ready and sharpened so that throughout the next year we'll be able to do the mission 100 percent," she said.

The deployment coincided with the 100th anniversary of the launching of the first Tampa, on Feb. 10, 1912.