After 107 days and some 18700 nautical miles HMS RICHMOND will arrive alongside North Corner Jetty in Portsmouth Naval Base on Wednesday the 10th of July at 1000.

The deployment has had many ups and downs and all of us will remember our time away in the Caribbean and United States in different ways. Clearly our darkest hour was the tragic loss of our Lynx Helicopter and her crew Rod and Jenny, but we can all take pride in our efforts to accomplish the many tasks we set out to achieve.

The trip began with a two week crossing of the Atlantic conducting internal training and preparations for the first exercise with two US cruisers. Our first port of call was Gulfport, Mississippi which gave us a fantastic welcome and a chance to relax for a few days. We then began the Joint Combat Identification and Evaluation Team (JCIET) air defence exercise with a wide variety of aircraft and two mighty Amercian Ticonderoga Cruisers.

After a brief stop at the Pascagoula Naval Station we crossed the Gulf of Mexico to Port Canaveral
Florida to embark our new Captain, Commander Wayne Keble and prepare for our next task. Then followed month at AUTEC the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Centre off the Bahamian Andros Island. Numerous equipment trials took place day and night with a Royal Navy Submarine and helicopters plus several United States Navy units.

Our reward for a testing month at AUTEC was a visit to New Providence Island’s capital Nassau. Here a charity reception was held for Commonwealth Veterans raising £3500 and marked the Queens Golden Jubilee.

After some busy sea training we then visited Norfolk Virginia in preparation for our high seas missile firing exercise off the East coast of America.

After the successful launch of two Harpoon anti-ship missiles at an old US warship the exercise was cut short for us by the tragic loss of our aircraft and two great friends. Despite this RICHMOND was able to continue with the programme, albeit scaled down as a mark of respect and headed for Anguila in the Eastern Caribbean.

Participating in a Search And Rescue operation on the morning of our arrival we were able once again to display our professionalism and readiness. Anguilla proved to be another busy stop with receptions and training for local Police and Coast Guard but we still had time to rest and reflect on recent events.

Our final visits were the Islands of Nevis and St Kitts where we held two receptions and again offered training and ships tours to the Island’s Coast Guard and Defence Forces. Participating in sport with local teams and rising to a few of the islands mountain challenges we rounded off the deployment on a high note before commencing the passage home.