EVERETT—Approximately 300 U.S. Navy sailors were reunited with their families for the first time in seven months Friday after their ship, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101), returned to its home port of Everett.
During the deployment, Gridley supported Southern Seas 2026 and conducted maritime security operations in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations. The ship participated in bilateral engagements with regional partners to strengthen maritime partnerships, enhance proficiency, and improve interoperability.
“Today marks a profound and deeply rewarding day for the crew of the USS Gridley as we return home to our loved ones after completing a seven-month deployment, operating in the U.S. Fourth Fleet. The resilience, grit, and professionalism of this crew have been nothing short of inspiring. Day in and day out, these sailors have maintained our ship, executed every mission with precision, and looked for one another through every milestone at sea,” said Commanding Officer Magdalena Keel. “I could not be prouder of their dedication and war fighting readiness. But our success was not achieved alone. The true backbone of this appointment was our families. Standing here today, waiting at home during a long separation was a monumental sacrifice. To our families, thank you for your unwavering patience, love, and strength. We could not have done our jobs without you, and you have made this moment a success…We are finally home.”
The first four months of the USS Gridley’s deployment was escorting the USS Nimitz (CVN 68), beginning in Panama, to south of Chile, through the Strait of Magellan, to Brazil, and Jamaica.
“All those international bilateral exercises really proves how we can integrate as different types of Navies for our future cooperation throughout the region,” Commander Keel told the Lynnwood Times. “We were able to accomplish a lot of exercises and missions which has been amazing for us and really speaks to this crew’s resilience.”
Some of these exercises include water demos of weaponry, air demonstrations of squadrons, maneuvering exercises with other nation’s navies, and international exchange ceremonies as the ship crossed the equator.
On Friday morning, hundreds of family members gathered on the docks of Naval Station Everett’s Alpha Pier eager to see their loved ones return from such a long deployment. As the ship entered the docks around 11 a.m., relatives cheered, blew kisses, and waved signs as the crew of the Gridley stood saluting on the decks of the ship, bearing their ceremonious service dress blue and white uniforms.
Sailors typically run informal contests to see who will be the first to step on land. The first kiss winner was CTR1 Isaiah Bias and the first hug was awarded to HMC Jeremy Lee.
Marek Jestrab, Commander, who is a Washington Native, told the Lynnwood Times it feels incredible to be home and reunited with his family. He said the first thing he plans to do is spend time with his wife and is looking forward to attending back-to-back UW Huskies and Seattle Seahawks football games this weekend.
“I’m very excited to be back home,” said Commander Jestrab. “This deployment was unique and something I’ve never done before. We were doing the homeport shift to help Nimitz go from Bremerton to Norfolk, all the way down through South America. As we were doing this, Operation Southern Seas was happening at the same time, so we took the opportunity to partner with those nations along the way. So we actually hit ports pretty frequently.”
Commander Jestrab added that partnering nations received the U.S. Navy positively with a total of 18 nations coming forward with an interest in working with the United States military.
Another sailor, Dejon Wetzstein, GSM on the USS Gridley, from Covington, said he’s most looking forward to eating all the foods he’s missed over the last seven months. He told the Lynnwood Times he spent most of his deployment either working or hitting the gym.
“It feels good [to be home]. It feels a little overwhelming, it’s been so long since I’ve seen my wife and kid. I have tears in my eyes because I missed them and they missed me, and I missed a lot of my kid growing up,” said Wetzstein.
Last year the Gridley embarked on deployment for sixth fleet (Europe and Africa) and seventh fleet (in Japan).
Author: Kienan Briscoe
