Hundreds of family members and friends lined a Halifax jetty on Monday as HMCS St. John’s and its 240-member crew pulled into their home port following a six-month mission overseas.
The Halifax-class navy ship cut through the fog at about 9 a.m., pulling alongside a dock as a navy band played and more than 200 people waited to greet them.
The ship, along with a Sea King helicopter, were participating in exercises in the Baltic Sea, northern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
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The return concludes the ship’s participation in a training mission called Operation Reassurance, which aims to reinforce NATO’s collective defence in the face of Russian aggression.
The ship left Halifax on Jan. 16, marking the eighth rotation for the navy in the mission and the second such deployment within a year for HMCS St. John’s.
It also marks the last scheduled operational deployment of the CH-124 Sea King Helicopter after 54 years of service to the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Canadian Navy.
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A statement from the navy says members of the air detachment will return to 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron in Patricia Bay, B.C., where they will continue flying the remaining CH-124 Sea Kings on the west coast until the end of 2018.
HMCS Ville de Quebec left Halifax’s naval base last Wednesday to relieve HMCS St. John’s of duty.
On board was a CH-148 Cyclone helicopter, marking the first international deployment of the Canadian military’s new state-of-the-art, twin-engine machine.
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