EVERETT, Wash. — Members of the Coast Guard returned to Everett Thursday night after a nine-month deployment at Guantanamo Bay.
While at the U.S. base in southeast Cuba, Port Security Unit 313 focused on water and shoreside protection.
That included escorting marine traffic in and out of the port, as well as enforcing a sea area security zone around the base.
Their mission now will be getting adjusted to the cold and getting back to their loved ones.
“It’s definitely different. It’s 97 degrees on an average day where we were and now it’s about an average of 30 degrees here,” said United States Coast Guard Commander James Fitzgerald. “Each deployment is different. And this is my fourth now and even with older kids and a wife who’s been through it a few times, it’s definitely hard on the families.”
The members of PSU 313 come from 16 states around the country. The unit is one of eight around the U.S., which all are staffed by Coast Guard reservists.
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