This morning, the USS Ramage and its crew set sail to the Mediterranean Sea. They'll be gone for eight-months on a ballistic missile defense deployment.
It's something the crew has been training for, for six months.
"We do a little bit of everything in all different warfare areas making sure we know how to drive the ship and that everything works, the equipment is in good orders," says Commanding Officer, Dave Stoner.
And, even though Stoner says their training period was a little shorter than most ships, the requirements were the same.
"The admiral just came down to express his appreciation and pride in the crew, he was proud of us, he knew that we were ready to go and he just wanted to wish us well," says Stoner.
The guided missile destroyer returned from its last deployment in January.
During a 2010 deployment, the Ramage was sent to the Mediterranean sea to assist with the search and rescue operations following the crash of Ethiopian airlines flight 409.
This time around, the Navy says the ship will depart to the Navy's 6th Fleet area, which includes the Mediterranean Sea and other European waters.
