Portsmouth Sailor Pulls into Port to Children's Hugs and Kisses

For one Portsmouth family, Friday was a day for a heartwarming reunion after a salior’s long journey across the sea — thousands of miles from home.

Cmdr. Peter Halvorsen, executive officer aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64), hugged his children as the ship arrived at Naval Station Rota in Spain.

His family made the trek to greet him when the ship pulled into port.

Carney is the fourth of four Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers to be forward-deployed in Rota to fulfill the United States’ phased commitment to NATO ballistic missile defense while also carrying out a wide range of missions to support the security of Europe.

The destroyer left Mayport, Fla, earlier this month and is part of a four-ship group based at Rota.

Three hundred sailors are serving aboard the USS Carney.

Stars and Stripes reported that the ships are part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach, an Aegis-based ballistic missile defense system. The system is designed to protect NATO and U.S. bases against Iranian missiles.

(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan B. Trejo)