USS Charleston (LCS-18) transits the South China Sea at full power on Jan. 22, 2023. US Navy Photo
As maiden deployments go, the one USS Charleston (LCS-18) just wrapped is one for the record books.
The Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship returned to its San Diego, Calif., homeport last week, closing out a 26-month rotational deployment overseas. During that time, the ship operated across the U.S. 7th Fleet and 3rd Fleet regions with five rotations of its two crews, with the gold crew...