Coastal Riverine Squadron 1 sailors return home

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES

01.20.2014

Courtesy Story

Maritime Expeditionary Security Group One

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Sailors from Alpha Company, Coastal Riverine Squadron 1, a Navy Reserve command based out of Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, returned home following a seven-month deployment supporting operations in the Horn of Africa (HOA) and Bahrain, Jan. 20.

Approximately two-thirds of the Sailors are from the San Diego area, while the remaining reservists are from supporting platoons in Fort Worth, San Antonio, and El Paso, Texas.

According to Capt. Murray Fink, Commanding Officer of CRS-1, the group of reservists successfully took over the mission previously held by active duty Sailors. “It was an outstanding deployment with outstanding support,” he said. “These Sailors set the tone for future deployments.”

The sailors assigned to the HOA completed 45 Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection (ATFP) waterborne missions, established Combined Task Group (CTG) 68.11, and worked jointly with the Djiboutian Navy and Coast Guard developing a memorandum of understanding for future operations.

Lt. Cmdr. Sean Fisher, Assistant Officer in Charge of the CRS-1 deployment, noted how the squadron supported the Coastal Riverine Force’s mission of protecting fleet, coalition, and designated high value assets when they are at their most vulnerable. “Everything went exceedingly well as we successfully completed 95 chokepoint transits, supported six separate vessels, and carried out more than 350 underway days in three Areas of Responsibility (AORs).”

The squadron employed two teams in Djibouti and three in Bahrain with their mission taking them into Fifth (C5F) and Sixth (C6F) Fleet AORs.

Despite an extremely high operational tempo, the CRS-1 Command Master Chief, CMDCM Rob Sosa, commended his sailors on their accomplishments. “I was exceptionally proud of our professional development. We had 45 team members complete their expeditionary warfare qualifications and more than 40 enlisted Sailors were advanced.”

CRS-1 is part of Coastal Riverine Group 1 (CRG-1), whose primary mission is to man, train, and equip subordinate forces for tasking as assigned in the required operational capability and projected operational environment. The Coastal Riverine Force is the world’s premier combat force for maritime security and riverine operations.

For more news from Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/necc/.

For more information on CRG-1, visit https://www.facebook.com/CoastalRiverineGroup1 .

• Date Taken: 01.20.2014
• Date Posted: 01.22.2014 17:31
• Story ID: 119494
• Location: SAN DIEGO, CA, US