Coast Guard Cutter Campbell Returns To Kittery After Eventful Patrol

The Cutter is now docked at it's homeport at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard after seizing $80 million worth of cocaine.

The Campbell was out on a 61 day patrol of the Caribean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean.

According to a Coast Guard news release, it was on this narcotics patrol that the crew "seized or disrupted a total of seven smuggling vessels carrying cocaine from South America bound for the United States. The amount of cocaine seized was estimated to be 4,800 pounds and worth more than $80 million dollars. In addition, Campbell's crew rescued eight Cuban migrants attempting to sail from Cuba to the United States in an unseaworthy vessel."

The Ships Commander, Cmdr. Michael Nastika is quite proud of his crew, saying “The amount of success we experienced is a true testament to the professionalism of the crew and their dedication to the mission. The patrol was extremely busy and the crew spent the holidays away from their families. Despite this, the crew rose to every challenge in order to achieve success at thwarting transnational crime in the Western Hemisphere.” 

Being raised in a Coast Guard family, I'm quite familiar with the long patrols these crews take. My father would be gone for 2 weeks, home for 2 weeks, and then out again for 2. That pattern continued for many years when he was captain of 'The Decisive" out New Castle in the 70's.

It is hard at times for the families, but after a productive tour like the Campbell just had, all you feel is pride.