{"id":18810,"date":"2020-11-12T14:59:52","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T14:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/11\/12\/guided-missile-cruiser-antietam-wraps-up-260-day-deployment\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T16:08:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T16:08:01","slug":"guided-missile-cruiser-antietam-wraps-up-260-day-deployment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/11\/12\/guided-missile-cruiser-antietam-wraps-up-260-day-deployment\/","title":{"rendered":"Guided-missile cruiser Antietam wraps up 260-day deployment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The guided-missile cruiser Antietam is back in Yokosuka, Japan, following a 260-day deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of the Antietam crew and the embarked air detachment from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 77 had to remain aboard the ship during the deployment in the 7th Fleet\u2019s area of operation. Only a few pier-restricted port visits were authorized in an attempt to boost the ability of the crew to rest, the Navy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And because the Antietam got underway in February, the vessel was forced to adapt early on to changes resulting from the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince we were already underway at the start [of the pandemic], we set a lot of standards in preventing COVID-19 at sea,\u201d Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Nico Watt, a member of Antietam\u2019s medical staff, said in a Navy news release. \u201cWe were the first to run an underway quarantine and MEDEVAC as a training scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t