Vice President Joe Biden at a Homecoming Ceremony for the USS Gettysburg

Vice President Biden made a surprise visit to the Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville, Florida to greet over 300 sailors returning from a 7-month deployment to the Middle East on the USS Gettysburg. After delivering remarks to families of the returning soldiers as the Gettysburg made its way into port, the Vice President boarded the ship to personally welcome home every sailor as they disembarked.

The Gettysburg deployed last May – along with helicopters and crew from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 70 (the “Spartans”, based at nearby Naval Station Jacksonville) as part of the George H.W. Bush Strike Group.