The Ohio-class cruise missile submarine USS Florida arrived in Souda Bay, on the island of Crete, for a scheduled port visit, March 14, 2019.
Florida, homeported in Kings Bay, Georgia, is on a routine deployment in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in the Mediterranean.
“My Sailors, the young men and women who bring life to the Florida, sacrifice daily and serve quietly to help ensure a strong and free region,” said Capt. Seth Burton, commanding officer of the Florida Gold crew.
“After months of dedicated and hard work at sea, they are so excited to experience the hospitality and culture of our Greek allies.”
Florida was commissioned in 1983 as a ballistic-missile submarine and in 2006, became one of the four Ohio-class submarines to be converted into a guided-missile submarine. It is the sixth U.S. Navy ship to be named after the state of Florida.
U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concern with allied, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.
Souda Bay is one of the most strategic United States naval ports in the world.
