BREMERTON — USS John C. Stennis returned home late Sunday night with its complement of 3,000 crew members following a successful seven-month deployment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. The mission also involved a two-month visit to the South China Sea. The ship originally left Bremerton on January 15, and returned home on schedule.

Capt. Greg Huffman, the commanding officer of the Stennis, had high praise for his men and women.

“The crew of John C. Stennis should be proud of what they accomplished,” said Huffman in a prepared statement. “Their families should be very proud of them, as I am. Their missions were all carried out with exceptional professionalism, in the finest tradition of naval service.”

During the deployment, Stennis participated in a number of exercises with allied nations, including South Korea, the Indian Navy, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force and RIMPAC. Stennis made ports of call to Guam, South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines and Hawaii.

Over the course of the deployment, Stennis performed more than 8,500 launches and aircraft recoveries, conducted 30 underway replenishments, and used approximately 13 million gallons of fuel.

Stennis is named in honor of the U.S. Senator from Mississippi.