Aircraft Carrier Truman Returns Home After 9 Months at Sea

Thousands of sailors were greeted by family and friends upon returning home from a nine month deployment on Friday.

Image: Sailors man the rails as the nuclear aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman approaches the pier at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Va.

Sailors man the rails as the nuclear aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman approaches the pier at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Va., on April 18. Steve Helber / AP

April 18, 2014, 8:58 PM UTC

The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group returned home to Virginia on Friday, reuniting thousands of sailors with friends and family.

The strike group ships arrived at the Naval Station in Norfolk, Va., after a nine-month deployment to the waters near Europe and the Middle East. There were 171 babies born to sailors aboard the ship during the deployment, according to the Associated Press.

Above, sailors man the rails as the nuclear aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman approaches the pier at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Va.

Image: Kollia Safford is lifted by his godfather, Communications Specialist, Christopher Payne, after he disembarked from the nuclear aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman — Kollia Safford, from Delhi N.Y., is lifted by his godfather, Communications Specialist, Christopher Payne, after he disembarked from the nuclear aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Va., on April 18.Steve Helber / AP