USS Miami returns to Groton

Groton - The USS Miami returned to port Wednesday after an eight-month deployment, reuniting its 140 crew members with sorely missed family and friends.

"The crew was fantastic," said Cmdr. Dennis Boyer, commanding officer of the Los Angeles-class submarine. "They were well-prepared by our squadron, staff and the submarine school here. They all did very well in preparing the ship for deployment. It just went very smooth."

Like all his men, Boyer was glad to be home.

"Holy cow, it feels good to be back," he said. "Especially to be back home in New England, even in December."

The Miami was docked at the same pier at the Naval Submarine Base as the San Juan, which returned to port one day earlier.

The Miami was stationed along the coast of Europe, visiting ports in Haakonsvern, Norway; Faslane, Scotland; and Portsmouth, England.

Families were glad to have relatives home in time for the holidays. Alongside the crew of the Miami was Santa Claus, who shouted "Ho, ho, ho!" from the deck and shared candy canes with the children of the crew.

"Eight months of waiting was tough," said Valerie Brevell of Groton, who was waiting for her husband, Electrician's Mate Second Class Josh Brevell. "Just having him home for Christmas and the tree, that's great."

The end of the long deployment, though, does not mean the end of the crew's duties; many said they had long to-do lists already drawn up.

"It's been so long," said Wendy Yorges, whose husband, DJ, a senior chief machinist's mate, was the first person off the Miami. "He's got a lot of 'honey dos' on the list."

Married just three weeks before the Miami's departure, Jess Lenus, 33, and Electronics Technician First Class Robbie Lenus, 29, both of Colchester, were happy to be back together after eight months apart.

"We'll do dinner, get ice cream, then just spend the whole night together on the couch," Jess Lenus said.

"And I'll probably do his laundry too," she joked.

m.collette@theday.com