USS Hartford Returns Home

Check out this article from The New London Day, including some good pictures, of the return of USS Hartford (SSN 768) to her homeport of Groton. Excerpts:

But “it was a long ride,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Chris Yaras of Groton, who met his month-old daughter, Ella, for the first time Thursday.
Many of the crew's families were at the base to welcome the Hartford home. Yaras called it “awesome” to be back.
As the corpsman, Yaras treated the injured crew members after the collision. Most had minor cuts and scrapes, he said.
“It was amazing,” he said. “I went from 'I don't think we're going to make it through this to holy cow, there's no one hurt.' ”...
...In July, the Hartford will go to Electric Boat, which has been awarded a $15.8 million contract to restore it to “full service condition,” according to a Defense Department release on Thursday. The work is expected to be completed by October. The formal investigations into the collision are still in the endorsement phase, with senior leaders providing their input. The crew has been given a month off.
Harkins said he will soon turn over command of the Hartford to Cmdr. Robert Dunn, who was serving on the staff of the commander for the Submarine Force Pacific Fleet.

CDR Dunn was my relief as Eng of USS Connecticut (SSN 22) back in 1999; I'm glad to see the Hartford got an officer of his caliber to lead them through this difficult time. I'm also glad to see the crew is getting a standdown; the writer's description of the standdown as "a month off", however, shows that The Day still hasn't quite found a seasoned replacement for writing about military matters since Robert Hamilton left a few years ago.