PEARL HARBOR - Guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) is scheduled to return Dec. 1 from a six-month independent deployment to the Western Pacific.

Chung-Hoon is commanded by Cmdr. Justin Orlich, and has a crew of more than 280 officers and Sailors. The ship deployed June 1, 2011 under the Middle Pacific Surface Combatant deployment concept, in which Pearl Harbor-based ships deploy in support of operations primarily in the Western Pacific.

While on deployment, Chung-Hoon participated in several missions including Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Philippines, Naval Engagement Activity Vietnam, and CARAT Singapore.

CARAT is a series of bilateral military exercises between the U.S. Navy and the Armed Forces of Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

During the first phase of CARAT Singapore, Chung-Hoon participated in multiple events including a culinary exchange, a joint community service action project, and a symposium for shipboard medical emergencies, expeditionary medical planning, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions, supply logistics, anti-terrorism force protection and maritime air group operations.

Guided-missile destroyers are multi-mission anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare surface combatants. They operate independently for support of carrier and expeditionary strike groups and surface strike groups.