Amphibious transport dock USS San Antonio (LPD 17) completed a 10-day, mid-deployment maintenance availability at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, Oct. 7.

Mid-deployment maintenance availabilities are commonly scheduled to allow U.S. naval vessels to complete repairs and maintenance that would normally take place in home port, allowing the ship to continue fully mission capable throughout the remainder of the deployment.

"The crew put forth a truly monumental effort to correct as many material discrepancies as they could conceivably do, given such a limited timeframe," said Chief Engineer Lt. Cmdr. Quinn Matt. "Our stay in port allowed us to ensure we could continue to support San Antonio's mission."

Between work days, San Antonio's Sailors and embarked Marines took advantage of the time ashore to participate in Morale, Welfare and Recreation tours, visit the local markets and relax after spending the past month at sea.

For two days, many members of the command volunteered at the Bahrain Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals as part of a community relations project (COMREL), helping groom, walk and otherwise socialize animals from the shelter.

"The COMREL was a great chance for the Sailors and Marines to get off the ship and interact with the local community," said Lt. Lara Byrd, the ship's chaplain and COMREL organizer. "The dogs and cats were a great reminder of home. These events show that our Sailors and Marines are here for more than just warfighting - they care about the communities they visit."

This marks San Antonio's fourth port of call during her deployment. San Antonio previously visited Spain, Israel and Oman.

San Antonio is deployed as part of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts. Commander, Amphibious Squadron Six commands the Wasp ARG, which consists of San Antonio, amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LPD 17), and amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1). The 22nd MEU is currently embarked on the ARG.

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For more news from USS Wasp (LHD 1), visit www.navy.mil/local/lhd1/.

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet, visit www.cusnc.navy.mil/ or http://www.facebook.com/usssanantonio.