US Navy cruiser USS Lake Champlain is getting underway from Naval Base San Diego on January 4 to start a regularly scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific.
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser will deploy as part of the Carl Vinson Strike Group.
Lake Champlain completed a six-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region last year returning home in late June.
During her time in the Indo-Pacific, the cruiser was involved in a collision with a South Korean fishing vessel in international waters off South Korea on May 9. The incident, in which one was injured and both vessels were able to sail on their own power, was a minor one but would prove to be one in a series of collisions in the 7th Fleet area of operations in 2017.
During her 2018 deployment, Lake Champlain is led by Capt. Jen Ellinger who assumed command in September.
Commissioned on Aug. 12, 1988, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser is operated by more than 350 sailors and carries Tomahawk missiles, standard SM-2 surface to air missiles, two 5-inch dual purpose guns, and two SH-60 Seahawk helicopters.