Military digest 6/5/03

Hotop returns from six-month deployment

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Derek N. Hotop, son of Glenda L. Hotop of Perryville, Mo., recently returned from a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea and Arabian Gulf. He was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, homeported in Norfolk, Va.

Hotop was one of more than 8,000 Atlantic Fleet sailors and Marines assigned to the ships and squadrons of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Battle Group who participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Aviators flew 1,280 sorties off the deck of Hotop's ship, accumulating more than 5,700 flight hours and expending more than one million pounds of ordnance.

Aircraft carriers such as USS Harry S. Truman are deployed throughout the world to maintain U.S. presence and provide rapid response in times of crisis. They serve as a highly visible deterrent to would-be aggressors and are equipped with the most versatile and powerful weapons and aircraft available.

Hotop is a 1996 graduate of St. Vincent High School in Perryville and joined the Navy in November 1996.