Virginian Pilot – Destroyer Stout to back today from Black Sea mission

The guided-missile destroyer Stout is due back today from a deployment that took it to the Black Sea – a region that drew worldwide attention last summer when fighting broke out between Russia and Georgia. This was the ship’s first deployment with the ballistic missile defense system – a technology designed to track and destroy missiles that can travel more than 600 miles, threatening military and civilian targets. The Stout, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, is one of two East Coast ships with that capability.