USS Oscar Austin deploys

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) left Naval Station Norfolk Wednesday morning.

Check out photos from the deployment here.

The guided-missile destroyer, lead by Cmdr. Charlos Washington, will deploy to the U.S. 6th Fleet Area of Operations. The 300-member crew will be monitoring the Baltic and Mediterranean seas as well as the coast of Africa.

Megan McPherson was at the deployment with 10-month-old daughter to say goodbye to her husband.

"[My daughter] is at that age where she starts to cry out for her daddy and she wants him whenever he is not here," McPherson said. "So it's going to be tough but we can do it."

Oscar Austin was commissioned Aug. 19, 2000, and is equipped with AEGIS Weapons Systems, designed to incorporate shaping techniques to reduce radar detectability.

The ship was named for Private First Class Oscar P. Austin, of the U.S. Marine Corps, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for sacrificing his life to save an injured companion.