The guided-missile frigate USS Reuben James returned home Tuesday after a four-month deployment that included the rescue of two Filipino fisherman near Mindanao in February.

The Reuben James also conducted a joint fisheries patrol with the U.S. Coast Guard. Additionally the Pearl Harbor-based ship conducted humanitarian relief and goodwill projects, including Project Handclasp, distributing medical and hygienic supplies in the Philippines.

The ship's crew presented 28 boxes of women's and children's clothing and toys to the Alola Foundation and two orphanages in February during a visit to Dili, East Timor.

Cmdr. David Miller, Reuben James commanding officer, said that one of the highlights of the deployment was the rescue of two Filipino fishermen along the coast of Mindanao Feb. 13.

“;We came across two Philippine fishermen whose motor had stopped, and they were adrift at sea about 25 miles offshore,”; said Miller. “;We stopped and took the afternoon to rescue them. We fixed their boat and brought them in closer so they can go back in to their port from where they departed from. What really stuck out in my mind about that was when one of the fishermen related to us that he had a friend of his who was lost at sea about a week before and was never found.”;

Reuben James has a crew of about 250 officers and enlisted sailors.