Rear Adm. Timothy M. Giardina, deputy chief of staff for operational readiness and training at Fleet Forces Command, announced Tuesday that the Navy will keep the Riverines in Virginia.

The Riverines is a Vietnam-era security patrol brought back after 9/11 and now tasked with securing Iraq’s waterways.

Mississippi officials say Stennis, in Hancock County, was one of nine locations examined in a yearlong assessment, which included two in Virginia as well as Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, California and Washington.

Stennis is already home to the Small Boat Team-22 and the Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School.