Posted on 01/21/2007 11:32:44 AM PST by NormsRevenge
With tears streaming down her cheeks, Petty Officer 2nd Class Krystal Perez gave her 2-year-old daughter a birthday hug yesterday morning, then stepped aboard the guided-missile destroyer Preble for deployment to the Persian Gulf.
“It's really hard,” said Perez, who had not planned to spend her daughter's birthday shipping out.
“It's my job and I've got to do it,” said Perez, whose tour could last six months or more. “My family e-mails me every day so I know she's OK, and if she's OK, I'm OK.
With crews of 250 each, the Preble and the destroyer Antietam left the San Diego Naval Base at 32nd Street yesterday as part of the John C. Stennis aircraft carrier strike group. The vessels are heading to the Persian Gulf in response to President Bush's stepped-up military action for the Iraq war.
The Stennis, a Nimitz-class carrier, stopped in San Diego from its home port of Bremerton, Wash., to pick up three North Island-based aircraft squadrons. Those squadrons have roughly 900 members.
Ted Roper of Sacramento was starting his second Middle East deployment aboard the Antietam. He said leaving home is harder this time because he got married four months ago.
“You're basically putting your life on hold,” Roper said.
Lisa Roper said she's a little nervous about seeing her husband off to a war zone.
“I'm proud of him and I'm excited to see him go fight for us,” she said. “At the same time, it's very painful because I know there's a chance he may not come back.”
The Stennis and its supporting ships are expected to reach the Persian Gulf in about a month, joining the Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group. It will be the first time since the 2003 invasion of Iraq that two U.S. carrier battle groups are stationed simultaneously in the gulf.
The Stennis was initially scheduled to deploy to the Western Pacific, but its course was shifted to the Persian Gulf after Bush's troop-buildup announcement Jan. 10.
The switch to a war zone “is something we deal with,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Danielle Crowley, whose husband is already deployed with the Navy in Iraq.
“I'm going over there to do a job,” said Crowley, who nevertheless acknowledged that it was hard to leave behind her 7-year-old daughter, Abbigail.
Crowley's mother, Rosemary Lecuyer of Melbourne, Fla., said she and her husband will stay in San Diego and take care of Abbigail.
Standing nearby, Derrick Taylor of Portland, Ore., said he was sad to leave his wife and 9-month-old daughter, Ka-lani, but eager to begin his first deployment aboard the Preble.
“It's exciting,” Taylor said.
Mark Domingue of El Paso, Texas, said he wasn't ready to separate from his family. One of his friends and fellow sailors, John Sills, said deployments are emotionally taxing.
“The first month, you try to get used to not being around your family,” Sills said. “Once you get back, that's when it's a challenge. You're like a stranger when you come back.”
Tears flowed at the San Diego Naval Base yesterday as two destroyers deployed for the Persian Gulf. Petty Officer 2nd Class Averill Hamana hugged his son, Jase, 2. The Preble and the Antietam joined the Stennis carrier strike group.
Photo Gallery
http://photos.signonsandiego.com/gallery1.5/usspreble
Godspeed to the crews of the Preble and Antietam
Is it correct that officers can be recalled any time in their life even if they have left the service so long ago they can't get into their uniform anymore?
Not sure, hopefully someone can help out on that question.
If they are in the Fleet Reserve or member of the IRR, I think so.. It's a commission for life, not bestowed on folks on a whim even tho snakes like Kerry was one.
Not being able to fit into the old uniform,, I gave up trying a long time ago, myself. ;-)
That's one of them ships that ya don't want to mess with.
I doubt they would call up my Dad at this point; still, he is vigorous and getting more done all the time. He would probably jump at the opportunity and at 90 outjump a lot of 60 year olds.
When did he serve active duty.. sounds like a WW2 vet.
Iran and Syria should be feeling a bit nervous right now.
Reactivated for Korea. If they get around to the 90 somethings, it will already be clear even to Murtha that we are in a fight for our existence.
Give him a salute for me, I lost my last WW2 service member in our family a couple years ago, a USArmy uncle he was 85, they answered the call and we ought to be forever grateful they did.
That was the greatest generation. Can we do it again? I think so.
That, my friends, is it in a nutshell. That is what we all fight for, whether in the work force or the military.
We do not celebrate our innocent children blowing themselves up to kill other innocents. We are different.
God bless America.
FMCDH(BITS)
I don't think they can be forcibly recalled, but they can certainly be encouraged to return. Our current Superintendent was retiring but was asked back for a 4 year tour as the Supe.
And also nervous that a 4-star ADMIRAL has been nominated to head CENTCOM. This appointment signifies that future campaigns will be heavily reliant on strike warfare.
Is that because it's called a DESTROYER??? But it's got only 2 guns on the deck...
However, its main anti-ship punch comes from 8 Harpoon missiles. The ships main armamaent is carried in 2 Mk 41 Mod 0 Vertical Launch Systems. On has 32 tubes, one 64. These tubes can each carry a Tomahawk cruise missile, a Stadandard Missle Type 2 (anti aircraft, anti-missile), The SM-3 AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense, or 4 Enhanced Sea Sparrow missiles (short range anti aircraft, anti-missile). The SM-2 and ESSM can both also be used to hit ships.
The Preble also carries 2 SH-60R LAMPS MK III Seahawks. Although these are foremost anti-submarine helos, they can carry the Penguin anti-ship missile.
Underway, the Preble can take take of herself and a carrier.
The recall policy is here:
http://www.combatindex.com/mil_docs/pdf/secnav/1300/1300-14B.pdf
It looks like it applies only to retired enlisted or officers who completed 20 years.
Its coming...
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