| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
San Diego-based sailors arrive homeLongest U.S. Navy deployment since Vietnam era
ABOARD THE USS SHILOH (AP) -- After 10 months at sea, Roger Cooper knows he now has to face his 6-year-old son and explain why he had to be away so long serving in the war in Iraq. Cooper's son counted the days until his father was supposed to return in January aboard this guided missile cruiser, but the petty officer second class never made it. The ship he was on, part of the USS Abraham Lincoln battle group, was on its way back to San Diego when it was ordered to the Persian Gulf. Cooper said he had played Friday's scheduled arrival over in his mind many times. In one scene, his son runs to him in open arms; in the other, he runs away. "You can't expect a 6-year-old to understand why you can't come home," said Cooper, 30, of Lakeland, Florida. "It's going to take a little while to get adjusted." The USS Shiloh and the USS Mobile Bay returned Friday to San Diego after nearly 10 months at sea, the longest naval deployment since the Vietnam War. The pair of San Diego-based missile cruisers participated in the bombing of Iraq, firing numerous Tomahawk cruise missiles during the opening stages of the war. As the Shiloh headed closer to port overnight, many of the 400 sailors on board said they were most looking forward to the little things that come with being home, including time spent with family, a meal at a favorite restaurant or simply driving a car. "It's like the night before Christmas. It's the anticipation factor. You can't sleep," said Lt. Kate Macleod, 23, of Vienna, Virginia. Petty Officer 3rd Class A.J. Brock, 27, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, e-mailed his wife with details of the arrival, even about where he'll be standing when the ship pulls in. Brock, a newlywed, has spent most of the first year of his marriage at sea. "I've been thinking about what I'm going to do, what I'm going to say," Brock said. "I just want to spend time with her." Petty Officer 2nd Class Katie Berven, 24, of Oakridge, Tennessee, said her mother told her she would be standing on the dock when the ship arrives. "She said she's going to be wearing a red shirt and will be holding a big sign," she said. "I have no idea what the sign is going to say." Berven said one of her first stops would be a coffee shop. "I want a Starbucks coffee. The coffee here is nothing like Starbucks," she said. Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
