Carrier Eisenhower leaves for six-month deployment

NORFOLK

Despite freezing temperatures, several thousand sailors with the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower received a warm send-off Saturday morning as they departed for a six-month tour at sea.

With temperatures hovering just above 30 degrees, most said their goodbyes at home, in the car or after breakfast in the carrier's hangar bay.

But a group of about 75 dedicated and well-bundled parents, spouses, children and friends gathered on Pier 14 at Norfolk Naval Station to wave and cheer as the carrier moved slowly to sea just before 10:30 a.m.

Gemma and Sawyer Dearing didn't seem bothered by the cold as they competed for their father's attention.

He pitched kisses to them through the air while standing watch on the carrier's aft.

"Daddy! Daddy!" shouted Gemma, 6. "I love you!"

"I love you more!" yelled brother Sawyer, 4.

"Bye, I love you!" responded their father, Chief Petty Officer Frank Dearing.

Later in the afternoon, the destroyer McFaul also departed Norfolk Naval Station to join the Eisenhower, which will rendezvous with Carrier Air Wing Seven and the Mayport, Fla.-based cruiser Hue City and destroyers Carney and Farragut to complete the Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group.

It's been just five months since the strike group's 6,000 sailors and Marines returned from their last long deployment July 30.

The regularly scheduled deployment will take them back to the Middle East, where they will assist with missions that will include counterpiracy efforts and supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, said Capt. Roy J. Kelley, the air wing commander.

The Enterprise carrier strike group was the last from the East Coast to face back-to-back deployments, returning in November 2006 and leaving again in July 2007, Lt. Courtney Hillson, a Navy spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.

Despite the short turnaround, the strike group completed all necessary training and work-up and is ready to go, said Rear Adm. Phil Davidson, the strike group commander.

"We'll be ready to do the full spectrum of operations," he said.

Just 10 percent of the crew turned over, said Capt. Dee L. Mewbourne, the Eisenhower's commander.

"The majority of the crew are returning varsity lettermen, so we are completely ready to go," he said.

It's tough on the families to have to say goodbye again so soon, said Eisenhower ombudsman Joanna Buesen, who serves as liaison between the carrier's command and the families.

"It's never easy to say goodbye to somebody that you love," she said. But "we were prepared for this."

The farewell was especially heart-wrenching for Petty Officer 2nd Class Kelly McGinnis and her husband, Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph McGinnis.

Their daughter Riley was born 3-1/2 months ago, Kelly McGinnis said as she stood on the pier and watched the carrier leave with her husband on board.

"We've got a new baby, so it was hard for him to leave," said Kelly, who's stationed in Washington.

"It'll be nice to talk to her, even though she doesn't talk back," she said, adding, "It's a little piece of him."

Shortly before deploying, the Eisenhower's executive officer announced that its sailors would not man the rails, because temperatures had sunk to 14 degrees with wind chill.

Michelle Iatesta of Philadelphia snapped photos as the carrier slipped away from the ice-laced pier.

She plans to spend the next six months planning her wedding to Ensign Michael Natan, an intelligence officer on the Eisenhower.

"I just wanted to say goodbye," she said. "It's just so sad.

"I'm really going to miss him."

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com