Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Truman carrier strike group returns in time for Christmas


No better place to be than back home from Sea.....bet there might be some "Christmas Babies" coming along nine months from now.....no surprise there.


Truman carrier strike group returns in time for Christmas
WVEC.com

NORFOLK -- Just in time for the holidays, 7000 sailors and Marines from the USS Harry S. Truman strike group are home from a seven-month deployment to the Middle East.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier Truman, Winston Churchill, Oscar Austin, Ross, and Normandy sailed in to Naval Station Norfolk, greeted by thousands of sign-waving family members as Christmas music played.

Among the welcoming crowd were 119 new family members. The Navy set up a new moms tent for mothers and the 119 babies born during the deployment.

The carrier group supported U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its air wing flew more than 2,900 missions.

The air wing returned over the weekend, and returning a little sooner than originally planned is a real holiday bonus.

"It's really awesome. When we left here we were under the impression that we were going to get home in January, so finding out that you get to go home for Christmas is always a blessing. It's good to see these guys and spend Christmas with everyone and really enjoy it," said Lt. Bobby Nicoli.

Lt. JG Jesse West got to hold his son for the very first time.

"I'm, like, a father. My life's changed. It hasn't hit me till today. Holding him right now, I think it's the beginning."

His wife was thrilled to have her husband home.

"I’ve waited for this for the past three and a half months. I'm just speechless. I'm just so excited that he gets to hold him now," said Margaret West.

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