Members of the Nile C. Kinnick High School football team cheer during a visit to the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (Jennessa Davey/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Proud parents from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan formed up next to their children for a unique photo opportunity Tuesday.
The Ronald Reagan, on a mid-deployment break at Yokosuka three months into its annual Indo-Pacific patrol, welcomed senior football players from Nile C. Kinnick High School, the Red Devils, for a group photo.
“We have a lot of players with dads on the ship; it’s a special experience for the kids to come on a ship like this that’s not here often,” Red Devils coach Dan Jolley said. “They get to be a part of what their dads do, even for a brief moment, so it means a lot to these guys.”
Members of the Nile C. Kinnick High School football team come aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (Jennessa Davey/Stars and Stripes)
A member of the Nile C. Kinnick High School football team poses with his father aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (Jennessa Davey/Stars and Stripes)
A member of the Nile C. Kinnick High School football team poses with his father aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (Jennessa Davey/Stars and Stripes)
A member of the Nile C. Kinnick High School football team poses with his mother aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (Jennessa Davey/Stars and Stripes)
Nearly 60 students and three coaches from the football team came aboard the carrier for a tour and a look at sailor life. The plan is to publish the team photo in this year’s high school yearbook. The carrier is a prized setting for high school photographs. Last year, the Kinnick class of 2022 posed there, too.
Members of the Nile C. Kinnick High School football team pose with Capt. Daryle Cardone, commander of the USS Ronald Reagan, aboard the carrier at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (Jennessa Davey/Stars and Stripes)
Members of the Nile C. Kinnick High School football team pose with family members aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (Jennessa Davey/Stars and Stripes)
Lt. Anthony Stevenson, a nuclear maintenance officer, said his son, Gianni Stevenson, a football player, was lucky enough to visit two Navy ships — the Ronald Reagan and the USS Blue Ridge — at Yokosuka. He was excited Tuesday to take his son aboard the carrier where Stevenson works.
