Sailors from the USS Wasp greet their family members aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Mediterranean Sea, June 30, 2024. (Caroline Pontier/Navy)
NAPLES, Italy — Sailors from the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp visited family members aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, ahead of the aircraft carrier’s imminent return to the U.S. after nearly nine months at sea.
Six service members aboard Wasp were flown on an MH-60 Seahawk helicopter to Eisenhower as both ships transited the Mediterranean Sea on Sunday, the Navy said.
The roughly two-hour visits came as the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group and the British navy ship HMS Duncan conducted operations together.
The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower sails beside the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp in the Mediterranean Sea, June 30, 2024. Six service members from Wasp were flown on an MH-60 Seahawk helicopter to Eisenhower for reunions with family members on June 30, 2024. ( Merissa Daley/U.S. Navy)
The Eisenhower group, which includes the destroyer USS Gravely and the cruiser USS Philippine Sea, entered the Mediterranean Sea on June 22 after more than seven months combating Iranian-backed Houthi militant efforts to disrupt shipping in the Red Sea.
Eisenhower, Gravely and Philippine Sea left the region Thursday and are in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet said Friday.
The Wasp group, which includes the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill, the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York and embarked elements of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, arrived in the area late last month.
For Petty Officer 3rd Class Daniel Arbodleda, the chance to see family after a lengthy deployment was unexpected but joyful.
“I was ecstatic when I found out that there was a chance that I might actually get to see my husband after being away for nine months,” Arbodleda, a logistics specialist aboard Eisenhower, said Friday in a statement. “Before we left, we accepted the fact that we were not going to see each other for at least a year.”
Even so, the reunion was bittersweet, “saying our goodbyes for the second time was a bit harder than the last,” said Arbodleda’s husband, Petty Officer 3rd Class MarkKevin Escalante, a machinist’s mate serving on Wasp.
The morale booster also was enjoyed by family members and friends who saw the reunion photo posted to Wasp’s Facebook page.
“My handsome husband, my beautiful daughter and her boyfriend all in one photo,” said Alexas Gore in a comment on the post.
Petty Officer 1st Class Sherry Moreno said she was grateful to visit her nephew, Petty Officer 3rd Class Marc Diver, an aviation ordnanceman aboard Eisenhower.
“Seeing his face when I walked in and being able to hug him was the best,” said Moreno, an aviation support equipment technician. “Our family’s excitement seeing us together while both of us are on deployment is something very few can say they have experienced.”
On Tuesday, the destroyer USS Mason, also part of the strike group, returned to its homeport in Mayport, Fla., after nearly nine months in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and eastern Mediterranean, the Navy said.
During that time, Mason faced unprecedented attacks by Houthi fighters based in Yemen, the service said.
Mason, along with Eisenhower, Gravely, Philippine Sea, and the destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Carney and USS Laboon, received a combat action ribbon in April for performance under enemy fire, Military.com reported May 24.
