NORFOLK, Va. — Homecomings for the 6,500 sailors comprising the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and Carrier Air Wing 3 kicked off on Friday.
Six squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 3 returned to Norfolk on Friday, with flyovers and homecomings held at Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Air Station Oceana. HSC-7 is returning on Saturday, and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Philippine Sea will return on Sunday.
The sailors' homecomings follow a nine-month combat deployment. They were in the Middle East from November of 2023 to June as part of the U.S. response to the Israel-Hamas war.
Watch: Loved ones reunite with sailors as USS Dwight D. Eisenhower CSG homecomings begin
VRC-40 and VAW-123 return to Naval Station Norfolk
News 3 reporter Kelsey Jones was at Naval Station Norfolk on Friday and spoke with Navy Sailors and families who were excited to be reunited with their loved ones.
"It feels great to be back I'm excited. I'm a little stressed out but it's going to be a good time" said Jorge Rubio, a Navy Sailor with VRC-40, also known as the Rawhides.
"It's been quite the ride but I'm happy to be home," said Nathan Melin, a Navy Sailor with VAW-123, also known as the Screwtops.
Days like this for military families are always great. Many of them flooded Naval Station Norfolk with welcome home signs, flowers, pets, and most importantly their love.
"We've been counting down. You see I have this little one here, so he left when she was a little over a month. It's going to be a really exciting day" said Keyanna Binmitende, a Navy spouse.
"We missed our anniversary, all the holidays, everything. The only holiday we're going to have is Labor Day in this past year which is funny. At home I have all the gifts lined up from all those events and holidays just waiting for him," said Avery Brown, a military wife.
VFA-83, VFA-131, VFA-32 and VFA-105 return to Naval Air Station Oceana
There were many hugs and kisses given at Naval Air Station Oceana Friday as people gathered to welcome home loved ones.
Four squadrons part of the Norfolk-based USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group returned home after a nine-month deployment.
Around 8:30 Friday morning, the first of four squadrons returned with a flyover.
Watch: USS Dwight D. Eisenhower deploys to Mediterranean
A short time later, the planes were on the ground and the pilots embraced their families for the first time in nine months.
“It’s been nine long months waiting for this day," VFA-83 pilot CDR Jaime Moreno said, tearing up as he held his daughters in his arms.
“These guys have done an incredible job, and we’re just so happy to welcome them home," his wife, Lynn, said. "It's obviously very concerning when your husband's out fighting for the country and you have two little kids at home, but they're very, very qualified and we know that they know what they're doing."
The deployment was a busy one. The Strike group was involved in numerous missions as part of the U.S. military’s effort to fight back against Houthi rebels in Israel, Yemen, and the Red Sea.
“They’ve been very aggressive in targeting merchant vessels, targeting U.S. ships, targeting coalition ships, So we’ve had to evolve as they’ve evolved and we did that very, very well," said Carrier Air Wing 3 Commander Capt. Marvin Scott. "It was very dynamic. It was something we really haven’t seen, for a carrier strike group to be that close to that kind of fight, really, since World War II.”
The Ike is the second Norfolk-based carrier strike group to take part in the response to the fighting.
The other, the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, returned in May.
Watch: USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group returns from deployment
“We believe in peace through strength, right? So, our aircraft carriers are the deterrent. So it’s really important that we have a presence throughout the world," Virginia U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans said, taking a brief break from talking with families waiting for the squadrons to return.
Back at home, peace comes from knowing loved ones are no longer in harm’s way, especially for those whose loved ones have been deployed before.
“I went into this deployment thinking it was going to be the easiest one out of the four but it was by far the hardest," Caitlyn Jeronimus said as she waited for her husband's squadron to return. "It's been stressful. We've been worried about him, worried about him being safe. Then, there's just holding down the home front and missing all the holidays and all the stomach viruses and all of the birthdays."
Even though the Ike has returned home, the Navy is not leaving the Middle East empty handed. The USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group was headed to the region as of July 12.
