NORFOLK, Va. — Patti Schwensen waited anxiously Monday as her son prepared for deployment aboard the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier.
“I’m excited for him," Schwensen said.
Thousands of sailors began leaving Hampton Roads Monday for deployment. They are assigned to the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group.
The deployment comes almost two years to the day after the strike group returned from a previous deployment, in which the strike group helped respond to the fighting between Russia and Ukraine.
Watch: USS Harry S. Truman Strike Group returns to Norfolk
Schwensen said this is her son's first full deployment.
“He’s a little nervous because you don’t know what to expect," said Schwensen.
Dana Jackson is a navy veteran and a father. His son is also on the ship.
"I gave him plenty. It would take two months to tell you everything that I told him," Jackson said when asked if he gave his son any advice or words of wisdom before he got on the ship.
Watch: USS Eisenhower deploys sailors; carrier strike group sent to Mediterranean to support Israel
One sailor News 3 spoke with who is assigned to the ship but didn't get to deploy right away because of health issues said the deployment is bittersweet.
“A lot of nerves because a part of me is, like, ‘I don’t want to leave.’ But, you know, it’s the job I signed up for," said Petty Officer Third Class Joseph Chavez.
The deployment comes as U.S. military continues to respond to the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas. That response includes numerous Norfolk-based ships.
The Truman Carrier Strike Group’s commander said information and lessons learned from other carrier strike groups were used to help the Truman prepare for deployment.
Watch: Amid heightened tensions, US deploys additional military resources to Middle East
“Clearly, we’ve seen, in the last year or so, a number of maturing threats, in different areas and different theaters of the world. We’ve watched that closely," RADM Sean Bailey said.
Exactly where the strike group will be going and what it will be doing, the commander couldn’t say.
Exactly how long the deployment will last is currently undetermined.
“I’m confident we’ve got all the support, all the supplies, all the materials to sustain us for as long as need be," Bailey emphasized.
This is the third Norfolk-based carrier strike group to be on deployment in less than 18 months. Most recently, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group returned from deployment in July. The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group returned in January.
