NORFOLK, Va. — The sun was shining while Taylor Morehouse stood with her two children and her mother by the pier to watch the USS Harry S. Truman deploy to the Middle East. Around them, families said their goodbyes and had their last hugs before the ship pulled away.
Her husband, Aviation Boatswain’s Mate E5 Tyler Morehouse, is one of roughly 6,500 sailors now headed for the Red Sea. The Morehouses have been through four deployments over the course of their eight-year marriage.
“We always do stressful, I think,” Taylor Morehouse said, with a laugh. “One deployment, we got married. One deployment, I had a baby, and then this deployment, we moved.”
She said deployments do not typically feel real until about three months in, and this time, Truman sailors will miss “all the fun stuff,” like Christmas and birthdays.
Capt. Dave Snowden said sailor resiliency was a major focus over the past couple years, and for sailors aboard the Truman, significant connectivity improvements have been made to allow families at home to communicate with them. Snowden expressed that being away for the holidays will be difficult for all on board, from the young sailors on their first deployment to experienced servicemembers like Snowden, who has not missed a Christmas in his 29 years of service. However, with technology improvements, sailors should have an easier time communicating with family members in the United States.
“We really stress on our team that this is a family, right?” he said. “We talk through things, we provide information and we’ve got a lot of things in the Navy to really facilitate resiliency amongst our crew. ”
The Truman and Carrier Air Wing 1 will head to the Red Sea, where U.S. sailors have fought almost daily for months to down drones and missiles launched by Houthi rebels from Yemen.
The Truman rejoined the U.S. Second Fleet in December after a yearlong maintenance cycle. The carrier entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth in December 2022 for a “planned incremental availability” two months after returning from a nine-month deployment in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The maintenance cycle saw modernization efforts; structural repair and preservation work to the weapons elevators, the flight deck and hangar bay, the main mast and exterior of the ship; as well as general repairs to the hull, mechanical and electrical infrastructure. Other improvements focused on quality of life for sailors, such as enhanced gyms and WiFi.
The Truman has deployed 10 times since its commissioning in 1998. During its deployment to the Mediterranean Sea in 2022, Truman provided air support to Allies in response to Russian’s invasion of Ukraine. The carrier’s air wing flew missions to enforce a no-fly zone.
Rear Adm. Sean Bailey, commander of Carrier Strike Group 8, said threats overseas are always “dynamic” and changing, so sailors are prepared to switch gears in case of threats. Shortly before the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was scheduled to get underway, Hamas’ attack on Israel sparked what would become monthslong combat in the region. By the end of their deployment, the crew had experienced the most intense stretch of high-seas combat since World War II.
“It hasn’t necessarily changed how we focus our training we have done, and it’s given us more increased capabilities against those threats which may emerge,” Bailey said.
Clouds moved over the sky as the Truman got underway by Monday afternoon. At the end of the pier, families gathered to wave goodbye, many teary-eyed and solemn. A small pod of dolphins crested in the water as the Truman’s escort boats moved away from the ship.
“Our crew has undergone months of rigorous training to ensure we are ready to face any threat during this deployment,” Snowden said. “The professionalism I see every day across the Truman and Carrier Air Wing 1 sailors will be the key to our success. We stand ready to perform at the highest level, and I couldn’t be more confident in this team.”
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