The USS Ronald Reagan CVN-76 departed it's home NAS North Island San Diego on it's maiden deployment on Jan 4th 2005. No big deal USN fans ..right?
..Not when you consider that the "RR" was comissioned in July '03. That's 2.5 years boys. My point is that even with a a crew that has about 15% of it's sailors with previous CV experience and all the experience the USN has operating CV's(since 1922) it still took the USN 2.5 years to send this massive ship on a deployment.
Anyone care to guess how long it will take a PLAN CV to be operational.? I think 3-5+ years.
I have the story from the San Diego Union-Tribune. they like to play up what I call the "Boo Hoo" factor. You know loved ones crying, family seperation and such. I say get over it. They sailors all knew the duty they signed up for when they joined the USN....They'll be back in 6 months. I posted a link from navy.mil about the "RR" deploying at the bottom of this page. No boo-hooing there.
Reagan leads ships on six-month deployment
By Steve Liewer
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 5, 2006
HOWARD LIPIN / Union-Tribune
Moments before she boarded the carrier Ronald Reagan, airman Victoria Arriaga hugged her boyfriend, William Stirgus of Las Vegas, at North Island Naval Air Station yesterday.
Petty Officer 1st Class Lester Gipson stood on the dock at North Island Naval Air Station, scanning the tiny figures lining the rails of the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan for the woman he loves.
His wife, Chief Petty Officer Diane McQueen Gipson, was sailing early yesterday on the carrier's maiden deployment. It's the fourth time in five years that one of the two has gone to sea, leaving the other behind.
Lester desperately wished he could take her place so she could stay with their two children, ages 16 and 7.
"It's our jobs, we both understand. But it's hard," he said as the ship angled away from the pier. "If I was up there, I'd probably be crying."
McQueen Gipson joined about 6,500 sailors from four San Diego-based ships – the cruiser Lake Champlain and the destroyers Decatur and McCampbell, as well as the Reagan and its complement of aircraft – who left on a cruise with an uncertain future.
Officially, Navy officials said, this is a routine six-month deployment to the western Pacific, for decades a part of life for San Diego-based sailors.
But unofficially, families know this cruise could take the Reagan Strike Force to the Persian Gulf and keep their loved ones away for even longer. The Navy doesn't reveal such details.
Reagan Strike Force
The group consists of:
the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and its air wing
the cruiser Lake Champlain
the destroyers Decatur and McCampbell
"It's scary. You don't know what's going to happen," said Christine Monteagudo, whose husband, Chief Petty Officer Warren Monteagudo, left aboard the Reagan on his first major deployment since 1999. "They could get extended – six months, 10 months, a year."
The Reagan's crew has been readying itself for this inaugural mission since the ship arrived at the Coronado base in July 2004, one year after its commissioning on the East Coast. The carrier's motto is "Peace Through Strength," echoing a saying made famous by its namesake.
"It's still got that new-ship smell," said Capt. Terry Kraft, who took command of the Reagan six weeks ago, in time for its final sea trials in mid-December. "You've got to work the bugs out of it."
The Reagan's escort ships were upgraded to match its state-of-the-art electronics systems. The support vessels left from the 32nd Street Naval Station about 90 minutes after the Reagan departed.
"It does require preparation. The ships are all different ages," said Capt. Pat Roane, commander of the 17-year-old Lake Champlain. "We made sure we're ready to deploy to the (Japan-based) 7th Fleet, the (Bahrain-based) 5th Fleet."
For the next day or two, the Reagan Strike Group will cruise off California as about 80 aircraft from the carrier's air wing fly aboard from bases in Whidbey Island, Wash., Lemoore, Point Mugu and Coronado. Landing on the Reagan could be challenging because of expected rough seas, said Command Master Chief Jim DeLozier, the ship's senior enlisted sailor.
HOWARD LIPIN / Union-Tribune
The carrier Ronald Reagan headed into San Diego Bay yesterday morning to begin its first extended deployment. The Reagan Strike Group will cruise off California for a few days as about 80 aircraft from the carrier's air wing fly aboard.
As always, excitement mingled with sadness on the pier as hundreds of Navy families bid farewell to their sailors.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Richard Aguirre, 33, hugged his wife, Maria, his children and his parents before climbing up the gangplank. It's his third extended cruise during nine years in the Navy.
Maria said she has put up 180 paper rings, one for each day the ship is expected to be gone. Kristian, 8, and Kassandra, 6, will take one down each day to mark time.
"They're older. I think they're going to be missing him a lot more," said Maria, 32.
Kristian said he takes seriously his responsibilities as "man of the house." He also knows that rank has its privileges.
"I'll hog the PlayStation and take over the TV remote," he joked.
Briana Partlow, 21, pushed her 2-month-old daughter, MacKenzie, in a stroller after saying goodbye to her husband, Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Partlow. They've been married two years; this is their first long separation.
"I've had better days," said Briana Partlow, sniffling back tears. "It was hard. We tried to spend as much time as we could with each other. Having a new baby made it even harder."
She said she and her best friend, Audra Heffren, will support each other during their husbands' deployments.
Heffren, 30, and her husband, Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Heffren, are expecting twins in August. But if the babies arrive early and the strike group is at sea longer than its anticipated return in July, she could be giving birth alone.
To keep her husband involved in the pregnancy, she's started a weblog. She'll put up photos, and she and Matthew both will write for the site.
"I know by him leaving today, it's one day closer to him coming home," Audra Heffren said. "I don't know how I'm going to make it, but I'll do the best I can."
..Not when you consider that the "RR" was comissioned in July '03. That's 2.5 years boys. My point is that even with a a crew that has about 15% of it's sailors with previous CV experience and all the experience the USN has operating CV's(since 1922) it still took the USN 2.5 years to send this massive ship on a deployment. Anyone care to guess how long it will take a PLAN CV to be operational.? I think 3-5+ years.
I have the story from the San Diego Union-Tribune. they like to play up what I call the "Boo Hoo" factor. You know loved ones crying, family seperation and such. I say get over it. They sailors all knew the duty they signed up for when they joined the USN....They'll be back in 6 months. I posted a link from navy.mil about the "RR" deploying at the bottom of this page. No boo-hooing there.
Reagan leads ships on six-month deployment
By Steve Liewer
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 5, 2006
HOWARD LIPIN / Union-Tribune
Moments before she boarded the carrier Ronald Reagan, airman Victoria Arriaga hugged her boyfriend, William Stirgus of Las Vegas, at North Island Naval Air Station yesterday.
Petty Officer 1st Class Lester Gipson stood on the dock at North Island Naval Air Station, scanning the tiny figures lining the rails of the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan for the woman he loves.
His wife, Chief Petty Officer Diane McQueen Gipson, was sailing early yesterday on the carrier's maiden deployment. It's the fourth time in five years that one of the two has gone to sea, leaving the other behind.
Lester desperately wished he could take her place so she could stay with their two children, ages 16 and 7.
"It's our jobs, we both understand. But it's hard," he said as the ship angled away from the pier. "If I was up there, I'd probably be crying."
McQueen Gipson joined about 6,500 sailors from four San Diego-based ships – the cruiser Lake Champlain and the destroyers Decatur and McCampbell, as well as the Reagan and its complement of aircraft – who left on a cruise with an uncertain future.
Officially, Navy officials said, this is a routine six-month deployment to the western Pacific, for decades a part of life for San Diego-based sailors.
But unofficially, families know this cruise could take the Reagan Strike Force to the Persian Gulf and keep their loved ones away for even longer. The Navy doesn't reveal such details.
Reagan Strike Force
The group consists of:
the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and its air wing
the cruiser Lake Champlain
the destroyers Decatur and McCampbell
"It's scary. You don't know what's going to happen," said Christine Monteagudo, whose husband, Chief Petty Officer Warren Monteagudo, left aboard the Reagan on his first major deployment since 1999. "They could get extended – six months, 10 months, a year."
The Reagan's crew has been readying itself for this inaugural mission since the ship arrived at the Coronado base in July 2004, one year after its commissioning on the East Coast. The carrier's motto is "Peace Through Strength," echoing a saying made famous by its namesake.
"It's still got that new-ship smell," said Capt. Terry Kraft, who took command of the Reagan six weeks ago, in time for its final sea trials in mid-December. "You've got to work the bugs out of it."
The Reagan's escort ships were upgraded to match its state-of-the-art electronics systems. The support vessels left from the 32nd Street Naval Station about 90 minutes after the Reagan departed.
"It does require preparation. The ships are all different ages," said Capt. Pat Roane, commander of the 17-year-old Lake Champlain. "We made sure we're ready to deploy to the (Japan-based) 7th Fleet, the (Bahrain-based) 5th Fleet."
For the next day or two, the Reagan Strike Group will cruise off California as about 80 aircraft from the carrier's air wing fly aboard from bases in Whidbey Island, Wash., Lemoore, Point Mugu and Coronado. Landing on the Reagan could be challenging because of expected rough seas, said Command Master Chief Jim DeLozier, the ship's senior enlisted sailor.
HOWARD LIPIN / Union-Tribune
The carrier Ronald Reagan headed into San Diego Bay yesterday morning to begin its first extended deployment. The Reagan Strike Group will cruise off California for a few days as about 80 aircraft from the carrier's air wing fly aboard.
As always, excitement mingled with sadness on the pier as hundreds of Navy families bid farewell to their sailors.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Richard Aguirre, 33, hugged his wife, Maria, his children and his parents before climbing up the gangplank. It's his third extended cruise during nine years in the Navy.
Maria said she has put up 180 paper rings, one for each day the ship is expected to be gone. Kristian, 8, and Kassandra, 6, will take one down each day to mark time.
"They're older. I think they're going to be missing him a lot more," said Maria, 32.
Kristian said he takes seriously his responsibilities as "man of the house." He also knows that rank has its privileges.
"I'll hog the PlayStation and take over the TV remote," he joked.
Briana Partlow, 21, pushed her 2-month-old daughter, MacKenzie, in a stroller after saying goodbye to her husband, Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Partlow. They've been married two years; this is their first long separation.
"I've had better days," said Briana Partlow, sniffling back tears. "It was hard. We tried to spend as much time as we could with each other. Having a new baby made it even harder."
She said she and her best friend, Audra Heffren, will support each other during their husbands' deployments.
Heffren, 30, and her husband, Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Heffren, are expecting twins in August. But if the babies arrive early and the strike group is at sea longer than its anticipated return in July, she could be giving birth alone.
To keep her husband involved in the pregnancy, she's started a weblog. She'll put up photos, and she and Matthew both will write for the site.
"I know by him leaving today, it's one day closer to him coming home," Audra Heffren said. "I don't know how I'm going to make it, but I'll do the best I can."