It was a homecoming in two parts, but by late Friday afternoon, all members of the Cougars, Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 139, were home.

The jets arrived at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Wednesday afternoon, amid cheers, hugs and kisses. Crew members disembarked one plane at a time, leaving some loved ones to wait just a little while longer until the last plane was secured.

Kathryn Jones, wife of Cougar commanding officer, Cmdr. Russ Jones, was on hand with 11-year-old Hannah and 2-and-a-half-year-old Eli. The couple’s 8-year-old son, Ryan, was on a Tiger Cruise with his grandfather.

“The hardest part (of a deployment) is watching your children miss their dad,” she said. “We picked this life — they don’t have any choice.”

Jones said it’s surprised her that as their children get older, deployments get harder, because Dad has been able to spend time with them, coaching their sports teams and being a regular part of the children’s lives.

“They get used to having him around, so it’s hard when he’s gone,” she said. “But at the same time, they’re very proud.”

The Cougars returned from a seven-month deployment on the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), in which the EA-6B Prowler squadron took part in three worldwide operations — responding as part of Operation Tomodachi following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and supporting Operations New Dawn and Enduring Freedom.

Family members said technology helped make the separation easier.

“You know what’s awesome is Skype,” said Jessica Kjenaas, who was waiting to welcome her husband, Lt. Cmdr. Jeffrey Kjenaas. “Every time they were in port we got to Skype. You feel so much more connected.”

Lt. Keith Drown could not get home soon enough for his wife, Ashley, who said playing the role of a single parent to Cassidy, 4, and Chase, 19 months, was tough.

“This day could not come fast enough,” she laughed.

Part two

The anticipation was repeated Friday afternoon, as family members waited anxiously for the arrival of the rest of the Cougar’s maintenance and support personnel.

Heather Alvarez and her husband, Aviation Machinist’s Mate First Class Cesar, spent their first anniversary apart.

“We’re going to do birthdays, anniversary and Christmas all at once,” she said.

This will be her first and last deployment, Heather said, as Cesar will leave the Navy in a few months and transfer to the Army Air National Guard.

“Knowing he’s coming home for good is a little intimidating,” she said with a smile. “I don’t quite know what to do with this man who will be underfoot for the next 40 years.”

Lorili McDowell said she and her husband, Logistics Specialist Second Class James McDowell, prepared for his long separation from her and their son, 15-month-old Thomas, by making lots of videos of James reading bedtime stories.

“We did everything we could possibly think of to make sure they would know each other when he got back,” she said. “When he left, Thomas was just crawling. Now he’s walking, jumping and running.”

Friends Chrystal Tidwell and Sonia Pena were there waiting for their husbands – best friends who met in boot camp – to come home. It was the first deployment for both of them. Tidwell’s husband, Aviation Structural Mechanic (Safety Equipment) Daeshawn left when his daughter, Taniyah, was 22 days old.

“It was my first deployment and my first baby,” Tidwell said. “It was just hard doing everything by myself.”

“He’s always been my rock. Not having him here has been really tough,” said Pena of her husband Nathan, an Aviation Machinist’s Mate.

Kimber Meade, an Aviation Machinist’s Mate Airman, won a ‘First Kiss’ drawing so her husband Andrew, an Aviation Electrician’s Mate Third Class, was the first sailor off the plane. But the homecoming was a little bittersweet for the dual Navy couple.

“I’m getting ready to deploy with VP-1 (Maritime Patrol Squadron) in two or three months,” Kimber said.

Cmdr. Jones greeted each sailor as he got off the plane, but it was his wife, Kathryn, who perhaps said it best.

“We have an amazing group of Cougar families,” she said.

This was VAQ-139’s last deployment in the Prowler. The squadron will soon begin training with VAQ-129, Fleet Replacement Squadron, for its transition to the EA-18G Growler.