It was a bittersweet moment for Oak Harbor mom Donna Lindsey.
As the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) navigated the waters by Fort Casey State Park Monday on its way to the Strait of Juan De Fuca, Lindsey stood on shore near the cannons with her Black Lab Tia at her feet, clutching a red, white and blue balloon bouquet and waving as the aircraft carrier passed by.
“This is pretty intense. It’s all new for me,” she said. Lindsey’s son, 21-year-old Aviation Ordnanceman Isaac Lindsey, was on board the Stennis, making this his first deployment since joining the Navy two years ago.
“This is one of the very first places we came when we moved here in 2000,” Lindsey said. “He told me to ‘Go grab some balloons and stand up there by the cannons so I can see you when we go past.’”
Isaac is a 2009 graduate of Oak Harbor High School. Lindsey said his first job was a paper route for the Whidbey News-Times. Now, she said she’s glad he’s doing something with his life, and said he’s looking forward to his first deployment.
“He’s so excited to go, for everything he’s going to do and see and for the chance to be active in his job,” she said. “I’m going to miss those family times. This will be my first Christmas without him.”
There were several onlookers gathered to watch the carrier, which had to alter course slightly in order to keep from interfering with the state ferry Chetzemoka as it headed back to the Coupeville ferry terminal.
Kim Graf, wife of the Stennis’ executive officer, Capt. Jeff Graf, was also there with the couple’s two daughters to watch the carrier leave. Married for 19 years, Graf said she’s gone through eight or nine deployments and an Individual Augmentee deployment so far. While it’s never easy, she said her focus has changed as her husband takes on increasingly responsible duties.
“It’s different if you’re a kid, a spouse or a mom,” said Graf. “For me it’s become more about making sure all of the families are taken care of. You look at it a little differently, and worry about your ship family as well as your own.”
Graf’s role was apparent, as she offered some support to Lindsey, telling her where she can find information online from the Family Readiness Group that can help keep her abreast of what happens on board the ship throughout its deployment.
Lindsey was grateful for the information, and listened appreciatively as Graf relayed a message to her husband by cell phone to take care of Lindsey’s son. Other onlookers also offered their support, asking whether Isaac had been able to see her. She replied that he had seen the balloons.
“I know I’m not going to (actually) see him,” Lindsey said, “but if this offers him just one ounce of comfort, it means everything.”
The Stennis will stop in San Diego, Calif. before heading out for a seven-month deployment to the western Pacific Ocean and the Persian Gulf. Stennis will be joined by Carrier Air Wing 9, which includes NAS Whidbey’s VAQ-133; Destroyer Squadron 21; and USS Mobile Bay. Maintenance and support personnel from VAQ-133 are already on board the carrier.
Stennis Crew Connection
USS John C. Stennis commanding officer, Capt. Ron Reis, and executive officer, Capt. Jeff Graf, graduated from the same high school in Poway, Calif., although they didn’t know each other at the time. Coincidentally, both Reis and Graf are former commanding officers of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island’s Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 132. While the two have met before, this is the first time they have ever been assigned to the same command.
