NAVAL STATION MAYPORT, Fla. – 4-year-old Ricky stands at Naval Station Mayport, his eyes fastened on the USS St. Louis.
The 378-foot Freedom-variant littoral fight ship rests in opposition to the dock. It’s the largest vessel Ricky says he has ever seen.
He calls it “Mommy’s ship.”
His mother, Victoria Cavazos, serves as weapons officer aboard the St. Louis. On Monday, she launched into a deployment to the Caribbean, leaving her husband, Ryan Donlon and younger son behind.
“Why?” Ricky requested curiously.
“As a result of she has to cease the dangerous guys, proper?” Donlon replied.
The deployment will ship the St. Louis to work alongside the Coast Guard to help “counter-illicit drug trafficking within the Caribbean.”
In February, the ship returned from an 8-month deployment, disrupting and confiscating over $100-million value of illicit contraband in 5 completely different operations.
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“As a result of the dangerous guys try to deliver dangerous stuff into the nation and he or she’s going to handle it,” Donlon stated, translating complicated army operations into phrases a toddler can grasp.
Donlon, an teacher at Floor Fight Programs Coaching Command Mayport, is aware of these goodbyes from either side of the pier.
“It’s very onerous to not cry whether or not it’s her or it’s me,” he stated, remembering their reunion from that deployment in February. “The final second when she got here again was one thing out of a storybook. It was the most important hug.”
And after a short climate delay on Monday, the crew loaded the ship, lowered the flag and blew its horn.
The 75-member crew is anticipated to be out at sea for about 7 to 9 months.
“It’s not going to be straightforward,” Donlon stated. “However they know what to do. They’ve been skilled for it, they usually’re going to kick butt.”
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