Vinson deploys again after 5 months at home - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Vinson deploys again after 5 months at home

NAVAL AIR STATION NORTH ISLAND, Calif. — Just over five months after returning home, the carrier Carl Vinson headed back to sea Wednesday for another deployment.

Carl Vinson pulled away from its berth at Naval Air Station North Island and headed out of San Diego Bay about noon, a departure delayed three hours by thick fog and an unexpected “minor” steering control problem that a ship’s spokesman said was quickly resolved.

It was June 15 when the Vinson returned home following a scheduled deployment that culminated with the ship supporting the mission to capture Osama bin Laden. After bin Laden was killed by Navy SEALs in his compound in Pakistan, his body was flown to Carl Vinson, where a team conducted a burial-at-sea that remains classified.

Officials said the ship’s quick turnaround and shorter time at home had been part of the Navy’s broader Fleet Response Plan that provides flexible, ready forces and a persistent forward presence.

“The sailors of this strike group have trained hard to be ready for warfighting, and they are ready to go do their job,” Rear Adm. Thomas K. Shannon, who commands Carrier Strike Group 1, said before boarding the ship that will serve as his flagship for the deployment.

The deployment will be the second consecutive year that many in Carl Vinson’s crew will be separated from their families over the winter holidays.

“We have been working up to it ... and they are prepared to go,” said Carl Vinson’s commanding officer, Capt. Bruce Lindsey. “It’s our turn right now.”

All that planning was little consolation to Carl Vinson’s families, who braced for the prospect of another goodbye but craved more family time together.

Navy wife Barbara Patton was eight months pregnant when she stood at the pier and kissed her husband goodbye exactly one year ago — Nov. 30, 2010. In June, the ship’s homecoming marked the first time Logistics Specialist Seaman Corachel Patton met his infant daughter, Carly, who was born on Christmas Day.

Early Wednesday, Barbara Patton waited again for Carl Vinson to pull away from its berth, this time with Carly at her side. “It’s probably a little harder, having a child,” said Patton, 22, a Chicago native.

Barbara Patton said she and her husband tried to spend as much time together and maximize their time at home, which included some coveted “daddy leave” the Navy provides to new fathers in addition to annual leave. “We tried to do as much as possible,” she said.

Carl Vinson, with a crew of nearly 2,950 and embarked air wing of almost 1,500, take on several dozen fighter jets and other aircraft of its air wing over the next day or so before heading to 7th Fleet. Then sailors will gather for a change-of-command ceremony at sea to bid farewell to Lindsey, who has commanded Vinson for three years. Capt. Kent “Torch” Whalen will take the helm as the new commanding officer.

The ship then will continue onto 5th Fleet, operating in the Middle East region on a deployment the skipper said is scheduled to last almost six months.

Also deploying as part of Carrier Strike Group 1 are the cruiser Bunker Hill and destroyer Halsey, both based in San Diego. Vinson’s air wing includes Strike Fighter Squadrons 22, VFA-25, VFA-81 and VFA-113; Electronic Attack Squadron 134; Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 125; and Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 15.