Since February, Tomoko Humphrey and her three small children have dutifully marked the calendar, making note of each day her husband has been deployed to the western Pacific Ocean on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
To date, it’s about 160.
Now, the Stanwood family is counting the days until Dad gets home – just five.
The Everett-based aircraft carrier and the destroyer USS Shoup are headed home after a nearly six-month deployment. The ships are scheduled to arrive Tuesday morning at Naval Station Everett.
It can’t come soon enough for the Humphrey children: Momo, 8; Kiana, 7; and Kenshin, 4.
“Everybody is excited,” Tomoko Humphrey said.
Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey Humphrey has been in the Navy for 20 years, and the latest voyage will be his last. He can look forward to his wife’s Japanese cooking and watching his children grow up.
Deployed from Everett on Feb. 27 with no idea of what lay before them, the Lincoln’s crew of 3,300 and the Shoup’s 320 come back with stories of pomp and practice.
Along with hosting dignitaries and holding ceremonies, crew members were kept busy with naval exercises.
Most notable was an exercise dubbed Valiant Shield – the largest war game held in Pacific waters in more than a decade.
The five-day exercise in June involved 30 ships, 280 aircraft, and 22,000 airmen, sailors, soldiers and Marines working together to improve joint combat skills. Along with the Lincoln, the carriers USS Ronald Reagan and USS Kitty Hawk participated.
Other exercises involved anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare training, passing exercises with other nations’ navies, and work with South Korea to demonstrate the U.S. commitment to protecting that country.
Some sailors also took free time to help others in Thailand. One group painted a shelter for street children. Another helped an orphanage relocate its nursery.
International stops included Hong Kong, Laemb Chebang in Thailand, Singapore and Sasebo in Japan.
During its deployment, the Lincoln hosted more than 2,800 visitors, including Prince Mohamed of Brunei and members of the Australian Parliament.
The Shoup passed several milestones while at sea.
The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer celebrated its fourth birthday.
It also changed commanding officers in a ceremony July 5 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Cmdr. Mark Johnson relieved Cmdr. Chris Halton.
“It is an honor that this great charge has been placed upon me,” Johnson told the crew after assuming command, according to the U.S. Navy News service. It is the Maryland native’s first tour as a commanding officer.
The Lincoln-led strike group left Pearl Harbor on Saturday. The ships are to stop in San Diego before returning to Everett.
Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@heraldnet.com.
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