USS Ford to return Nov. 5 after ‘tiger cruise’
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, October 20, 2004
A longer than expected deployment for the USS Ford will wrap up a bit early, U.S. Navy sources said, with the Everett-based guided-missile frigate scheduled to return to Naval Station Everett on Nov. 5.
The warship left Everett in late May on a four-month deployment. But the crew found out after a port visit to Singapore in September that the Ford’s deployment would be extended. Earlier, sailors had hoped to be home to their families by Halloween.
Catita Shermak, whose husband, Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeffrey Shermak, is on deployment with the Ford, said families are excited that their sailors are coming home and plans for a homecoming party are already under way.
Shermak was saddened when she heard the news of the ship’s extended deployment, but said, “We totally understand that things happen while they’re deployed. You have to expect the unexpected as military wives.”
At least the crew will now be home in time for Thanksgiving.
“I just think having our sailors back home for the holidays makes it that much more special for us,” Shermak said.
The Ford, an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, has a crew of about 260. It has spent its deployment as part of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis’ strike group, conducting training exercises in the western Pacific Ocean.
The frigate is expected to arrive next week in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, according to the ship’s Web site.
Once there, it will pick up supplies and family members of Ford sailors for a “tiger cruise” to San Diego. Tiger cruises give civilians a chance to experience Navy life, and another is planned for the trip home to Everett starting Nov. 1.
With the exception of the destroyer USS Momsen and the frigate USS Ingraham, most of the ships assigned to Naval Station Everett are currently out of port.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Shoup left on deployment last week. On Tuesday, the Lincoln departed San Diego after a weekend stop to pick up the aircraft of Carrier Air Wing Two. It will be the first deployment of a carrier air wing that doesn’t include the F-14 Tomcat and the S-3B Viking.
The frigate USS Rodney M. Davis left Everett earlier this week and is training at sea.
