NORFOLK, Va. — After being temporarily delayed, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower deployed from Norfolk Saturday morning.
It was a difficult day for families of crewmembers, including Sarah Bell. She said her eldest son was a part of the crew to board the aircraft carrier.
“We’re a Navy family. My husband was in the Navy, so we’ve dealt with deployments, but it being our son is definitely different. It’s different,” she said.
This deployment will be different for Bell and her family, adjusting to life without her eldest child.
“Dealing with younger ones that get upset and miss them, and we just really got to come together as a family during that time," she said.
In a statement from U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Saturday evening, he said the carrier will head to the Eastern Mediterranean to deter violence from escalating in the war following the Hamas attack on Israel.
The Eisenhower aircraft carrier was originally scheduled to depart Friday morning with the rest of the strike group but was unexpectedly delayed. The U.S. Navy has not shared an exact reason for the delay but said in press release from the Second Fleet that it was "to ensure the ship is in peak readiness when she joins the units from the strike group."
On Friday, strike group leaders said the Eisenhower team would be ready for whatever awaits them.
"The first question that gets asked by our national leaders is, 'Where are the carrier strike groups?' said Rear Admiral Marc Miguez, Commander. Carrier Strike Group Two. "We just happened to coincide this scheduled deployment with some worldwide events that are going on right now. And when asked, we will support whatever we're tasked with."
As many family and friends of deployed crewmembers adjust to life without their loved ones, Bell has a message for other Navy families experiencing a similar change.
“Just to know that they have trained to do what they do and that as a military community, we all support each other,” she said.
The deployment includes the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), the guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107), and the Florida-based destroyer USS Mason (DDG 107), which left from Naval Station Mayport.
Several aircraft squadrons from Norfolk and Virginia Beach are also part of the deployment.
The Eisenhower last went out on deployment in 2021. The Navy says more than 5,000 service members make up the Strike Group. There is no word on how long the group will be gone.