WASHINGTON — This is an unusual military story! The U.S. Navy said three Asdal sisters who missed Christmas dinner at home in New Jersey are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, the region connecting the Mediterranean and Pacific through the western Indian Ocean.
Lt. Cmdr. Ashley Asdal O’Keefe, the USS Lassen (DDG 82) combat systems officer, Lt. Lindsey Asdal Beates, the future operations officer for Combined Task Force 57, and Lt. j.g. Charlotte Asdal, the USS Farragut (DDG 99) gunnery officer, all celebrated the holidays thousands of miles away from home.
The U.S. Navy said that all three were still pretty close together. It just so happens, the three sisters, who serve at three different Navy commands stateside and abroad, spent the holidays supporting the nation while deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet and the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command area of responsibility.
While O’Keefe was underway, embarked on USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) for Christmas, her two other sisters in U.S. 5th Fleet celebrated Christmas day together on liberty in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
In the Asdal family, four of the five sisters serve in the United States Navy. The fourth naval officer, Lt. Kirsten Asdal, is stationed at the Pentagon. The fifth Asdal sibling, Annie Asdal, is the vice president of a real estate firm in Atlanta.
“Deploying with family is a total game-changer,” said Lt. Cmdr. O’Keefe. “It is wonderful to have a strong sister support system and very convenient that we are all in the same time zone.”