NORFOLK, Va. — The countdown is over for many families.
"I just really miss her and I'm glad for her to come back," said Avis Middleton.
Middleton is relieved to be back with her cousin who she says is more like a sister to her.
"Excited, very excited just to give her a hug," she said.
The crew of USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) returned to Naval Station Norfolk Wednesday morning after roughly 264 days away. Doyle Cook and his family stood by the pier eager to see their loved one. Cook said the family is proud of the accomplishments their service member achieved while deployed.
“We are very proud of him. He worked very hard. He followed in the steps of his grandfather.”
Navy officials said the 71-member crew served as the sole replenishment oiler responsible for the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group.
“Basically the gas station and the second mission is food,” said Shipmaster Capt. Eric Naranjo.
The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group led the Navy’s response against Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Captain Naranjo said the crew had a busy nine months.
“It was 111 replenishment events,” he said. “During a normal deployment, it’s not usually in the hundreds.”
USNS Kanawha homecoming
Navy officials said USNS Kanawha played a critical role in keeping the Ike underway.
“In the Red Sea, there’s very few logistic hubs,” said Capt. Jamie Murdock, the commander of the Military Sealift Command Atlantic. “So, we had to bring in a tanker from the Mediterranean down into the Red Sea.”
The tanker gave fuel to Kanawha and then to the aircraft carrier. Now that the crew is on land, it’s time for them to take a much-needed break and the ship will undergo maintenance.
Navy officials called this a "surge deployment," meaning it was an unplanned departure. When the crew learned they had to leave, they were only supposed to be gone for about six to eight weeks. Their time away ended up getting extended to nine months.