Bittersweet Day as USS Ronald Reagan Deploys from Coronado

As the sun was rising on a sleepy Coronado Wednesday morning, families at Naval Air Station North Island were to their sailors. At about 8 a.m., the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan set sail for a six- to eight-month deployment.

There are 6,000 sailors in the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group (CSG), which includes the carrier, the cruiser USS Chancellorsville and the destroyer USS Preble. Both smaller ships are based in San Diego. Carrier Air Wing 14, complete with Hornets, Super Hornets, Prowlers, Hawkeyes and Seahawks, will also be aboard the USS Ronald Reagan.

The CSG will participate in a Joint Task Force Exercise off the coast of California first and then leave for their deployment in the Western Pacific and Arabian Sea.

“We are ready to go to sea and finish our final qualifications before deployment,” said USS Ronald Reagan commanding officer, Capt. Thom W. Burke. “My sailors have been well-trained throughout this process, and are excited and ready for any challenges that we may meet.”

Rear Adm. Robert Girrier also spoke to the hard work that was put in before Wednesday’s departure and said it would only lead to security at sea and in critical parts of the world.

That hard work includes two- or three-week periods of time spent underway. Though Wednesday marked the beginning of a full deployment, leading up to it, sailors are often away on training missions.

Lt. j.g. Joseph Spence said he was excited to go out and put the training to good use. “We’ve done a lot of work. We did a lot of training underway,” he said.

As for saying goodbye to family and friends, Spence said, “It’s tough to be away from family and friends for a long time.”

For the same reason, Burke said it was a bittersweet day for him and his sailors.

Seaman Jacobo Toledo used the same word to describe leaving for his first full deployment.

“I feel good and I’m sad. It’s a bittersweet day,” he said. "I’m just going to go out there and do my job. I’m going to do what I joined for.”

His parents, grandparents and girlfriend expressed their pride despite having to send him off for over half a year.

For others, saying goodbye for that long meant leaving behind young children and missing milestones in their development.

Petty Officer 2nd Class John Neciosup stood near his wife, Claudia Neciosup, and their bundled up three-year-old daughter, Nayeli. Though he’s been on 5 deployments, he described today’s farewell as the hardest since it’s the first time he’s had to leave his young daughter. Claudia Neciosup wiped away tears as she held their daughter.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Daniel Rawson held his 4-month-old daughter, Giannalee, in the final moments. He said having her back home motivated him. “It drives me even more to do my job for her, to get back home and see her.”

For those on the home front, Sandra Perez, mother of 3, recommended participating in a Family Readiness Group (FRG) for support. She also plans on enrolling her youngest two children in an after-school YMCA program specifically for children with deployed parents.

The USS Ronald Reagan will be at sea on Ronald Reagan’s Centennial Birthday celebration on Sunday, Feb 6. To celebrate, the carrier will support a F-18 flyover that will take place at the Ronald Reagan Library.