It took more than five months, but the last crew members from the Navy’s historic three carrier swap are flying home from Virginia to San Diego Friday.
The Navy had never tried relocating three Nimitz class carriers while allowing their crews to keep their home ports. The USS Ronald Reagan, the USS George Washington and the USS Theodore Roosevelt each swapped positions, while their families didn’t have to move. Roughly 1,400 crew members served aboard all three ships beginning in August.
“This is hard, like it’s really hard," said Spike Call, command master chief for the USS Roosevelt. "To do one hull swap is not easy, and again we’re talking about people and feelings and emotions and all that. Did we do it successfully? Yeah. But this ain’t easy work.”
It was tough on the crews, who were constantly swapping shipmates, Call said.
The plan was to save the Navy $41 million in relocation costs, while making life easier on the families. They wouldn’t have to trade San Diego for Norfolk, Virginia, or Japan. Now that it’s over, families are happy they’re staying.
Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel Boemmel hugged his five-year-old daughter, Ashley, after stepping off the plane at Naval Air Station North Island.
“I’ve been out here for about 5½ years," Boemmel said. "We’ve settled here. We have a lot of friends. A lot of family out here. This is home.”
The Roosevelt is now ported in San Diego. It arrived in November from a nine-month around-the-world deployment. It’s receiving repairs and is expected to stay close to port through at least the next six months.
