Mom Follows the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
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CAPTION CORRECTION MOVED AGAIN FOR CORRECT SIZING U.S. Navy Lieutenant John J. Cummings observes flight deck traffic November 15, 2001 from an F-14 Tomcat assigned to the Diamondbacks of Fighter Squadron One Zero Two aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The Theodore Roosevelt and her embarked Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) are conducting missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. IMAGE TAKEN NOVEMBER 15 REUTERS/Handout/U.S. Navy Photo by Chief PhotographerMate Eric A. Clement
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Teresa Piles-Horton, whose husband, Vernell, is aboard the Theodore Roosevelt, shows rap star and Navy veteran MC Hammer her moves as he signs autographs at the Norfolk Navy Base Exchange on Thursday as part of ''The Active Duty American Initiative.''
Photo by Genevieve Ross / The Virginian-Pilot.
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 Photo: Navy veteran and rap star MC Hammer visits area base
The Virginian-Pilot © November 16, 2001
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-EDS NOTE: CONTENTS MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--U.S. Navy seaman Jermaine Scales, 29, of Baltimore, MD., talks about his Islamic beliefs during an interview with the Associated Press on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2001. Scales is one of 15 Muslim sailors aboard the aircraft carrier and will begin his monthlong observance of Ramadan which started Thursday. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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  -EDS NOTE: CONTENTS MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--U.S. Navy seaman Jermaine Scales, 29, of Baltimore, MD., holds his prayer beads as talks about his Islamic beliefs during an interview with the Associated Press on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2001. Scales is one of 15 Muslim sailors aboard the aircraft carrier and will begin his monthlong observance of Ramadan which started Thursday. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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-EDS NOTE: CONTENTS MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--U.S. Navy sailors of Islamic faith pray in the chapel aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Arabian Sea during Ramadan on Friday, Nov. 16, 2001. At left is ABH3 Asmar Newsome of Newark, NJ. Also praying is fireman Anwar Saleem of Washington, DC., and ABH3 Michael Davidson of Madison, WI., right. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., holds enlarged images of envelopes containing anthrax addressed to him and to Senate Majority Leader Sen. Tom Daschle, D-SD. during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington Saturday, Nov. 17, 2001. Saturday both the Russell and Dirksen Senate office buildings were again closed for renewed biohazard testing. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
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-EDS NOTE: PICTURE MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS-U.S. Navy Lt. Dan Reese, right, of Virginia Beach, Va., assists BM2 Derek Robinson, center, into the Turbo Dog, the USS Vella Gulf's small boat during a Search and Rescue and man overboard exercise in the Arabian Sea on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2001. At left is BMC Howard Randle of N.C. The cruiser provides air defense technology for the battle goup as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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EDS NOTE: CONTENTS MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--U.S. Navy AW2 Joel Sizemore of Thudalles, Ore., looks out the door of his SH60-F Seahawk helicopter from the USS Theodore Roosevelt Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2001. The Roosevelt is operating in the Arabian Sea as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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EDS NOTE: CONTENTS MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--The USS Theodore Roosevelt patrols in the northern Arabian Sea Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2001. The aircraft carrier is the lead ship of the USS Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group on station as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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The United States combed southern Afghanistan on November 19, 2001 for Osama bin Laden and said it would not knowingly allow Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar to escape his stronghold of Kandahar. U.S. bombers struck at Kandahar in the south and around Kunduz in the north in a drive to track down bin Laden, the Saudi-born multimillionaire, destroy his al Qaeda network and defeat his protectors, the strictly Muslim Taliban. (Reuters Graphic)
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PICTURE MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT THROUGH NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--A U.S. Navy search and rescue swimmer and a sailor from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is hoisted to a SH-60F helicopter in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2001. The unidentified sailor had fallen overboard and was rescued a short time later by the search and rescue helicopter. The USS Theodore Roosevelt is operating in the Arabian Sea as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. (AP Photo/Joel Sizemore, US Navy)
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PICTURE MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT THROUGH NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--A U.S. Navy sailor, second from left, is accompanied from an SH-60F helicopter by medical personnel after being rescued from the Arabian Sea after he fell off the USS Theodore Roosevelt on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2001. The sailor was pulled from the sea by a search and rescue swimmer. The USS Theodore Roosevelt is on station in the Arabian Sea as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. (AP Photo/Joel Sizemore, US Navy)
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Tuesday November 20 4:05 AM ET Sailor Rescued From Arabian Sea
ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (AP) - A sailor was rescued from the northern Arabian Sea on Tuesday after he fell off the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, officials said.
``One of our men was seen falling off one of the waterdecks. A search-and-rescue swimmer from a helicopter rescued him,'' said Lt. John Oliveira, the public affairs officer.
The identity of the sailor was not immediately available. He was recovering in the carrier's hospital. It wasn't clear how he fell off.
The incident happened at 10:45 a.m. local time.
The search-and-rescue was launched from one of the SH-11 Navy helicopters from the ``Dragons'' Squadron, based in Jacksonville, Florida, Oliveira said.
On Nov. 7, a fireman apprentice fell off the USS Kitty Hawk, one of three aircraft carriers in the Arabian Sea supporting the war in Afghanistan. After three days of fruitless searching, the Kitty Hawk sailor was declared dead.
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-EDS NOTE: PHOTO MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--Crew members of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt get autographs signed by members of the Miami Dolphins cheerleading squad in the mess hall on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2001. Members of the cheerleading squad were making a visit to the USS Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group, which is on station in the Arabian Sea during Operation Enduring Freedom. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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-EDS NOTE: CONTENTS MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--Crew members of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt take photographs of Miami Dolphins cheerleaders who were dining with the crew in the mess hall on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2001. Members of the cheerleading squad were making a visit to the USS Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group which is on station in the Arabian Sea during Operation Enduring Freedom. From left: ABE Jason Gonia of Chandler, AZ., DCFN Howard Matos of Sangerman, Puerto Rico, and AKAN Angel Avica of New York City. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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-EDS NOTE: CONTENTS MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--Crew members of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt get autographs signed by members of the Miami Dolphins cheerleading squad in the mess hall on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2001. Members of the cheerleading squad were making a visit to the USS Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group which is on station in the Arabian Sea during Operation Enduring Freedom. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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-EDS NOTE: PICTURE MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--Crew members of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt take photographs of Miami Dolphins cheerleaders who were dining with the crew in the mess hall on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2001. Twelve members of the cheerleading squad made a visit to the USS Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group which is on station in the Arabian Sea during Operation Enduring Freedom. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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Thursday November 22 2:33 AM ET Sailors Enjoy Thanksgiving at Sea By HRVOJE HRANJSKI, Associated Press Writer
ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (AP) - The roar of the fighter jets in the background, Thanksgiving events kicked off on this aircraft carrier Thursday with Miami Dolphins cheerleaders dancing and singing before hundreds of excited crew enjoying a rare break from the war.
Some of the crew stood on airplane wings to get a better view of the seven women dancers waving pompoms to the tunes of James Brown's ``Living in America.''
``It's good for the people's morale, with all this fighting that's going on,'' said Aaron Glover, 24, from New York City. ``It's good to get people holding in high spirits for the holiday season.''
The cheerleaders, dressed in hotpants and green football jerseys, signed autographs and ate with the troops in the mess deck.
Men waited turns to have their pictures taken with the cheerleaders. The women are on a Thanksgiving Day tour of all three U.S. battle groups in the northern Arabian Sea.
Petty Officer Penny Rice, 37, agreed the show was good for morale.
``But I wish the cheerleaders weren't so scantily clad. Or at least showed up with a male escort equally scantily clad,'' said Rice, who is one of 700 women on board.
The ship's commanding officer, Capt. Richard O'Hanlon, a New York native, said he is trying to get acts that appeal to women as well as men.
The show in the ship's hangar bay started around 1 a.m., not long after their shift began. The crew works nights and sleeps during the day. It lasted about half an hour, then it was back to work.
U.S. Navy (news - web sites) F-14 Tomcats and the Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornets were catapulted off the flight deck, one level above the hangar bay, on yet another mission of airstrikes in Afghanistan (news - web sites).
As fighter jets returned at dawn, sailors aboard the carrier said Thanksgiving prayers for the oppressed in that war-torn nation. ``For us, life, freedom and pursuit of happiness is a commonplace. For others, it is a dream,'' Chaplain Mary Bracken said at an all-faith service in a hall below the flight deck.
The carrier's crew won't get much of a break Thanksgiving, but they will have a feast. When it left its home port of Norfolk, Va., on Sept. 19, the Roosevelt was carrying another important cargo along with its warplanes and bombs: 3,000 pounds of frozen turkey.
Starting Thursday evening, the ship's chefs will pop the 20-pound birds in giant ovens for about 4 to 6 hours, said Petty Officer James Hodge, 34, a manager in the second galley.
The crew of 5,500 men and women, Navy and Marines, will enter the galleys of the huge ship in two seatings Friday morning. The first will sit at the tables at 3 a.m. local time, to coincide with the holiday at home. They will be replaced by those who worked the night shift at 6 a.m.
The chefs will also prepare 1,600 pounds of baked ham in pineapple sauce and 2,300 pounds of roast boneless rib-eye beef, as well as tomato soup, roast potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, canned carrots and cornbread dressing.
The dessert menu includes pumpkin pie, cherry pie, minced meat pie, lemon meringue and ice cream.
It is a massive effort to prepare the banquet, but the mess staff of 300 is not daunted.
``We're used to it,'' said Hodge, 34, of Philadelphia.
Crew members said that being away from home for more than two months is the hardest part of their mission, but that the mission's goal is what keeps them going.
The pace of the airstrikes is so intense that most of them have little time for more than a quick check of e-mail or a phone call back home before they lie down to sleep after their shifts, dog tired.
``It's always hard to be away from your family, no matter whether it's holidays or not,'' said a Marine F/A-18C Hornet pilot, identified only by his call-sign Squeeze.
``We kind of consider ourselves a family out here,'' said the 45-year-old pilot from Beaufort, S.C. ``We're obviously standing very busy, which makes for the time going a lot faster.''
The other two groups are led by the carriers USS Carl Vinson and the USS Kitty Hawk.
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EDS NOTE: CONTENTS MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--U.S. Navy MSSA Aaron Boyd of Richmond, Va., bastes turkeys cooking in the oven of the mess hall on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on station in the Arabian Sea on Thanksgiving day, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2001. The mess hall will feed some 5,500 sailors and officers who are away from home for the holiday participating in Operation Enduring Freedom. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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EDS NOTE: CONTENTS MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--U.S. Navy MSSA April Grant of Boxelder, MT., stacks trays of pumpkin pies she cooked for Thanksgiving in the mess hall of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2001. Thanksgiving dinner will be served for the 5,500 officers and sailors away from home on this holiday spent in the Arabian Sea as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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Thurs November 22 7:06 AM ET Sailors Say Prayers for Afghanistan By HRVOJE HRANJSKI, Associated Press Writer
ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (AP) - As fighter jets landed after a bombing mission over Afghanistan (news - web sites), sailors on this carrier said Thanksgiving prayers for the people of that war devastated nation.
``For us, life, freedom and pursuit of happiness is a commonplace. For others, it is a dream,'' Chaplain Mary Bracken told an all-faith service in a hall below the flight deck on Thursday.
Bracken, 40, of San Antonio, Texas, reminded the congregation of a few hundred Christians, Muslims and Jews, of the oppressive policies of the Taliban regime. The Islamic militia that once ruled most of Afghanistan has been forced into the southeastern quarter of the country over the last two weeks.
Some of the crew saw Thanksgiving as a time to reflect on Americans coping with the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.
``This Thanksgiving, people back home, they have the opportunity to be thankful for their lives,'' said Petty Officer 3rd Class Dorian Fears, 23, of Cincinnati, Ohio. ``Although there are some people who had lost their lives, their families in mourning can feel assured that we are protecting them from this kind of stuff happening again.''
Earlier Thursday, the Miami Dolphins cheerleaders danced and sang to hundreds of crew members of the Theodore Roosevelt.
Some crew members stood on jet wings to get a better view of the seven dancers, wearing hotpants and waving pompoms to James Brown's ``Living in America.''
``It's good for the people's morale, with all this fighting that's going on,'' said Aaron Glover, 24, from New York City.
The cheerleaders signed autographs and dined with the sailors. Men waited turns to have their pictures taken with them.
Petty Officer Penny Price, 37, agreed the show was good for morale. ``But I wish the cheerleaders weren't so scantily clad. Or at least showed up with a male escort equally scantily clad,'' said Price, one of 700 women among the crew of 5,500.
The ship's commanding officer, Capt. Richard O'Hanlon from New York, said he is trying to bring a variety of entertainment that might appeal to women as well as men.
But Thanksgiving did not promise much of a break for the crew. The F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18C Hornets continued taking off from the flight deck to prowl the skies of Afghanistan. But the crew was promised a traditional Thanksgiving dinner - turkey, baked ham in pineapple sauce, roast boneless rib-eye beef, tomato soup, roast potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, canned carrots and cornbread dressing.
The dessert menu includes pumpkin pie, cherry pie, minced meat pie, lemon meringue and ice cream.
``The crew has worked extremely hard, roughly 14 hours a day,'' O'Hanlon said. ``But we operate just like a city, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.''
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EDS NOTE: CONTENTS MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--U.S. Navy "Shooter" LCMDR Tom Karney of Rockville, Maryland, right, watches as a F-14A Tomcat is prepared to be catapulted from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2001. The holiday did not stop pilots from the carrier from carrying out their strikes against the Taliban as part of Operation Enduring Freedom . At center is ABE3 Piotr Andrezjek of Poland who pushes the button to launch the aircraft when the Shooters are working from the deck. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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Thursday November 22 12:22 AM EST Upstate Sailor's Family Wishes He Was Home - Thanksgiving is a time for families to gather, but not everyone can be close to their loved ones for the holiday. (WYFF TheCarolinaChannel.com)
Thousands of American families are currently apart because of military deployments in Operation Enduring Freedom -- including many Upstate families like Anthony Brown's.
Last Thanksgiving, Brown, 20, spent the holiday with his father, stepmother and three younger sisters.
"He has a lot of courage," Brown's sister, Nikki Brown, 11, said.
But this year, he can only be close to them through letters and e-mail.
"He says, 'Dad, what's up? I got the letters you sent.'" Brown's father, Tony Brown, said.
Anthony Brown joined the U.S. Navy (news - web sites) in August 2000, his father said. It was a surprise to his father, who never expected his son to go to war
Now, Anthony Brown is aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Arabian Sea.
"Before he left he told me, 'Dad, I'm ready to do my job and lay down my life for the country if I have to,'" Tony Brown said.
Since then, Tony Brown said that freedom has a new meaning to him.
"That's when it hit me what living in this country means. The freedom we have we take for granted everyday," he said.
He said that he believes that it's something to be especially grateful for this Thanksgiving.
"I'm just thankful that young men and women are willing to sacrifice even their lives," he said.
"I think it's cool because he's willing to risk his life for America," Nikki Brown said.
But Anthony Brown's family worries a lot.
They said that faith, collecting photographs and his letters keep them going until he comes home and they can celebrate the holidays together again.
"I'll give him a big hug," Nikki Brown said.
"I'm going to tell him I missed him and I love him so much," his sister Emily Brown said. Anthony Brown's father said that he is scheduled to return to the United States in March.
He's a firefighter for the Roosevelt's crash, salvage and recovery team. More than 5,000 soldiers live and work aboard the aircraft carrier.
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