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thedrifter
10-02-07, 06:35 AM
USS Whidbey Island deploys
WVEC Norfolk -

The amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) left Monday for the Persian Gulf or Fifth Fleet area of operations.

The 609-foot-long Little Creek-based ship has a crew of more than 400 sailors and can carry more than 500 Marines, along with four air cushion landing craft.

Information Systems Technician 1st class Sabrina Collins just left the ship, and says her former shipmates are more than ready, come what may. The sailor, who was recently transferred to the USS Enterprise, speaks highly of her former shipmates, calling them “excellent” and “highly trained.” She also says she will miss them very much.

So, too, will family members, who must now cope without their sailors throughout all the upcoming holidays.

"We're looking forward to Halloween,” said Connie Kennedy, wife of a Whidbey Island sailor. “Then, it's going to be Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, then his birthday and my husband's birthday on the ship. Then he'll be home, and we're looking forward to that."

“I don't think civilians have any idea how hard it is,” added Ann Morgan, whose husband also serves on Whidbey Island. “I mean, they leave home and we have to do everything back at home; paying the bills and the garden and looking after the kids and the animals and the cars, taking control of everything so they don't have to worry about anything when they're on the ship, so they can do their job."

Whidbey Island is commanded by Cmdr. Michael Junge, who took command on August 3.

Junge’s previous duty stations include the destroyer USS Moosbrugger (DD 980), the frigate USS Underwood (FFG 36), navigator on amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) and executive officer on the guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG 6 .

The Whidbey Island just came back last December 4th, but the Navy says this wasn't a "surge" deployment, but a regularly scheduled one.

Either way, this is supposed to be a six month deployment, meaning, if all goes well, they'll be back next April.

Ellie