“Is he safe? Is he OK — mentally and emotionally?” she would ask herself.

Petty Officer 1st Class Drew Holbert deployed Oct. 14 from Naval Station Norfolk with aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower for what the couple thought would be a typical six-month deployment with port calls and regular communication with the family.

The idea of a “typical deployment” faded 12 hours after the Eisenhower pushed off the pier when the warship and its strike group were ordered by the secretary of defense to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to deter wider conflict amid the Israel-Hamas war.

The family didn’t know then their patriarch would become part of the Navy’s most intense combat since World War II.

___

No guide book for this

At their Virginia Beach home in November, the smell of burnt grilled cheese hung in the air.

“Momma! Momma, look!” exclaimed Kelly Michael, then 3, doing a strong man pose.

The family’s labradoodle puppy, Scarlett, barked incessantly and their 9-year-old golden retriever, Brody, whined for attention.

“I need help with homework!” Penelope, 8, shouted from her seat at the dining room table.

The TV in an adjoining room blared as Harper, then 6, turned up the volume.

“Two more hours until bedtime. We can do this,” Kelly said under her breath as she scraped crusted cheese off a sizzling frying pan.

Her mumbled motivation was almost lost in the sounds of a full house as the family settled into its evening routine.

When her husband deployed, Kelly was thrust into tackling the challenges of life solo — juggling three young children, two dogs, a full-time job, upkeep of their home and her emotional well-being. It’s not easy being a mom, she said, but being a mom with a deployed spouse takes the cake.

“And it is not something that comes with a guide book,” Kelly said, tears welling up in her eyes. “There is no ‘how to’ on being a Navy wife.”

Meanwhile at sea, aircraft mechanic Drew Holbert and his fellow sailors aboard the Eisenhower and its strike group vessels became embroiled in firefights in the Red Sea for the bulk of their deployment, defending merchant vessels and military ships traveling through the Suez Canal that were the target of attack drones and anti-ship missiles launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen.

The Houthi attacks on shipping escalated after the start of the Oct. 7 Israel-Hamas war, and the U.S.-led campaign against the Houthi rebels, overshadowed by bombings over the Gaza Strip, turned into the most intense running sea battle the Navy has faced in nearly eight decades, its leaders and experts told The Associated Press.

U.S. Central Command reported almost daily instances of missiles being fired toward U.S. Navy ships in the Middle East for the nine months the Eisenhower was deployed to the region. Drew Holbert, his wife said, was part of the team that prepared aircraft for retaliatory strikes under the cover of darkness.

“He actually told me this deployment was worth it. The adrenaline of being part of it, he loved it,” Kelly said.

___

‘I wasn’t ready for a war’

But as Christmas approached, Kelly kept thinking about her husband’s proximity to danger. It was the first Christmas that Drew Holbert would miss celebrating with their three young children. The Holberts had experienced a deployment in 2017. At the time, the couple only had infant Penelope and Kelly was pregnant with Harper.

“I could not do this — raise the kids alone — for the rest of my life, God forbid something happen to him,” the mother said. “But when you have kids, you don’t have a choice. You have to be OK.”

Red Sea attacks kept making headlines online and at home.

“Do you have CNN on?” Drew said to his wife in a text message shared with The Virginian-Pilot.

Continual news of Houthi attacks combined with the “thought of the unimaginable,” Kelly said, pushed her emotions over the limit just 75 days into her husband’s deployment.

“I was ready for a deployment. I wasn’t ready for a war,” Kelly said Dec. 27 in a tearful voice recording shared with the Pilot.

But it was far from over.

The U.S. designated the Iran-backed Houthis a terrorist organization in January and launched a campaign to strike back. The Eisenhower strike group and its air wing engaged in combat with dozens of Houthi-employed one-way attack drones traveling by air, sea or underwater to target critical shipping lanes, according to U.S Second Fleet.

“I know the best place for them to be is on the ship. But it is still hard and I don’t like it. I don’t really want to do this anymore,” Kelly said tearfully.

Several scheduled port calls were canceled. Sailors aboard the Eisenhower spent six months at sea before they set foot on land, visiting Greece in late April.

While Wi-Fi for personal devices was available for sailors in designated spaces, it was occasionally turned off for days at a time, forcing the Holberts and about 5,000 other families to rely on brief, infrequent emails to communicate with their sailors.

The isolation, Drew told his wife in a text message, was “insane” on one’s mental state. In the same conversation, he said he had been experiencing “really bad anxiety.”

“I’m just praying they let us go home in time,” he told her in a text.

___

‘Where’s Daddy?’

The widespread news made it difficult for Kelly to shield her children from the ongoing conflict.

“A kid should not have to worry about war, people killing people, and if their dad will ever come home,” she said.

But Penelope spotted a magazine in the waiting room of a doctor’s office. On the cover was a dead child in the rubble following an airstrike on Gaza. When explaining the situation, the mom included the younger siblings in the conversation.

“Now, if you ask Kelly Michael, ‘Where’s Daddy?’ He will say, ‘Killing the bad guys.’ I mean, how else do you explain it to him?’” Kelly said.

In the weeks after their dad deployed, the children went through bouts of tantrums and misbehavior, Kelly said. Throw-down fits became routine for Kelly Michael while Penelope was unusually quick to cry. Harper, who the mom said is typically unbothered, would randomly say, “I miss my dad.”

To help Penelope through the deployment, Kelly enrolled her in Operation Hero, a free after-school enrichment program offered by the Armed Services YMCA of Hampton Roads. The program, available to military children in second through fifth grades, addresses unique obstacles they face, including parental deployment, stress related to frequent moves and trauma if a parent is wounded or killed in service.

Makayla Torrey, an Operation Hero facilitator, said a parent’s absence as a result of military service is a tough topic for kids 7 to 11 to understand.

“They don’t understand why parents have to leave them or why they have to miss their birthdays or holidays,” Torrey said.

Oldest children, like 8-year-old Penelope, typically have more responsibility when a parent deploys as they are tasked with helping the non-deployed parent with other siblings and household chores, she said.

Penelope became her mom’s helper and sounding board, filling the void left by her dad, Kelly said. Penelope recognized when her mother was overwhelmed and would step in to help with the younger children.

“That turns into mom guilt. Like, am I putting too much on her? But also, I need her,” Kelly said.

___

Reconnecting …

On Jan. 3, Kelly clung to a text message instead of her husband on their ninth wedding anniversary.

“You’re strong and resilient, the hardest working woman I’ve ever met and that includes the jobs you don’t get paid for. I love you with all of my heart. To spend a life with anyone else would be a waste of my time,” Drew texted his wife. “You are the brightest part of my life and you always will be.”

Despite only being alone for about an hour a day, Kelly said this deployment felt lonelier than the one seven years ago. The chaos of kid life and her missing co-parent reinforced her loneliness, such as when Harper went to the emergency room after a bad fall or when Kelly Michael’s father missed him breakdancing in the living room.

Communication was an ongoing struggle.

“Reconnecting is my marriage now,” Kelly said as the couple unsuccessfully video chatted while she tucked the kids into bed one night in May. The call dropped after about 30 seconds.

The longest video call the couple managed lasted eight minutes — on Thanksgiving night about five weeks into the deployment. Since then, Kelly’s days were scheduled around making an effort to communicate with her husband at select times — typically 10 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 7 p.m. or 11 p.m. Often, messages were only snippets of a sentence and would go unanswered for days.

The couple exchanged about a dozen messages and a three-minute video call March 18. On March 20, Drew texted, “I’m starting to get really really upset not talking to you.” It was another three days before he had a chance to check in with his family.

“I had to learn to let go of it all. Let go of my feelings about him not telling me he misses me enough or him not saying he loves me enough,” Kelly said. “Nothing pauses just because you are not getting what you need from your spouse, who is on a ship really far away. Life goes on for everybody around you, so I just had to keep it moving.”

Best friend Tiffany Dixon stepped in to support the Holberts. She had been in their shoes — her father missed 16 Christmases due to deployments when she was a child.

“I think even she didn’t realize how isolating and lonely it would feel to be in this little house with three children,” Dixon said. “Just not having a second grown-up to say, ‘Yeah, this sucks. This life we live is hard.’”

Dixon said her friend is good at picking herself up, keeping things upbeat for the kids and acting on her husband’s behalf. Kelly tackled Christmas shopping and wrapping, surprised the girls with Valentine’s Day gifts from their dad and organized birthday parties.

“Kelly’s strength outwardly in front of the kids is what allows them to continue as if life is normal,” Dixon said. “…The way that the kids coped is very much a testament to her ability to keep their life stable with some sprinkles on top to make it a little bit easier.”

And on the days that were harder — when it was 11 p.m. before Kelly realized they were out of milk or when she was late to a school event she nearly forgot — Dixon was there to help. All the while, Dixon reminded the Holberts about the “light at the end of the tunnel” despite the deployment’s extension to nine months.

“Every deployment ends. It might feel like it won’t, like it will go on forever. But this will end,” Dixon said. “He will come home.”

___

The wait is over

As the Eisenhower entered the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on July 14, Drew ran his sailor’s cap between his hands while sweat collected on his brow outside the airframes and corrosion shop on board.

His mind focused on the narrowing distance between him and his family, how they would celebrate, what they could do together and ordering the Mexican food he couldn’t find abroad.

Over the course of the 275-day deployment, he frequently thought about what he missed at home. He said he kept his mind level by focusing on work.

“This is the first time I have ever missed major holidays or birthdays,” Drew said. “On me, those days were tough. At Thanksgiving, we normally get together as a family, and I couldn’t do that. Especially since I’m night check, I didn’t really get a Thanksgiving dinner. I woke up and I got right to work.”

Penelope was only 22 months old when her father returned from his first deployment in 2017. She wasn’t sure what to make of him in the first meeting; she was too shy to say anything. He wondered this time about 4-year-old Kelly Michael’s reaction.

“I’m more worried about how the kids will adjust to me rather than me to them,” Drew said. “I thought about it a lot and I’m just ready to be with them again after the distance we had.”

Through two extensions, he leaned on the ship’s Wi-Fi granting him access to talk to his family to stay sane for himself and for the sailors around him.

“This deployment showed me what we can do,” Drew said of his crewmates. “There were a lot of ups and downs. I saw what we could accomplish with our minds in it. We all came together, and we all took care of one another. That’s how we made it.”

The carrier strike group accumulated more than 31,000 flight hours and completed more than 10,000 aircraft launches and recoveries and more than 13,800 sorties in a busy operational tempo during the combat deployment, the Navy reported. Overall, the strike group launched attacks against more than 460 Houthi targets.

A quick visit from Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro to sailors waiting in the hangar bay concluded their time on board. Before departure, Drew called his wife on the pier to organize where to meet in the chaos of thousands eagerly awaiting their loved ones.

“I love you,” the husband said. “I will see you soon.”

In the shadow of the bow, Kelly Michael stomped his feet in a jig as he chanted, “Daddy’s home, daddy’s home, daddy’s home!”

Kelly wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck and let a few tears fall. Inches away, Penelope and Harper desperately tried to hide their own tears.

The Holbert family had finally closed the roughly 5,000-mile distance between their lives.

“I couldn’t do what I needed to out here without someone like Kelly back home,” Drew said. “She holds it down at home, and I don’t have to worry about anything at home.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Caitlyn Burchett, 727-267-6059

Billy Schuerman, william.schuerman@virginiamedia.com, 832-451-2465

The Virginia Beach and North Carolina architect and design firms were recruited by the museum to bring the monument park to life. The design of the park aims not to memorialize a single tragic moment in time, but rather to celebrate and recognize the actions of everyone on June 6, 1944, said Matt Pearson, architect and founding principal for Studio X Design.

“This is a celebration. This isn’t meant to be a somber place. That said, people can feel whatever emotive qualities they want to, but it’s meant to be a celebration and acknowledgement of what they did on that day,” Pearson said.

Situated on the dune precipice of the Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer shoreline at Omaha Beach, U.S. Naval Combat Demolition Units/Scouts and Raiders Monument Park overlooks the D-Day landing zone known as Dog Red. French sandstone slabs inscribed with the events of June 6, 1944, line the park, encircling a hedgehog barrier, an obstacle made of angled metal beams designed to stop tanks. The original obstacle sits in sand gathered from locations all over the world where demolition units and Navy SEALs served in combat.

Adjacent to the hedgehog barrier, a demolitioneer in combat gear, sculpted from an 8-foot-tall granite pillar, illustrates what members of the units looked like. Stone benches wrap around the perimeter of the monument park’s 7,500 square feet, shaded by canopy trees overlooking Omaha Beach where troops came ashore 80 years ago.

“It began as a small granite marker and now it is an interactive place that you can walk through,” said Erin Horton, senior landscape architect for Clark Nexsen.

The naval combat demolition units were among those tasked with clearing 50-yard gaps on Omaha Beach to land the planned 2,000 troops an hour for the D-Day invasion, according to the Navy SEAL Museum. One of the first teams ashore was wiped out as it landed, and another lost all but one man as it prepared to set off explosive charges. Of the 175 members at Omaha Beach, 37 were killed and 71 wounded — a casualty rate of more than half, the museum said.

The survivors succeeded in clearing five main channels and three partial channels of obstacles before the rising tide forced them to withdraw. By the end of the day, one-third of the obstacles had been destroyed or removed.

“June 6, 1944, was the worst day in what would later become Naval Special Warfare history and there was nothing to commemorate what these men did,” said retired Capt. Rick Woolard, chairman of the Navy SEAL Museum.

The naval combat demolition unit training school was formed in 1943 in Fort Pierce, Florida, with the first class being volunteers pulled from the bomb and mine disposal school in Washington, and the Civil Engineer Corps and Naval Construction Training Center at Camp Peary near Williamsburg, according to the museum.

The monument park also honors the Amphibious Scouts & Raiders Unit, a joint Army and Navy team that formed in 1942 at Virginia Beach’s Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, then called Amphibious Training Base Little Creek. The Scouts & Raiders conducted pre-assault operations at Normandy several weeks before D-Day. On June 6, 1944, they were tasked with guiding assault waves to the beaches.

“The weather was terrible. There was a strong longshore current. There were the obstacles and heavy German fire,” Woolard said, describing what the troops faced. “But they managed to get ashore and establish a foothold by the end of the day, which enabled the rest of the invasion to continue and, eventually, the Nazis to be defeated.”

Woolard, a Virginia Beach resident, served as a Navy SEAL for 30 years. He was assigned to Virginia Beach-based SEAL teams multiple times across his three-decade career, including serving as commanding officer for Naval Special Warfare Development Group — or SEAL Team 6 — from 1987-90.

The concept of the park began two years ago, Woolard said. The museum spearheaded the monument and hosted a fundraising campaign to cover the $2 million cost. Overall, the project involved dozens of partners from the U.S. and France. Clark Nexsen was selected, Woolard said, because of the work the company did on the Navy SEAL monument at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront boardwalk in 2017.

The goal, Woolard said, was to complete the monument park in time for the 80th anniversary of D-Day so people who were on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, could have the opportunity to be part of the dedication. The park was complete in 20 months — an impressive feat, Woolard said.

“Something like this should have taken about five years,” Woolard said. “But there was a sense of urgency to get this done.”

As people visit Omaha Beach, the monument park is intended to serve as living history, Woolard said. Notably, the monument park at Omaha Beach incorporates QR codes so that the monument can be expanded beyond the granite slabs. Laser-etched on the monuments, the QR codes can be scanned by a smartphone that will lead visitors to a website with additional historical information.

The park is adjacent to a German bunker, which Pearson said played a role in the selection of the location.

“It is more than experiencing the monument. It is also about looking out and seeing just how long these beaches were at low tide when they came ashore and all the bunkers and the obstacles they had to fight through,” Pearson said.

The monument park sits at a confluence of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. It is also about 500 yards from the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France. The cemetery site, first established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944, was the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II.

Woolard said he hopes visitors will honor the dead, but also recognize “the deed.”

“This is what it takes to have freedom. We did this as a nation 80 years ago, but we need to appreciate today the sacrifice and the courage required to do what was done on the beaches,” Woolard said. “We would like to never have to do that again, but we need to recognize the magnitude of it, should we ever have to do it again.”

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com

“Are we still planting milkweed and wildflowers here?” Denny Long asked, motioning to the field.

Long, self-proclaimed “the butterfly man,” said he remembers when the site looked more like the landfill it once was. Now, the Navy’s Environmental Restoration Program is working to give the lot a new purpose while mitigating the impact of long-lasting chemicals that contaminated its soil.

“It is essentially just a field now — nothing can ever be built here — but the site is being rehabilitated to help wildlife,” said Brett Cianek, restoration project manager for St. Juliens Creek Annex.

The St. Juliens Creek Annex Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command hosted its annual restoration advisory board meeting Wednesday, taking community members, Navy officials and environmental restoration representatives on a tour of active sites where PFAS and other toxic, forever chemicals have been detected.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — or PFAS — are a class of compounds used to make products resistant to water, stains and grease. The military contributed to PFAS pollution with its use of firefighting foam laced with the chemicals. The foam was used during military training exercises in the 1950s, but has since been limited to emergency situations, the Navy has said. The substances have been dubbed “forever chemicals” because most do not degrade in the environment.

St. Juliens Creek Annex, a 490-acre naval facility at the confluence of St. Julien’s Creek and the southern branch of the Elizabeth River, was named to the national Superfund priority list in July 2000. The federal program requires the cleanup of uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites and emergency releases of pollutants into the environment. The Navy invested about $40 million in getting long-term environmental threats under control after a century of storing ammunition and ordnance there. The facility also was involved in firefighting training operations.

As of May, the annex had seven sites undergoing environmental monitoring. Of those, four were identified in December as part of a site inspection that looked for PFAS.

Public concern for PFAS trickling into neighborhoods by way of groundwater grew last year when the Environmental Protection Agency recommended a national standard for the contaminants in drinking water. Its restrictions, finalized on April 10, outline that PFAS should have a concentration level much further below the agency’s previous guidance of 70 parts per trillion to be considered safe.

After the EPA proposed the regulation, the Department of Defense last year launched investigations into more than 700 facilities suspected of potential PFAS posing a pollution threat to drinking water for nearby communities. The department’s September briefing detailed that about one-third of the facilities had been investigated and that “forever chemicals” are trickling out of at least 245 U.S. military bases.

At St. Juliens Creek Annex, 21 on-base groundwater samples were found to have PFAS properties above 70 parts per trillion, officials with Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command said in February. Those samples were from a warehouse, a fire training area, an industrial site and the Regional Fire Training Academy. All those locations were suspected of having firefighting foam either used or stored there, based on records, Cianek said.

The four new sites — along with two sites previously identified near the fire training area — are undergoing remedial investigations. The purpose of a remedial investigation, Cianek said, is to better define the contaminant — what chemicals are present and what are the risks to people and animals and how might they be mitigated.

“What we have done at this point is essentially identifying the highest risk,” Cianek said.

A timeline for when a solution would be identified and implemented, Cianek said, is impossible to provide at this stage.

While there is more work to be done to restore the environment at St. Juliens Creek Annex, the restoration program has made significant strides over the past 20 years. A total of 56 sites have been cleaned up and require no further action.

“We cannot risk human health by using these sites, but as we move forward, we do a feasibility study and proposed plan to figure out the best remedy for the site and what it can be used for,” Cianek said.

A gravel road that runs parallel to the Elizabeth River leads to one of the completed, yet still active, sites. What once was a landfill is now a wetland. Having been transformed roughly 20 years ago, Site 4 is lush with vegetation and wildlife. The area no longer has to be monitored on a bi-annual or annual basis, and is instead reviewed every five years.

“Like with Site 4, the solution is sometimes as simple as putting in a land-use control for humans, and essentially giving the land back to the wildlife. It all depends on the severity of the damage,” Cianek said.

Long’s fluorescent pink shirt reflected on his face as he took in the wetland Wednesday during the tour.

“I remember when all this used to just be dirt,” Long said. “This whole base has changed in the last 10 years.”

Long, 61, has been a contractor at the base for 22 years. Before that, he was a Navy sailor serving aboard destroyers as an electronics technician.

Long said he walks St. Juliens Creek Annex each workday. He began attending restoration advisory meetings around 2015. Long recommended the program plant milkweed for the butterflies.

“And now I will be walking and see a kingfisher bird, or the coyotes and foxes will run around. All these things are coming back because of the mitigation and the work they are doing,” Long said. “We can’t stop what we did, but we can fix it.”

Cianek’s head bobbed in agreement as he said, “And we are going to continue working toward that.”

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com

___

Want to know more?

The Navy offers free sampling of drinking wells for residents living within one mile to the west of the annex. The sample area was identified based on the direction that groundwater flows. Residents interested in having their drinking wells tested should visit go.usa.gov/xSvtw. To learn more about the Department of Defense’s effort to address chemical releases on military installations, visit acq.osd.mil/eie/eer/ecc/pfas/.

The cruiser departed Jan. 28 from its Norfolk homeport to support drug interdiction security operations in the Caribbean for three and a half months. The 39-year-old ship, four years past its expected 35-year service life, is scheduled to be decommissioned in September, according to a spokesperson for Naval Surface Forces Atlantic.

“This is a profound final chapter for one of the Navy’s finest ships, and their crew should be proud of all they accomplished,” said Vice Adm. Doug Perry, commander of Norfolk-based U.S. 2nd Fleet.

During its final deployment, the Leyte Gulf partnered with U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 404 to disrupt the trafficking of 4,100 kilograms of cocaine, according to a 2nd Fleet news release. The team detected and seized three sea-going vessels and a self-propelled semi-submersible with another 2,370 kilograms of illicit drugs on board. The operation resulted in the arrest of 15 narcotics traffickers.

“Our Leyte Gulf team was ready when called upon to execute all three interdictions,” said Capt. Nathan Diaz, commanding officer of the Leyte Gulf. “The successful seizure of more than $42 million in illicit drugs is a testament to the interoperability of our partner nations, the Coast Guard and the Leyte Gulf team.”

Throughout its near four-decade lifespan, the Leyte Gulf has deployed to the Mediterranean, the Arabian Sea, Somalia and the Indian Ocean, the Navy said. Notably, it responded to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, setting sail for the coast of New York alongside aircraft carrier USS George Washington in support of defense and humanitarian efforts.

The ship was constructed in 1985 and commissioned in 1987. It was named after one of World War II’s largest naval battles, The Battle of Leyte Gulf, fought in 1944 in the Philippine Sea. The warship has been homeported at Naval Station Norfolk since 1997, according to Naval Surface Forces Atlantic.

“This ship is full of history. Each period brings its own far-off journeys, along with generations of sailors who have manned the helm,” Diaz said. “Our last deployment was full of sailors who made their own mark on the story of this great warship. Though our namesake comes from a battle long ago, the U.S. is still performing with a level of combat expertise and professionalism that we’ve always had as we protect the homeland.”

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com

The House committee launched an investigation after lawmakers said they met with medical professionals and whistleblowers who work at the medical center in March to discuss the delivery of care after recent scrutiny. Led by U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, the House committee on April 9 requested documents related to disciplinary actions against employees, patient safety reports related to the medical center’s surgical department and policy language on the medical center’s cleaning of exam and procedure rooms. Lawmakers gave a deadline of April 26.

As of May 16, the VA had yet to provide any of the requested information to the committee, said Kiggans, a Hampton Roads representative who serves as the chairwoman of the committee’s oversight and investigations subcommittee.

“Every day these allegations go unaddressed is another day patients may be at risk,” Kiggans said in a news release Friday.

Kiggans and the committee said they received credible complaints of employee retaliation, patient safety concerns and medical incompetence stemming from the Hampton Veterans Affairs facility and its surgical department. The allegations, a spokesperson for Kiggans said, were brought by more than a dozen individuals, including patients and former and current employees at the medical center.

The investigation, a committee spokesperson said, is examining whether medical center leaders are working to fix the alleged issues at the facility, including those identified by two Office of the Inspector General reports, or if issues are being covered up by retaliating against medical professionals who raise concerns. In both cases, the OIG does not say who brought the allegations or the nature of their relationship to the patients.

“The allegations surrounding Hampton VAMC are incredibly serious. They have created serious concerns that Hampton VAMC lacks the competent leadership needed to repair an imploding Surgical Services department,” lawmakers wrote in a letter sent to VA Secretary Denis McDonough.

The Department of Veterans Affairs responded to the committee’s letter Monday, VA press secretary Terrence Hayes told The Virginian-Pilot.

“We have been investigating and taking steps to address concerns at the Hampton VA Medical Center since August of last year, including making multiple site visits to review and evaluate surgical services and instituting clinical care and peer reviews of the surgical care we offer. We continue to work closely and urgently to make sure we are delivering the world-class surgical care that local Veterans deserve, and we will not rest until any issues are addressed,” Hayes said.

In June 2022, the Office of the Inspector General, an internal watchdog, reported several failures at the Hampton VA Medical Center over about two years that led to a delayed cancer diagnosis. Despite the delays, the report noted “earlier diagnosis may not have impacted the patient’s outcome” due to the nature of the cancer.

Health care providers had failed to communicate, act on and document abnormal test results, including an abnormal CT scan in 2019 that indicated possible cancer in the prostate gland, the report said. The oversight office found facility staff and leaders were aware of the deficiencies in the patient’s care but took no no action to initiate or submit patient safety reports.

The OIG made seven recommendations, all of which have been implemented at the Hampton VA Medical Center.

The Hampton VA medical center came under scrutiny again in September 2023 after the watchdog reported failures in care that delayed the diagnosis and treatment of a veteran who died of cancer.

The office started an investigation June 10, 2022, following the March 2022 death of a patient. About six months before the patient died, a mass “worrisome for malignancy” was found in their right lung, but more than five months passed before the patient saw an oncologist, the report said.

The inspector general could not determine if the delay contributed to the patient’s death as the report said it was likely the patient had metastatic disease, or cancer that had spread, when the initial mass was found. The investigation found multiple care coordination deficiencies, such as scheduling and communication, led to the delays in diagnosis and treatment.

The Office of the Inspector General “determined that the decisions made regarding the patient’s care, including the timing of the appointments and the initial biopsy, suggested a lack of urgency, despite the patient’s multiple symptoms and worrisome imaging results,” the report said.

In an Oct. 2 statement to The Virginian-Pilot, the Department of Veteran Affairs offered condolences to the veteran’s family, “both for their loss and for the unacceptable delays in care.” VA spokesperson Gary Kunich said the department was taking urgent steps to prevent delays from happening in the future and to ensure the delivery of high-quality and timely services to every veteran patient.

As of Monday, only two of the seven recommendations made by the inspector general’s office had been implemented at Hampton VA Medical Center, according to the department website.

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com

Youngkin approved changes Monday to Virginia’s Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program under a blanket waivers and related stipends section on page 641 of the 682-page second chapter of the budget. Accordingly, the military survivor and dependent tuition waiver — as well as all other tuition waiver and stipend programs — will no longer be available to graduate students, and qualifying undergraduate students will have to apply for and use other eligible federal and state financial aid first.

The program provides a tuition waiver and an annual stipend to spouses and children of veterans who are killed, missing in action, taken prisoner or at least 90% permanently disabled as a result of military service or combat. Advocates for the program have denounced legislating major changes through the budget process and turning what they say is an earned benefit into need-based aid.

The changes went into effect Wednesday. That same day, Youngkin issued Executive Directive Seven to create a task force to review how the eligibility requirements may affect military families and identify potential changes to be considered by the legislature in the future.

“Although the General Assembly’s program eligibility changes are a good-faith effort to ensure the sustainability of VMSDEP for our military families, I have heard from General Assembly members from both sides of the aisle that some of these changes may result in unintended consequences and that the efforts to ensure the long-term health of the program and the preservation of the waiver program would greatly benefit from thorough public engagement with our veteran community, especially our Gold Star families,” Youngkin’s directive said.

Youngkin submitted a proposed amendment in April that would have tasked the stakeholder group with making recommendations on legislative actions and budgetary modifications by November, but it was shot down by the General Assembly.

The reforms were recommended by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to rein in the tuition waivers’ cost, which the council said nearly quadrupled from $12 million in 2019 to $46.3 million in 2022. Hampton Roads universities, and others across the state, have been forced to absorb the lost revenue or spread the cost of the waiver to other students. The cost of the tuition waiver is expected to exceed $13 million at Old Dominion University for the upcoming school year, ODU spokesperson Amber Kennedy said previously.

Lawmakers also approved $40 million to be distributed across two years, Youngkin said, marking the first time funding has been allocated to offset institutions’ loss of revenue from the tuition waiver.

“We must continue to explore ways to support and sustain this important program,” Youngkin’s directive said.

The budget language said the changes, except for the requirement to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, won’t apply to students enrolled in the program over the past year or who committed to their summer or fall 2024 semester by May 15. Youngkin’s directive instructs the task force to make its guidance clear that the program would cover the grandfathered students’ duration of study or until their four-year eligibility is exhausted, whichever comes first.

Virginia lawmakers took issue with the “unrealistic enrollment deadline” in a letter to Youngkin dated Wednesday. They said language in the budget also raised concerns about the program’s ability to uphold the original promises made to the state’s veteran population. The letter was signed by 17 state senators, including Hampton Roads lawmakers Bill DeSteph, Christie Craig and Danny Diggs. The senators supported a comprehensive study of the waiver program to ensure its longevity.

Friends of VMSDEP, a group of volunteer advocates, described the changes to the program as an attack on Gold Star families and disabled veterans and their families. Gold Star families are spouses, children, parents, siblings or others whose loved one died in military service.

“Enough is enough. We rebuke attempts to compel military survivors and disabled veterans to seek financial assistance and incur debt,” the group wrote in an online petition to urge lawmakers to preserve the tuition waiver program. “We reject any notion of categorizing veteran benefits as needs-based aid.”

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com

“There’s more demand on us than ever. There is a clearly defined need for us to continue this role in carrier onboard delivery,” said Cmdr. Andrew “Tweedle” Dumm, commanding officer of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 40, also known as the Rawhides.

The squadron had to pivot from a downshift in operations to what Dumm described as an unprecedented demand in December when the Department of Defense grounded hundreds of V-22 Ospreys after a part failure led to the deaths of eight service members in a crash in Japan.

The Osprey, which can fly like an airplane and then convert to a helicopter, was approved to return to flight in March but enhanced maintenance requirements mean the need for the Rawhides has not let up, according to Naval Air Force Atlantic. A return to flight isn’t the same as a return to mission, a spokesperson said.

The stand-down came as the Navy nears the end of a multiyear effort to replace the service’s aging C-2 Greyhounds with the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.

The Navy began disestablishing the Rawhides’ sister squadrons in 2019. West Coast-based aircraft carriers were the first to make the transition to Ospreys, with the last of the sister squadrons, Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 30, shuttered on Dec. 8 — two days after the Osprey stand-down.

The Rawhides squadron, established in 1960 in Norfolk, slowed its operational tempo in preparation for a 2026 decommissioning, but quickly deployed detachments to support the Navy fleet while the Ospreys remained on the ground. One detachment is made up of two planes and about 50 sailors.

“We would split the world in half, effectively,” Dumm said. “But now, we have taken on that entire role.”

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Historic round-the-globe deployment

One detachment deployed with just three weeks’ notice to support San Diego-based carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. Typically, Dumm said, sailors have about six months to plan for a deployment.

“The entire squadron saw what happened and they understood the mission,” Dumm said. “They understood the focus, and they are seeing how they fit in. It is one line removed from a direct impact. It is ‘when I bring this, I am helping protect freedom of navigation. I am helping to protect civilian traffic. I am helping to protect the world.'”

As of May, four Norfolk-based detachments had deployed to Bahrain, Singapore, Japan and San Diego to support carrier strike groups for the Roosevelt, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, USS Ronald Reagan and USS Abraham Lincoln. A fifth detachment is scheduled to deploy later this year to support the USS Harry S. Truman’s upcoming deployment.

It will be the first time in the history of the Rawhides, Dumm said, that five detachments will have deployed from the squadron in the span of one year — a significant uptick from two to three detachments per year. With 200 sailors deployed and another 50 preparing to depart, it means the bulk of the squadron’s 400-person unit will be spread across the globe.

“And we are waiting to see what else is next; what else will be tasked,” Dumm said.

The remaining 200 sailors and five planes will support aircraft carriers training off the East Coast. The squadron also can be tasked with responding to humanitarian crises, such as earthquakes or hurricanes.

The demand, Dumm said, has increased the “perceived pressure to perform” — to maintain the aging aircraft, to prepare for deployments and to respond to each task.

“It is the maintainer, it is the sailor, it is the people that continue to inject life into this aircraft,” Dumm said. “Without them, it’s just a piece of cold steel and aluminum.”

Recently, the squadron’s hangar bay was occupied with five planes in various states of repair as civilian contractors and sailors worked on them. Two planes were undergoing a 30-day planned maintenance interval while others were undergoing faster routine maintenance.

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‘We will do whatever it takes’

Chief Veronica Deck, 34, an aviation maintenance administrator, said the increased operational tempo has meant sailors work longer hours and may even sacrifice a weekend to ensure aircraft are fit to fly. She said she has pushed through the demanding workload by considering the big picture.

“We might have to work a weekend, but we have people out there that don’t have a weekend off, period, that we are supporting — providing them assistance and supplies,” Deck said.

Deck reported to the Rawhides in March after deploying with a helicopter squadron aboard the Eisenhower. The ship, deployed to the Red Sea, is supported by a Rawhides detachment based in Bahrain.

Petty Officer 1st Class Phillip Nigbur, 39, a mechanical aircrewman and crew chief, said switching from a divestment mindset to readying all aircraft for the mission has challenged the procurement of replacement parts. Units that previously supplied the Rawhides were disestablished, he said, and planes from sister squadrons were retired from service and sent to the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base’s aircraft boneyard.

“But wherever there is a will, there is a way and we always find a way to get it done,” Nigbur said.

Nigbur has been assigned to the Rawhides squadron for nine years. He will deploy with the Truman later this year as part of a detachment.

“There is pressure, but at the same time there is pride for us as a whole to say that, yes, we were called upon and we will do whatever it takes in a safe way to get these birds out the door so we can provide support and pick up for our brothers, the Osprey community,” Nigbur said.

The timeline for the squadron’s disestablishment in 2026 has not changed, but Dumm said the planned divestment of detachments is not occurring as scheduled.

“We were in the mindset of preparing for a sundown of this platform,” he said. “We are still working toward that end, but it’s a little less certain right now.”

The accelerated workload is expected to persist through the end of the year, Dumm said.

A vibrant mural depicting a C-2 Greyhound flying over the ocean stretches across a hallway wall in the squadron building. Displayed at the bottom right corner is the Rawhides’ orange-scripted motto: “We deliver.”

“When something breaks on the carrier and there is not a replacement, there is not a spare — it just stays broken until someone brings it,” Dumm said. “We are that lifeline, and we will continue to rise to the challenge.”

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com

1st Lt. Zachary Galli, 23, was an explosive ordnance disposal officer assigned to the 749th Ordnance Company based at Fort Carson, Colorado. He was training at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana when he died in a “non-combat related training accident,” officials said.

“It is with an extremely heavy heart that I inform you of the passing of 1st Lt. Zachary Galli,” said Col. Brennan Fitzgerald, commander 71st EOD. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and family of the Galli family, the 749th EOD Co., and the greater EOD community.”

Galli graduated from Lafayette High School in 2018 and from the University of Virginia in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology.

“We extend our thoughts and condolences to Zachary’s loved ones,” a UVA spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The accident is under investigation.

Galli had been in the Army for one year and nine months. His awards included the Army service ribbon, the National Defense Service medal and the Global War on Terrorism service medal.

Staff writer Sam Schaffer contributed to this story.

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com

On Friday, the Navy said two hovercraft vessels collided during training off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. A third hovercraft, also known as air-cushioned landing craft, immediately responded and transported 38 service members onboard to the USS Wasp and USS New York for evaluation and treatment. Of those, 30 were injured.

The sailors and Marines were serving aboard the amphibious ships, both homeported at Naval Station Norfolk. One of the hovercraft vessels was from the Wasp and the other was from the New York, said Lt. Cmdr. Kristi Johnson, spokesperson for U.S. 2nd Fleet. Both hovercraft vehicles remained afloat and have since returned to their ships, she said.

Five of the injured sailors required medical evacuation to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia. Four of the five were released from the hospital after treatment, according to the Navy. One sailor remained in the hospital as of Friday.

“Our primary focus is on our sailor’s health and well-being,” Johnson said.

The remaining sailors and Marines had minor injuries and were treated aboard the Wasp and New York. The incident is under investigation.

The service members have been training off the East Coast since mid-April as part of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group and 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit as they prepare for deployment this year. Johnson declined to comment Friday about the mishap possibly delaying the deployment.

“But I can assure you that we are committed to ensuring our units are trained and ready to respond to any tasking worldwide,” Johnson said.

*Correction: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this story inaccurately reported the number of injured service members. Thirty-eight were onboard the two hovercraft vessels. Of those, 30 were injured.  

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com

Lyndon Joel Cosgriff-Flax, 22, was with a harbor security boat team conducting a familiarization exercise on the York River when he died, said Max Lonzanida, spokesperson for the Yorktown installation.

Cosgriff-Flax, a master at arms, accidentally fell overboard around 8:05 p.m., Lonzanida said.

Cosgriff-Flax was from Wichita, Kansas. He enlisted in the Navy in August 2021 and reported for duty at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown in February 2022. The 3rd class petty officer was assigned to the base’s security department.

His death is being investigated, Lonzanida said.

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com