VIRGINIA BEACH — Friends gathered on a white line at Naval Air Station Oceana on a cloudy morning Friday just before 8:30. Ahead of them, pilots of Strike Fighter Squadron 83 flew in formation just above the tree line. It’s the first time the Rampagers had been over American soil in nine months.
Carrier Air Wing 3, part of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower’s strike group, returned after months in the Red Sea, and Lt. Russell Hill said he was more than ready to get back to life stateside. He and wife Hannah Kate Hill stood together, practically glued at the hip, as families clad in red, white and blue chatted around them. It was the first deployment for the Hills, who have been married for three years.
“I personally have been craving strange things,” Russell Hill said. “I want to go to the gym not in uniform. Then, I want to go into Walmart immediately after working out. (I missed) just all the freedoms that we have.
“I’ll be taking advantage of that, and then things like waking up in my own bed and having a backyard. There’s a lot of amazing things on the boat and some amazing people, but at the same time I’m excited to get some quality time with my wife.”
Hill said he’s also looking forward to spending time with his dog, Martin-Baker, named for the manufacturer of his F/A-18E’s ejector seat.
Inside the hangar, military families set up buffets for the returning pilots and met with U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans and Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer. Children in matching outfits posed for family pictures, holding homemade signs welcoming their parents home.
Deployment in October came amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
The Navy aircraft carrier strike group and air wing launched crucial strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen to protect military and commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. With Houthi forces threatening merchant traffic, Eisenhower sailors, with the Air Force, led seven pre-planned strikes into Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen. Pilots aboard the Ike flew more than 13,800 sorties, accumulated more than 31,000 flight hours and completed thousands of aircraft launches and recoveries, according to the Navy.
The group’s deployment was extended twice.
About 12% of the world’s trade typically passes through the waterway that separates Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, according to The Associated Press. Capt. “Starvin” Marvin Scott, the commanding officer of Carrier Air Wing 3, said it was easy to keep morale high aboard the Eisenhower.
“When the Houthi started to escalate the conflict, (Carrier Strike Group) 2, Carrier Air Wing 3 and the Ike Strike Group, we were ready to respond,” Scott said. “I’m super proud of the men and women (of the strike group) for responding precisely when required to defend the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.”
Scott said Houthi conflicts created a “dynamic” deployment, and the Navy needed to coordinate with partners as the Houthis become more aggressive.
“It was something we really haven’t seen for our carrier strike group to be close to that kind of fight, really, since World War II,” Scott said. “It’s been a constant evolution when they started escalating. When they started shooting at American forces on December 31, then when they masked their forces in an attack on January 9, we responded precisely.”
Shortly after the Rampagers landed, families of Strike Fighter Squadron 131, or the Wildcats, gathered to meet their pilots. Cmdr. Sean “Ross” Reed said despite two extensions, everyone on the ship handled the pace well. His 3-year-old-daughter gripped his neck as he spoke to reporters, and he said his first meal will be sirloin steak with grilled vegetables and baked potatoes.
“At the end of the day, this was a deployment, and you never know what’s going to happen,” Reed said, noting that Friday ended his fourth deployment. “You just kind of rolled with whatever the task that came. We answer the call and do what we have to do. It’s definitely different than anything I’ve done in the past.”
Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com
A correction was made on July 12, 2024: Because of a reporting error, an earlier version of this article misstated the city in which Carrier Air Wing 3 returned. The air wing returned to Naval Air Station Oceana, which is located in Virginia Beach, not in Norfolk.
