My cousin, Jon, left for Iraq this weekend. He flies a C-2 (nicknamed the "Greyhound") airplane for the Navy. He will, fortunatley, have shorter deployments and will live off the ship, but still within what is considered a war zone. We're still hoping he will come home when scheduled so he can see the birth of his second child, a son this time. Above, Jon stands with his wife (far right and preggo) and daughter, the curly strawberry blonde directly under him in the wagon.We saw his mother (my Aunt) Saturday, and she told us that he's outfitted his house, his mom's house and the laptop he will take to war with him with webcams and everything they would need to communicate with each other and see them as often as possible. She also said that his aircraft also has some communication systems that will allow extra opportunities to chat, gratis. I hope to keep in touch via email to hear about his adventures and views about life abroad and at war.
His wife sent this email out to friends and family:
"At least he has started his 2.5 month Detachment/deployment and now it's just a matter of time before it's OVER! I took him to base this morning at 5:30. Ella in her pjs and Rudder excited to go for a ride in the car but concerned because Daddy had suitcases and he knows what those mean.
He should be on the ship as I write this, where he will stay for 3 days. Not sure what time his plane left but the carrier was a 2-3 hour flight off the coast. I'm not expecting to hear from him until Monday or Tuesday when they get to Roda, Spain. The rest of July he will be traveling the Med. in places like Roda, Sicily, Italy, and Souda Bay, Greece.......yeah, google that one......
Also recently and "possibly" thrown into the mix is Cairo, Egypt. During the first couple days of Aug. they will arrive in Bahrain where he will stay until October 1st when his current orders say he'll be returning to me! As Jon's job does not usually require him to fly missions that put him the middle of warfare, his job flying much needed cargo (such as parts for other air crafts, and other equipment that breaks) as well as high ranking dignitaries of military branches around the world, he certainly doesn't leave him out of harms way all together. Not to mention Bahrain is considered a war zone and he will be living there for 2 months. With that said I ask you to please keep him along with the other 5 COD pilots and their 35 or so crew in your thoughts and prayers.
His leaving hit me a little harder today than I thought it would. I'm used to him working all the time and being gone on weekends but I can at least look forward to seeing him some. The house feels very empty today and I realized it's not going to be full again until he comes home in October. Other than that I'm perfectly fine, we've got fabulous neighbors and friends and Aunt Judy and Lee so close by. I am nervous about this baby wanting to come too early and him not being home in time. I do know that if I do start labor before October 1st the guys taking Jon's place will already have arrived in Bahrain and the skipper will likely get Jon on the first flight to the states to be with us. I can do labor without him, I just don't want him to miss it. "
Our prayers will always include him (and Emily, Ella and baby) and all our hopes of a quick return at the end of his deployment.
