Just months before Leading Seaman Angelo Aires and Petty Officer 1st class Lindsay Stohl planned to say B次元官网网址業 doB次元官网网址� at their wedding, they found themselves making do with hugs and kisses Tuesday morning before StohlB次元官网网址檚 warship went to sea.
The Sooke couple planned to marry October, until word came that HMCS Regina was needed in the Arabian Sea to conduct patrols, as part of an American-led naval counterterrorism mission underway in the Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean.
B次元官网网址淭he navy doesnB次元官网网址檛 help with (wedding) planning,B次元官网网址� Stohl quipped as she stood on the flight deck of the frigate, her arms wrapped tightly around her fianc茅.
The tears in StohlB次元官网网址檚 eyes were mirrored in the eyes of more than a hundred military members struggling through their final goodbyes to partners, parents, children, teens and a few tiny babies.
Many clutched packages of tissues handed out by Military Family Resource Centre staff members, standing on the nearby jetty.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 hard,B次元官网网址� said Aires, who only returned to CFB Esquimalt in February after a seven-month voyage to the Mediterranean Sea aboard HMCS Vancouver. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檇 like to get married. WeB次元官网网址檒l just make it happen when she gets back.B次元官网网址�
While in the Arabian Sea, Stohl and about 250 army, navy, air force and civilian personnel will be on the lookout for vessels that may be running drugs, weapons or people, as well as monitor traffic patterns, and deter trouble in the unstable region.
To maximize patrol capabilities, seven unmanned aerial vehicles and a three-member civilian team from ING Engineering are going with Regina.
It marks the first time a West Coast naval warship will use the small rocket-fuel powered airplanes, which can fly more 15 hours non-stop as they record and relay data and images back to the ship.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 exciting. It brings a whole new capability to the navy,B次元官网网址� said Ottawa-based ING team leader Brian Williams, who operated the same ScanEagle remote-controlled technology in Afghanistan. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 another tool in their tool box.B次元官网网址�
The voyage will be as difficult as it is rewarding for crew members over the next eight months, said navy Lt. Nigel Tully.
B次元官网网址淭hese people get to go through and experience things that the average Canadian doesnB次元官网网址檛 get to do,B次元官网网址� the Esquimalt resident said.
As the padre on board Regina, it will be his job to provide crew members with the spiritual guidance and mental and emotional support they need to do their jobs.
B次元官网网址淚 just get to know them as people and you have a different appreciation for what they are going through,B次元官网网址� Tully said, watching a sailor snap one last family photo of a military member standing with his wife and two young boys.
Cmdr. Jason Boyd, commanding officer of Regina, said his goodbyes to his wife, his eight-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son at their Esquimalt home before heading to the ship.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a day of mixed emotions B次元官网网址� mixed because itB次元官网网址檚 hard to leave any family behind for eight months,B次元官网网址� Boyd said, adding that the mission also holds a lot of excitement.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e been working very hard for the last several months to get the ship and the people ready to do this. The day has come and we just want to get going.B次元官网网址�
emccracken@vicnews.com
