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When Allyssa lost her mother, she gained a father figure.
Twelve years later, Aviation Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Orrintell Whyte and Fire Controlman 3rd Class Allyssa Haynes are serving together aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68).
“She’s actually my niece,” said Whyte. “Her mom was my sister, and that’s always been my promise to her: that I would raise her daughter right. I feel like I did that.”
Whyte, originally from Kingston, Jamaica, joined the Navy in October 2002. Now, 20 years later, Whyte has four children currently serving in the military, but he never expected to serve with them in the same command.
While the chances of family members being deployed together are nearly zero, a number of unlikely occurrences were necessary for them to reunite in this context.
“It’s a big coincidence, really,” said Whyte. “I came to California when I was on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), and she had just graduated high school and decided to join the Navy. After boot camp, they sent her to Washington, and I later found out she was on the Nimitz. After I left the Lincoln, I went to the HSM (Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron) 73 “Battlecats” and found out they were part of the Nimitz strike group. Now, we’re on the same ship at the same time.”
Haynes left for boot camp only two weeks after graduating high school, and she applied to be stationed on the West Coast in hopes of being closer to her family in San Diego, which brought her to the Nimitz, where she works as a NATO Sea Sparrow technician.
“My dad was on the Lincoln throughout my entire senior year past my graduation from boot camp,” said Haynes. “When I was in C-school, he asked what ship I was going to be on. I told him the Nimitz, and he said he was going to be on the helo squadron for us, so we’d be on deployment together, which I thought was crazy.”
Since Whyte’s sea duty sometimes came in the way of him being present in Haynes’ life, he expressed gratitude for the opportunity to spend deployment together and compensate for lost time.
“Our relationship actually hasn’t changed much,” said Whyte. “I think she’s happy because now she feels like her dad is actually there. She said it’s like a make-up because I was deployed when she was graduating high school. She really wanted me to be there, but I couldn’t because I was deployed, but now, here we are getting deployed together. It’s like I’m making up for missing her graduation. It’s kind of nice, in a way.”
Haynes said she’s always happy to see Whyte during her day-to-day while transiting through the ship.
“It’s pretty cool seeing him in the mess decks and saying ‘What’s up, Dad?’” said Haynes. “He’s very busy, especially when he’s on the flight deck, so I can’t see him all the time, but it’s just really fun to bump into him. The funniest thing is when he introduces me as his daughter, and people won’t believe it until we show them all the family photos.”
The novelty of their particular situation isn’t lost on either of them.
“I was thinking about it, and it’s a cool experience that not many people get to witness,” said Whyte. “A lot of people can say their parents retired from the military, but how many people can say they’ve spent deployment with their parents? Not many, so I think it’s cool.”
While Whyte is nearing retirement, he’s gradually getting ready for his transition to civilian life, and Haynes is looking forward to making the most of her time aboard Nimitz.
“I’m going to be here until 2025,” said Haynes. “It’s a cool first/last moment. He’s been in for a long time. I do want him to retire, unless he makes chief, but it’s a once in a lifetime thing: my first deployment and his last.”
| Date Taken: | 12.25.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 12.29.2022 23:08 |
| Story ID: | 436088 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Family Ties, by PO1 Preston Jarrett, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
