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[MANILA, PHILIPPINES] – When Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) shifted colors to begin its Western Pacific deployment, anxious Sailors lined the flight deck saying ‘goodbye for now,’ to their homeport.
For a couple of Vinson Sailors assigned to Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department (AIMD) this feeling was all too familiar.
Nearly 20 years ago, Chief Aviation Support Equipment Technician Ronelyn Benton, AIMD IM-4 Division Leading Chief Petty Officer, left her native home of Lemery, Batangas, Philippines, for San Francisco, California.
“I left the Philippines after finishing nursing school to live with my father,” said Benton. “I didn’t know what to expect.”
As Vinson sailed through Manila Bay preparing to drop anchor and shift colors, Benton returned home for the first time in more than a decade.
“We call it Balikbayan,” said Benton. “Balikbayan is when people return home to the Philippines.”
Benton wasn’t the only Vinson Sailor to say ‘balikbayan’ for this port call. Aviation Support Equipment Technician 2nd Class Reljan Laureta, another AIMD Sailor, hasn’t been back home since his family immigrated to the U.S. in 2017.
“USS Carl Vinson is known to be one of the best commands in the fleet. To be a part of it is an honor and I will forever be grateful,” said Laureta. “There are no words to express my happiness that I am visiting my home after seven years of being away. It’s not just about reconnecting with my relatives and loved ones, but also giving back to my homeland.”
While on deployment, thoughts of a homecoming might make Sailors feel a range of emotions. For Benton, all anxieties left and she was looking forward to experiencing the culture once more.
“I will see my cousins,” said Benton. “I am very excited to be back home in the beautiful country of the Philippines, it is such a tight-knit, hospitable culture.”
Returning home after more than a decade might sound hard for some Sailors, but Benton says that this year the Navy gave her a new sense of family away from home. As Vinson inches closer to its return to homeport, Benton finds comfort in the new relationships she’s forged aboard America’s Favorite with her new brothers and sisters.
“This year I became a Chief and have really found that tight-knit family in the Chiefs Mess,” said Benton. “The Navy did a lot for me, not just food on my table, but comradery… family.”
| Date Taken: | 01.09.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 01.18.2024 03:33 |
| Story ID: | 461994 |
| Location: | PH |
| Web Views: | 102 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Returning Home: Port Call Manila - Vinson Sailors Balikbayan, by PO2 Terrin Hartman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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