Reporter Central Kitsap
USS STENNIS After eight months at sea the aircraft carrier is back Pages 7-10
FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2013 | Vol. 28, No. 33 | www.CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.com | 50¢
She’s Back By WES MORROW wmorrow@soundpublishing.com
Petty Officer 1st Class Ixchel Mattes is a hospital corpsman aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis. She will miss her son’s eighth birthday on Thursday, but she’ll be there to give him his birthday present one day late when she gives him a hug on the pier for the first time in eight months. The Stennis is expected to return to its homeport in Bremerton Friday. It dropped off members of its air wing earlier this week in San Diego before heading out for the final leg of its trip. The ship has been deployed to the fifth and seventh Fleet areas of responsibilities — the Middle East and Persian Gulf and western Pacific Ocean respectively. It was sent out early last September just four months after returning from its previous tour of duty. See STENNIS, A7