Carrier (2008–…): Season 1, Episode 9 - Get Home-itis - full transcript
Looks at the burden of spending six months away from friends and family.
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♪ it's a long road
to paradise and oh, I feel the pain
they tell me things are different now
but I still hurt the same
haze gray and under way
a world away from you
and miles and miles of blue ♪
Being on deployment really
isn't all that bad.
It's a lot of fun.
You know, you get to do a lot,
you get to see a lot, you get
to see the world, but you
don't get to see your family.
Who or what do I miss most
while I'm out on deployment?
Well, if you ask my family, if
I said anything other than my
dogs, they'd know I was lyin'.
Um, but really, the honest
answer is my family.
I miss my car.
It's kind of messed up to say I
miss my car; I miss my wife too.
I sent my son home to my parents in
Phoenix, um, in July of last year.
And we didn't actually leave
for deployment until may.
So two months into cruise,
he had already been gone for
a year, and that's hard.
I miss food the most.
I lost 15 pounds because I can't
get in my own kitchen and cook.
What's on the menu this
time for when I come home?
We're having oxtails and rice,
collard greens, cornbread,
sweet potato pie, peach cobbler, and
if I'm lucky, I'll get a pot of gumbo
on the side too.
I had a girlfriend when I left.
I had a girlfriend for
about five years.
It turned out she couldn't quite
wait as long as I thought.
I just want it over.
I want to go home.
Subs rip, edit, and resnyc by
© VJ Me 2010
One, two, three.
Hut.
One, two, three.
Two.
One, two, three.
Three.
One, two, three.
Four.
One, two, three.
Five.
One, two, three.
Six.
One, two, three.
Seven.
One, two, three.
Eight.
One, two, three.
Nine.
One, two, three.
Ten.
One, two, three.
Eleven.
One, two, three.
Twelve.
One, two, three.
I cried the day
I went to boot camp.
A 21-year-old man,
in my rack, crying.
So I'm like, "OK, I'm gonna
think the worst, and if
it doesn't happen, it's
better than I thought."
One, two, three.
Three.
One, two, three.
Four.
The first week sucked.
No sleep for three days.
Learning how to walk around and
figure out what the hell is going on.
I'm like, "oh, man, what'd
I get myself into?"
One, two, three.
Six.
One, two, three.
Seven.
After the second week, I'm
like, "OK, this is a game.
It's a mind game.
I can play this."
It's just an on and off
switch you had to turn on,
turn it off when you needed to.
You just couldn't let it
get to you.
And some people let it, and
other people didn't, you know?
One, two, three.
Three.
I didn't break. Getting out of boot
camp, and it came out pretty good.
It was a very good decision
for me.
Fourteen eight.
Fourteen eight.
We're good to go.
Everything's set up.
We got a little rudder
play on the left rudder.
Ok.
I had Oligark look at it
already.
He said it's good to go.
He just greased it up.
Ok.
Marine Corps is
definitely my family.
Uh, my own family is pretty
messed up.
I was left at a carnival...
I know that sounds pretty funny,
but I was left at a carnival
when I was... three.
Um, my biological parents
were carnies that worked on
the show, and they took off
and took my sister with them
and left me there with a
guy that I call Uncle ed.
When you ask about my biological parents,
if I knew 'em or remembered 'em,
I'd tell you now, if I ever saw them...
I'd, I'd beat the living...
out of them.
The things that I remember as a
three-year-old are ridiculous.
There's so much anger at the
stuff that my parents hold.
And now that I'm a father,
that comes back and haunts me.
I sit, looking at pictures my son, and
I go, OK, I'm gonna be a good dad.
My biological parents
were drug addicts.
My adoptive dad had a
battle with alcohol.
My biggest fear is turning into the person that...
That I came from.
♪ Flying all around him pray
to the waters to get us home
flying all around him... ♪
Everybody on this ship, if they don't
have a little get-home-itis right
now, they're numb.
You know, but... I'm lt. Lonnie Fields,
San Diego, California,
born and raised.
I got a little get-home-itis
being away from your family.
And starting to get close to the
arrival time, the get-home-itis starts
to pick up.
I can't wait to get home.
I can't wait to be on land.
I just want to drive my car.
You know, I want to do...
I want to go do something
on the beach with my family.
There's some anticipation, some anxiety.
You don't know what to expect.
You know, it's gonna be like
hugs and kisses when you get
there, and then, ten minutes
later, when all the show is
gone, it's like, "OK, got this
new dude back in the house,
trying to run things."
You know, so it's
gonna be interesting.
Maybe I better take a class.
You know, they got these
classes.
You go there so you can work
back into the family, you know?
I'll probably need to
go attend one of those.
I'm married, I have two kids,
Lonnie Fields III, 11,
and Maya Alejandra Fields.
She's six.
Actually, she's seven.
I missed her birthday again.
My wife's name is
Cynthia Vargas-Fields.
She couldn't get rid of
that Vargas.
Even though I had her in a
headlock for two and half
hours, she still wouldn't give it up, so...
I just love them dearly, and
that's one of the reasons why
I'm out here doing what I do.
But it's really hard for me,
you know, to miss my son's
football games or taking
that little girl somewhere.
So I'm missing those good
moments with the children.
Hello.
What's up?
Nothing. What are you doing?
I'm just chilling.
Where you at?
We're getting ready to
go to the air show.
Oh, really?
They kind of excited about it?
Hold on.
Why?
Hold on, hold on.
All right.
Hey Dada.
What's going on?
Um, nothing much, really.
Nothing much!
Aren't you going to the air show?
What's up?
Yes, sir.
You guys, what are you
guys gonna go see?
The Blue Angels and some other
planes and all that stuff?
Yes, sir.
Are you, you ready to
come out to Hawaii?
Yes, sir.
Are you sure?
Yes, sir.
Mm-hmm,
are you excited?
Yes, sir.
Very much.
I love you.
When bear gets there...
Yeah.
You're gonna have to
talk to him about Holly.
Ok.
You're gonna have to like, bring
it out of him, because he's...
Is he bottling it up or
something right now?
He's been kind of like, really
cruel to everybody around him.
And we talked about it yesterday
and I told him, I said,
"I think you're angry about
a lot of different things,
and I'm trying to figure out
where it's coming from.
And we need to talk
about these things.
But we need your help."
And he admitted...
He's like, "I dot know.
I just don't know what to
think about it, and I don't
want to think about
it because it hurts."
He said that?
Yeah.
He doesn't want to talk
about Holly.
He doesn't want to think
about Holly.
I'll talk to him.
I think he'll be...
He'll be a little better when he comes
out here with me.
So what about you?
You been good?
Of course I've been good!
I'm always good.
All right, I'll call.
All right, love you.
I love you too.
Bye.
Bye.
Ahh!
At the end of deployment,
we have tiger cruise.
Friends and family of crew
members get to come out and
ride the boat home with us for
the five days that we transit.
I think a lot of people don't
have a true understanding of
what life's like out here.
It's amazing what we can
accomplish on a daily basis.
I mean, we are our own little
floating city, and I think
that's gonna amaze a lot of
people.
Everybody's like, "oh,
you're in the Navy.
You know, you go to all
these foreign ports."
But that's just such a small
part of what it is that we do.
There's a lot of sacrifice
out here.
So I think that's what
they'll take away.
Hello?
Happy anniversary, baby.
I love you.
How's Aidan doing?
Aidan's asleep right now.
He's asleep?
Oh, no, he's awake now.
Did you hear him?
Yeah, I heard him.
He was like, "uuh."
Are you doing OK?
The days are dragging now.
I just want to get home.
It just sucks.
You know, hearing Aidan,
not seeing him.
Getting home, don't
know what to expect.
You know, my hands will probably
be shaking like a leaf.
It's been trying with the baby.
But I'm sure everything will
be fine when you get home.
I just hope you'll be able
to get along with him.
I'm sure you will.
He's really adorable.
Are you there?
I'm here.
I love you.
I love you too, baby.
Well, I got to get going in case...
All right, baby, I'll let you.
Ok, baby.
And give Aidan a kiss for me.
Take care, please.
All right, I will.
Love you.
Love you.
Bye sweetie.
Love you too.
Bye.
Bye.
What I miss the most about being on
deployment is, is my wife and my kids.
Uh, this is the fourth year
in a row that I've missed my
birthday, the second...
Or, I'm sorry, the third year,
out of four, that I've
missed my son's birthday.
The second anniversary
that I've missed.
I've missed every mother's day since
I've been on the ship except one.
Uhh, that's very hard to take.
I miss home.
I miss my family the most.
Family.
I miss being at home.
Take a nice hot bath.
My own bed.
I miss my son the most.
Being able to go out
after work.
Freedom.
Quiet.
I miss good food.
Chocolate pop tarts.
Going to McDonald's.
Good food.
McDonald's.
I miss pizza.
I like pizza.
I miss land.
I miss working in my yard.
I miss very much the sound
of birds.
That was never something that I really
thought about very much, but I...
I sure do now.
If she wasn't here, I would
miss her more than anything.
I don't really have a
girlfriend right now to miss.
Uh, and even if I did, I
think I'd miss my mom more.
Sex.
The thing I miss the most, to
be honest, is being normal.
I... I feel like a Dyke janitor every
day when I put on this outfit.
Cooking, music, free time, being
able to get in my car and drive.
Friends.
Sleep.
You.
Two point five.
Bearing one four six.
Hello, CATCC, you swinging
the big rigs some more?
One, five, four.
Ok, thank you.
It's CATCC...
One, four, e madam.
Four e, thank you, bye, bye.
O-o-d-u-I-c-a-t-c-c
one minute to push.
Ok, bye.
Take handle
one point three airborne.
Two ten. Deuce.
Tell 207. Have Marsha tell 207 he
may be needed as an open stone.
Copy that.
Yes, sir.
Hobo on a hot dog.
Gopher on soft dirt.
What was it?
Fly on the meadow what?
Meadow muffin?
Oh, yeah, I don't hang out in cow
pastures much, but we're good.
All right.
That's a new one for today.
Fly on a meadow muffin.
Apparently has something
to do with cow pastures.
Cow patties.
I didn't have cows.
You're about as
redneck as they come.
You should know about cows.
I'm not as redneck as they come; I
never owned anything bigger than
a sheep dog.
You can't even do math.
How's that make me a 'neck?
That just makes me a dork.
That just makes me dumb.
Let's go ask the eight
ball if I'm a redneck.
All signs point to yes.
He would say, "hell yeah!"
Hillbilly.
My name is Susan Clapp, and I'm
originally from Dalton, Georgia.
He could adjust once
503 and 202 on deck.
I took a friend
to join the Navy.
She needed a ride.
I had a car, she didn't.
I went in with her.
It seemed neat.
I joined, she didn't.
That was sixteen years ago.
Why did they put 100
back in the tanker pile?
He's not a tanker anymore.
He's adjusted all the way down.
He is adjusted
all the way down.
I was offered, when I
enlisted, um, four jobs,
and one of them was air traffic
controller, and I knew I liked airplanes.
So I chose it, and once I
got into it, I loved it.
I can't imagine doing anything
else.
What kind of turn
you guys giving him?
Hold the traffic.
They've been doing left
turns all night long.
Stick to left turns.
103, I'm talking about 103.
We just gave him a right turn.
They've been doing left
turns all night long.
I agree.
Stick to it!
When it's busy, everybody's very
focused on what they're doing and when
the recovery's over, you just blow
off the steam from that recovery.
So we do whatever it is
that we do to relax.
Go, go, go.
I have three kids.
Two girls and a boy.
It's hard to be away from them
like this, but I call them
every day so that I can talk
to them.
Sometimes, they're really good
at being strong and just tell
me about their days.
But then, there's other days that, you
know, especially the ten-year-old,
she starts to cry.
That's my son, Noah.
He is so cute.
I do not have a husband.
We're divorced, and we're fighting over
the custody of the kids right now.
But he has temporary custody
while I'm on this deployment.
I really don't know what'll
happen, but I think I'll
regain the custody of my
children once I get home, once
the deployment's over with.
Good afternoon, guys!
Welcome to "new parents"!
This is the one class where
I'm not telling you that you
are doing something wrong!
This class is fun and exciting
'cause you guys are going home
to something new,
something cool.
It's not just you and
your wife anymore.
Don't let this interfere with
your relationship, though.
Children need to bring your
relationship closer together,
not farther apart.
There's a good number of
couples that will be having
a few problems to begin with.
And then, the baby's born
and they're really happy.
But they're not focusing on
fixing whatever problems
were in their relationship
to start with.
So for your homecoming, who's
gonna greet you at the pier?
Chances are, it's gonna
be mom and baby.
Who are you gonna approach
first?
Your wife's first.
She's the one you fell in love
with.
She's the one you're gonna
be with.
Give her the hug, give her the flowers,
and then check out your new baby.
And if no one else has told you
this already, don't be the
one person that comes down the
pier without the flowers.
What are your first words
gonna be to your wife?
"I love you.
I'm happy to see you."
Not, "gee honey, you
put on some weight!"
Parenting is the one thing in
life that you can do without
any prior training, and if you
had a great family environment
growing up, and you look up to
and you respect your parents,
then chances are, you're gonna
do a lot of those same things,
and you're gonna be a great
parent.
But I imagine at least half
of you, maybe better, had
situations that were abusive,
verbally or physically.
You know you don't want to repeat those
same patterns in your own family.
So there's confidential
counseling at "fleet and family"
if you need it.
I hope you guys are all excited.
I'm really excited for you.
Good luck to you guys.
I have no idea what's gonna
happen when the kid's born.
I mean, this is my kid.
You know, this baby's gonna
look up to me for everything.
And, you know, I'm not even
married to Tanya, and I live
in an apartment, and
Ski is my roommate.
I don't know what to do.
I don't know what I'm gonna do.
I mean, I'm gonna see
what it takes.
Of course I'm not gonna choose
going to get drunk and play
drums with the guys over
having to watch the baby
or take care of the baby,
and they'll understand.
Between playing the drums and
taking care of the baby, yeah.
Hmm.
Is this a picture of the baby?
Yeah, that's
a picture of my son.
When my wife had the baby,
I just felt kind of weird
because we did whatever the
hell we wanted, when we wanted,
and all of a sudden, we couldn't do
anything without thinking about him.
And she's insanely
infatuated with him, dude.
Really?
You know, as much as I wish
I could go back and just do
what I was doing before cruise, you
know, just hanging out and having fun.
The only thing really to worry
about was what time I had to
go to work, what time I got off,
and if I had watch that night
or that weekend, and what the
hell I wanted to do around
California, you know?
It's gonna be rough.
I don't even have
living room furniture.
I remember the first time she let him
stay with her grandmother was like
a couple of hours, and then,
she was all like trembling and
stuff like that, and she got the
shivers, and she had to run.
She... we had to stop what we
were doing just to come pick
him up and do... do it with him...
Like take him with us.
Does Tanya like kids?
I hope.
For the kid's sake, huh?
Everyone keeps saying we're gonna get
married, and really, I haven't known
the girl for six months now.
I'm gonna go back.
She's gonna be pregnant.
You know, week after that,
I'm gonna have a baby there,
and you know, we...
I'm gonna be going through all
these emotions from just
being off this boat.
You know, and being back home, and
trying to get myself settled back in.
It doesn't help the fact that she
hasn't wrote me in days now, so...
Yeah, totally not cool.
Taley, Taley, can you hear me?
It's mommy.
Hi mom.
How are you?
My kids are doing pretty good.
I talk to them almost every day.
What are you all doing?
They're really, really
getting excited about coming
out to Hawaii to meet the boat.
So that is absolutely
fantastic.
Hello.
Hi Nupe.
Hi mom.
How you doin'?
Good.
I ordered some Girl
Scout candy from you.
Did Yaya tell you?
They have started school.
Um, Noah started preschool.
My baby.
I missed his first day of school.
That was very hard on
me 'cause you know I, and
because of my situation, I
didn't get any pictures of what his
first day at school was like, so...
I miss you, Sparky.
I'll see you
in a couple of months.
A couple, a couple of months?
Ok.
His dad wouldn't send me any
pictures of his first day at school.
I love you, buddy.
Bye, bye.
I don't know what he wore,
or you know, anything.
It's a big moment to miss, and
it's very hard, it's very hard.
I'll call you
later on this week, OK?
Ok, I love you.
I love you, too.
I miss you.
Love you and miss you too.
All righty.
Ok, bye.
Bye, Taley.
I hate saying goodbye.
Hopefully there's the...
Guess not.
Ok.
Hello?
Tanya.
What are you doing?
Sleeping.
Yeah, sleeping.
That's what I thought.
I've been trying to get
a hold of you.
You can tell,
I probably woke you up.
I'm sorry.
So I got this email from you
today.
Like five minutes after I sent
it, you replied back, and you
said you can't go to Virginia
with me and the baby, December
27th to the 9th of January.
Is that what you're saying?
What did you just say?
Huh?
Did you say that you can't go to
Virginia with me and the baby?
Is that what you said?
Yeah.
Me, you and the baby
go to Virginia.
Well, we got to take the baby.
'Cause my parents aren't going to
be able to see it any other way.
So even though we're getting
really close, and I'm really
excited, it's kind of scary,
you know.
Not in a bad way.
I mean, it's just,
just like both.
It's both scary and like
exciting, at the same time.
'Cause I'm gonna be there
in like thirteen days.
We have a lot going on.
Yeah.
What's wrong?
You don't want to go out to
Virginia.
I didn't say that.
You're shy.
Hello?
Hello.
Piece of [Beep] phone!
I'm gonna break the [Beep]
out of you. God!
Oh, my God!
I can't even have a
conversation with her.
Good afternoon,
Defenders of Freedom.
My name is Dwight Gray, and I'm
with the "fleet and family"
support center.
And let me be one of the
first to welcome you back.
Welcome!
Thank you.
Reunion is a roller coaster.
It has that up and down kind
of thing.
How many of you want
a home-cooked meal?
Is that the first thing you
want?
My role, what is my role?
Guys, if you are on your very
first deployment and your wife
has found independence, she's not
going to give it up right away.
You have questions about whether you're
still needed in your relationship.
Yes, you are, OK?
Uh, criticism.
If they dye their hair, gain
weight, change something,
don't criticize them when
you get off the boat.
Don't look at them in
that shocking manner, OK?
Give them that hug.
You love them, but keep
the criticisms down.
You're dating all over again,
because you haven't been couples.
It's easy to do.
It doesn't take a lot.
And if you take time with your
spouses and you take the time
to do the romance all over
again, it will work, OK?
My last cruise, I was married,
but didn't have any kids.
Since that cruise, we've had Madison,
who's now two years old, and Andrew,
who's seven months.
And I've been...
I've been gone most of his life.
My daughter was born in 2000,
while I was on the ship.
She was almost three months
old when I got home.
I got to see the video when I got home,
which was still another gut check.
I got a three-year-old
back home.
That's who I miss the most,
it's my three-year-old.
We did an eight-month cruise.
I left, she was hardly crawling, and
I came home and she was walking.
And it took like, three months just
for her to get to know me again.
I hope it doesn't take
that long this time.
So I need to stop talking about
them, or I start cryin'.
I got a video.
What is it?
My birth.
Not my birth, Aidan's birth.
I don't think
they had them back then.
This is tough.
I missed his birth.
It makes me hurt so bad.
She sends me pictures every day.
And it hurts a little bit,
but it's sort of calming.
I mean, I'm just really
glad I got this, finally.
So I was an ass
when I left, flat out.
I didn't spend a lot of time
with her.
I was at work.
I was trying to pack up.
She would try to do things for
me, or with me, and I'm like,
"I have to go to work, I have to
get stuff prepared to leave."
And it was like a disassociation
for me, 'cause it was tough.
Just because you're a marine
doesn't mean you're not human.
Doesn't matter how big, how
bad you are, it's... it's
the way it is, I mean, emotions.
You're still human.
Randy's gonna be an awesome dad.
He's just scared.
I was scared, too.
I mean, when I first seen my daughter,
I was afraid of dropping her.
I know that's what he's
thinking.
He's afraid that he's not
gonna be a good dad.
But just... just because he
thinks he's not gonna be a
dad, that's the reason why he is gonna
be, he's gonna be an awesome dad.
That little boy is gonna be proud
that Randy is his dad, and that's it.
No email from Tanya again.
Last time she wrote me
was the 18th.
Today is the 27th.
I don't know, dude.
It's like she went on
without me or somethin'.
How many times a day does
your wife email you?
Like um...
A couple of times.
Five, six.
A lot.
This girl's pregnant, and she can't
email me for nine days, dude, to let
me know what's going on.
Dude, I think she doesn't
even care anymore.
I don't even know.
She never tells me how she
feels.
Like, I sent her like the
sweetest email like a week
ago, you know, telling like
how much I care, and how
excited I was come home, and
how you know, no matter how
scary this situation was for
us, that I was gonna come
home and be there, and
not run, you know.
Yeah.
And she, I know she's
gotten it, dude, and she
won't even write me
back with two words.
Well, in three days, you'll be
able to find out what's going on.
That's... right.
I'm done with this, Mirrs, I'm
done with this boat, I'm done
with chief, I'm done with
gunner.
Are you leaving out of Hawaii?
Hell yeah,
I'm leaving out of Hawaii.
Hey, give me the tape.
Unless they try
and take it from me.
It's another world, we
have another world.
My kids, they were supposed
to come for tiger cruise.
But their dad now has decided
he doesn't want them to come.
It's very important for
me to have my kids here.
It's a once in a lifetime
chance for them.
I've been without them long
enough, and my hopes were up
for it, and it's a huge letdown
to know that it won't happen.
You know, I don't envy chief
Shrek at this moment,
being out there, watching that.
Not at all.
It's the only thing that keeps
you going is, you know, on this
date, you're gonna see them.
Smell 'em, touch 'em,
hug 'em, love 'em.
The whole nine.
So it keeps you going.
And to be this close to the
finish line and have that
prize yanked from me is very
hard.
It's real hard.
You know, it's not like
somebody said I'm not a good
mom and can't have them.
It's not one of those
situations.
It's just someone just saying no and...
Just because he can.
This is the hard part
about deployment.
You have no control.
There's not a damn thing
you can do about it.
Hey sweetie.
How are you doing?
I just wanted to call and
tell you I love you.
What?
I wanted to call and
tell you I love you.
So what are we doing, what are
we doing to make up for me
being an ass before I left?
I don't know.
What do you want to do?
Why don't we go to California?
Go to Hawaii.
Well, do we have the money
to spend in Hawaii?
Do I have to get
pregnant again?
Oh, I told you we shouldn't have
stayed that extra couple of days.
That's what did it.
Yeah.
It was for that, it was
for that one night of
Salsa dancing, I'm telling you.
We'll be paying that for
eighteen years, I'm tellin' you.
It was expensive...
That was an expensive cover charge.
You there?
Sweetie?
I'm done with that...
Yeah, yeah, I'm looking at Hawaii
right now, though.
It's awesome.
I'm manning the rails, so I
look all pretty in my whites.
I'm gonna go out tonight,
probably have a little bit of
dinner, me and Marrero.
He just had a little boy.
So I've been hanging out
with him a lot, getting some
information, some advice from
him.
I'll be there tomorrow
evening, OK?
All right, are you excited?
Huh?
You have to pee.
Ok, well, awesome.
All right well, you go pee,
and I'll call you later,
and I miss you, all right?
All right, babe.
Bye.
Thanks, dude.
It's awesome.
Ooooh, man!
I'm starting to get
jittery, man.
Finally home, dude.
♪ It's almost heaven I'm almost gone
I'm almost right so I'm almost wrong
I'm almost thoughtful why don't
you go pick up the phone?
It's almost you
I'm almost home ♪
We've transited pretty darn
near 50,000 miles to get here.
This is our last stop
before we get home.
The money is green, the cars are
American-made, you're back in America.
♪ I'm almost happy that's
almost good I'm almost doin'
and the things I should and it's
almost perfect like Styrofoam
I'm almost there
I'm almost home ♪
look at that,
formation, look at that.
God, getting chills.
I'm getting chills.
♪ It's almost just right it's almost
too nice I almost see through
the fears in your eyes and I'm almost
believing that it's mine to own
I'm almost there
I'm almost home ♪
That was good.
Outstanding.
Outstanding job, everybody.
Outstanding job,
secure along the rail.
Welcome back
to the United States.
What's the drinking age here?
Twenty-one.
Yes it is, very good.
Ok, now I feel better.
I didn't want to hear
sixteen, eighteen.
All right, guys, have a good time.
Please be safe.
Please stay out of trouble.
I don't want anybody in jail 'cause
you know what, I'm going fishing.
I'm not gonna come get you.
So enjoy.
Thanks, guys.
Against all enemies... against all enemies...
Foreign and domestic...
Foreign and domestic...
And I'll bear true faith...
And I'll bear true faith...
And allegiance... and allegiance...
Obey the orders... obey the orders...
Of the president
of the United States...
Of the President of the United States...
And the orders... and the orders...
Of the officers appointed over me.
Of the officers
appointed over me.
My kids are coming
on tiger cruise.
My ex just wasn't going
to let them come.
Really, that was basically
about it.
But I was not gonna just take no for
an answer when there was no reason
why I can't see them.
So I contacted my attorney.
And I'm not really
sure what all went on.
It was just the two lawyers
with the judge, and the judge
sided with me on that one, so...
I hope that they'll take away
how important mom's job is,
what the people out
here really give up.
And maybe by meeting other
people, they'll have the
understanding that sometimes,
moms and dads don't have a
choice, that they have to leave
because the boat has to go.
And being around other tigers
and around other sailors,
I think they'll see
the huge big picture.
It's you!
How are you doing, baby?
Oh, my goodness.
Look at you!
I'm so glad that it
is gonna happen now.
I'm sad that it had to go in
front of a judge just for them
to be able to come see me at
the completion of deployment,
but I'm so happy
that they're coming.
You know, I'm just a little anxious
to, you know, to see the kid.
I, I honestly had a little
dream about it last...
Yesterday, you know, like
he's still little, you know.
I want to see what six months
has done to him, you know.
For all I know, he has
hair on his lip now.
But we'll see.
I just, I just want to see, you know,
how much he's changed, 'cause I know
I haven't changed.
You know, I went from 33 to 34.
I haven't told my son
anything about tiger cruise.
He just knows he's coming.
He has no idea.
I want him to come out here
and expect nothing, and when
it all happens and he's just like,
"wow, that was the best thing
I've ever done in my
whole 11 years of life."
Are you guys all waiting
for the same flight?
Flight 15.
Good, I know where I am now.
They're bringing them
down in a moment.
Oh, are they?
That's what they said.
How would I describe my son?
He's a lot like me
when I was little.
You know, he's nervous
around me.
And I was nervous around
my dad, you know.
I... I think I got into
a lot more trouble.
You know, I was more mischievous.
I got into stuff.
I would say, for his age, he's
a lot more mature than I was
when I was his age.
You know.
He's a very intelligent kid,
you know.
Every now and then, just like
any other kid, he has his own
little self-esteem problems.
He does everything for my
approval, and I know that.
'Cause I did the same thing for
my father, and I still do it
in a sense for him, you know.
Come on over here, kid.
Oh.
How you doing?
Good.
Look at you.
Oh, you got your own camera
and everything now, huh?
Come here,
give your dad a hug, dude.
Ah.
That's all you got, right?
You got a haircut.
No. I have another bag.
Come on, let's go.
You have to sign it.
You have to sign me out.
Yeah, I know.
Here, let me get a photo of you.
The whole experience of being out
here with me, shooting planes
and playing up in the tower.
I mean, he's never gonna
forget it, you know?
So I'm gonna try to make it...
I'm gonna try to make
the emphasis more on him
than for me.
I just want to see it.
I've been on this boat
five months.
I can care less about the
water and shooting stuff.
But to him, it's gonna mean
something.
And that's, that's where
the value comes in.
So what do you got in here?
Got books and stuff?
There's books.
Books.
Oh, God.
Don't you have something you
need to show me right now,
like right now right now?
Envelope, it's in the...
Here, get it.
What's your bag...
What's your bag look like?
Is it the blue one?
No, it's a yellow one.
Hmmmmmm.
Mom said that she told
you about that and that.
What, the c and the n?
Mm-hmm.
What's the n? What's that?
Needs improvement?
In what?
English.
But you got a b.
I mean, how do you need
improvement if you got a b?
The attitude, huh?
Behavior.
Yeah. But I see you brought
that d to a c, right?
Actually, that was an f.
It was a...
You brought it from an f to a c?
Come on, kid, that's cool.
Anyway, I call you my
fourth quarter kid.
You know what that means?
You start off slow in
the first quarter.
Then you start improving in
the second quarter, then you
start improving just a little
bit in the third quarter, and
then, in the fourth quarter, you
just bang it away and win the game.
Remember back in Maryland,
how you started off slow?
There's always been something on
my mind with regards to my son.
He was born in '93 to me and a
lady named Holly Montgomery.
And she had a lot of issues.
She was, you know, involved
with drugs and all that.
Um, we broke up when I went into
the Navy, or shortly thereafter.
You know, I proposed to her.
I wanted her to be my
wife and everything.
I brought her out to Pensacola.
I did all this and she was
there for like two months, and
she was like, "you know what?
I got to get the...
out of here."
Let's go, kid.
And so she did,
and that was it.
She had the smarts enough
to give me full custody.
And, after that, I spoke to
her on a couple of occasions
with regards to my son
and some custody stuff.
Other than that, I really
didn't deal with her, you know.
Only kind of pep talk I did
give her, I told her, I said,
"the least you can do
is call every Sunday.
At least let him know that you
know, hey, I'm gonna talk
to my mother tonight.
Damn it, can you please give me
that?
If you can't, just
don't even do it."
And she's like "OK, OK, OK, I will.
" And she did.
She did that.
I mean, she missed a
couple of Sundays.
You know, she was good for like
five, then she missed one,
but then, she'd, she'd
make it up, you know?
She'd call, "sorry, I couldn't
do it" for whatever reason.
But she tried, she tried
to make it happen.
You know, people like that
aren't very good with schedules,
let's just put it that way.
But she seemed to try
to make that one work.
Let's get another picture
of the kid.
In the taxi cab.
I remember her calling me
and she wanted to see him.
She wanted me to take him to some
motel she was hanging out at.
And I was like, "no,
it's not gonna happen."
And, you know, I'd been, I'd
been direct with her like that
before, but it seemed to have,
you know, she started crying,
you know, and she started
saying all this stuff,
you know, "I'm sorry about
this and this and this."
Just being apologetic.
And I'm like, "is this Holly?"
You know, 'cause she's
normally not like that.
Just a few days later, my mom calls
me and she says, "Holly's dead."
I said, "say what?"
My mom just start breaking
down right there.
You know, just breaking down.
She's like, "she's been shot."
It was like, everybody kind of knew
that something like this may happen.
I mean, the way, if you live
that type of lifestyle,
the potential for being killed,
or killing somebody, or just
coming up missing, you know,
is there.
Which is unfortunate, but you know,
people make their own choices.
Are you ready to go
on this big old ship?
You want to shoot some planes?
Knowing somebody, especially
your son's mom, is killed,
for God's sake, is just,
not good.
I don't even know if I
really got over it.
You know what I mean?
I mean, I still have
my own little moments.
But, I know if I haven't, you
know, I know for sure he hasn't.
You know what I mean?
Some of that, you know, came to
my decision, you know, I'd like
to bring my son out here.
You know what I mean?
So I think it's kind of
special.
Maybe it will take his mind away
for a little bit, you know.
Taley?
Where are you at, mom?
I'm at the...
I'm down here where the baggage claim
is. That's as far we can go.
You are?
Then we're at the wrong door.
F2?
Ok.
Ok, I'm coming over there.
I'll find it.
Ok.
Oh, Taley!
Hey, mom!
Mama!
Oh, my Nupie, you're so big!
Where's your hair?
Hi, Taley.
Hi, mom.
Hi, mom.
♪ I say, now girl you know it's true
his heart and mind will never stop
searching for you and girl, when love
is strong gonna keep on searching
I don't care how long for you
I'll climb the highest mountains
or swim the deep blue seas ♪
About six hours from now,
I'll finally be home.
Pretty rough morning.
Woke up kind of hung over
from the partying last night.
Called Tanya this morning and basically,
I knew something was wrong.
And I just decided to ask her.
I've known something's been
wrong for a while just 'cause
I haven't been getting emails.
I basically asked her if there
was anything she had to tell me,
and that moment, she got
silent, and I pretty much knew
so I started assuming
things and askin' her.
What, what it is now is, she's, I guess,
she's been with her ex-boyfriend
for a while.
She was with him this
morning when I called.
♪ Oh, I would never give up
on you oh, I would never stop
searching for you ♪
You know, this has happened
to me so many times.
Every time I go to the boat.
And I knew something
was going on.
I don't know. I...
Part of me says everything will be
all right when she sees me and
you know, I'm there and...
I don't know what kind of guy
would be with a girl that's
pregnant and, you know, her
boyfriend's on deployment.
♪ Oh, I would never give up on you
give up, give up I'm not gonna
give up on you I'm gonna keep on
searching 'til my searching is through
someday we'll be married and we'll
start anew but until then, girl
I'm not gonna give up on you,
no I will never give up on you
and I will never stop searching
for you and I will never stop
Subs rip, edit, and resnyc by
© VJ Me 2010
corporation for public broadcasting,
and by contributions to
your PBS station from...
♪ it's a long road
to paradise and oh, I feel the pain
they tell me things are different now
but I still hurt the same
haze gray and under way
a world away from you
and miles and miles of blue ♪
Being on deployment really
isn't all that bad.
It's a lot of fun.
You know, you get to do a lot,
you get to see a lot, you get
to see the world, but you
don't get to see your family.
Who or what do I miss most
while I'm out on deployment?
Well, if you ask my family, if
I said anything other than my
dogs, they'd know I was lyin'.
Um, but really, the honest
answer is my family.
I miss my car.
It's kind of messed up to say I
miss my car; I miss my wife too.
I sent my son home to my parents in
Phoenix, um, in July of last year.
And we didn't actually leave
for deployment until may.
So two months into cruise,
he had already been gone for
a year, and that's hard.
I miss food the most.
I lost 15 pounds because I can't
get in my own kitchen and cook.
What's on the menu this
time for when I come home?
We're having oxtails and rice,
collard greens, cornbread,
sweet potato pie, peach cobbler, and
if I'm lucky, I'll get a pot of gumbo
on the side too.
I had a girlfriend when I left.
I had a girlfriend for
about five years.
It turned out she couldn't quite
wait as long as I thought.
I just want it over.
I want to go home.
Subs rip, edit, and resnyc by
© VJ Me 2010
One, two, three.
Hut.
One, two, three.
Two.
One, two, three.
Three.
One, two, three.
Four.
One, two, three.
Five.
One, two, three.
Six.
One, two, three.
Seven.
One, two, three.
Eight.
One, two, three.
Nine.
One, two, three.
Ten.
One, two, three.
Eleven.
One, two, three.
Twelve.
One, two, three.
I cried the day
I went to boot camp.
A 21-year-old man,
in my rack, crying.
So I'm like, "OK, I'm gonna
think the worst, and if
it doesn't happen, it's
better than I thought."
One, two, three.
Three.
One, two, three.
Four.
The first week sucked.
No sleep for three days.
Learning how to walk around and
figure out what the hell is going on.
I'm like, "oh, man, what'd
I get myself into?"
One, two, three.
Six.
One, two, three.
Seven.
After the second week, I'm
like, "OK, this is a game.
It's a mind game.
I can play this."
It's just an on and off
switch you had to turn on,
turn it off when you needed to.
You just couldn't let it
get to you.
And some people let it, and
other people didn't, you know?
One, two, three.
Three.
I didn't break. Getting out of boot
camp, and it came out pretty good.
It was a very good decision
for me.
Fourteen eight.
Fourteen eight.
We're good to go.
Everything's set up.
We got a little rudder
play on the left rudder.
Ok.
I had Oligark look at it
already.
He said it's good to go.
He just greased it up.
Ok.
Marine Corps is
definitely my family.
Uh, my own family is pretty
messed up.
I was left at a carnival...
I know that sounds pretty funny,
but I was left at a carnival
when I was... three.
Um, my biological parents
were carnies that worked on
the show, and they took off
and took my sister with them
and left me there with a
guy that I call Uncle ed.
When you ask about my biological parents,
if I knew 'em or remembered 'em,
I'd tell you now, if I ever saw them...
I'd, I'd beat the living...
out of them.
The things that I remember as a
three-year-old are ridiculous.
There's so much anger at the
stuff that my parents hold.
And now that I'm a father,
that comes back and haunts me.
I sit, looking at pictures my son, and
I go, OK, I'm gonna be a good dad.
My biological parents
were drug addicts.
My adoptive dad had a
battle with alcohol.
My biggest fear is turning into the person that...
That I came from.
♪ Flying all around him pray
to the waters to get us home
flying all around him... ♪
Everybody on this ship, if they don't
have a little get-home-itis right
now, they're numb.
You know, but... I'm lt. Lonnie Fields,
San Diego, California,
born and raised.
I got a little get-home-itis
being away from your family.
And starting to get close to the
arrival time, the get-home-itis starts
to pick up.
I can't wait to get home.
I can't wait to be on land.
I just want to drive my car.
You know, I want to do...
I want to go do something
on the beach with my family.
There's some anticipation, some anxiety.
You don't know what to expect.
You know, it's gonna be like
hugs and kisses when you get
there, and then, ten minutes
later, when all the show is
gone, it's like, "OK, got this
new dude back in the house,
trying to run things."
You know, so it's
gonna be interesting.
Maybe I better take a class.
You know, they got these
classes.
You go there so you can work
back into the family, you know?
I'll probably need to
go attend one of those.
I'm married, I have two kids,
Lonnie Fields III, 11,
and Maya Alejandra Fields.
She's six.
Actually, she's seven.
I missed her birthday again.
My wife's name is
Cynthia Vargas-Fields.
She couldn't get rid of
that Vargas.
Even though I had her in a
headlock for two and half
hours, she still wouldn't give it up, so...
I just love them dearly, and
that's one of the reasons why
I'm out here doing what I do.
But it's really hard for me,
you know, to miss my son's
football games or taking
that little girl somewhere.
So I'm missing those good
moments with the children.
Hello.
What's up?
Nothing. What are you doing?
I'm just chilling.
Where you at?
We're getting ready to
go to the air show.
Oh, really?
They kind of excited about it?
Hold on.
Why?
Hold on, hold on.
All right.
Hey Dada.
What's going on?
Um, nothing much, really.
Nothing much!
Aren't you going to the air show?
What's up?
Yes, sir.
You guys, what are you
guys gonna go see?
The Blue Angels and some other
planes and all that stuff?
Yes, sir.
Are you, you ready to
come out to Hawaii?
Yes, sir.
Are you sure?
Yes, sir.
Mm-hmm,
are you excited?
Yes, sir.
Very much.
I love you.
When bear gets there...
Yeah.
You're gonna have to
talk to him about Holly.
Ok.
You're gonna have to like, bring
it out of him, because he's...
Is he bottling it up or
something right now?
He's been kind of like, really
cruel to everybody around him.
And we talked about it yesterday
and I told him, I said,
"I think you're angry about
a lot of different things,
and I'm trying to figure out
where it's coming from.
And we need to talk
about these things.
But we need your help."
And he admitted...
He's like, "I dot know.
I just don't know what to
think about it, and I don't
want to think about
it because it hurts."
He said that?
Yeah.
He doesn't want to talk
about Holly.
He doesn't want to think
about Holly.
I'll talk to him.
I think he'll be...
He'll be a little better when he comes
out here with me.
So what about you?
You been good?
Of course I've been good!
I'm always good.
All right, I'll call.
All right, love you.
I love you too.
Bye.
Bye.
Ahh!
At the end of deployment,
we have tiger cruise.
Friends and family of crew
members get to come out and
ride the boat home with us for
the five days that we transit.
I think a lot of people don't
have a true understanding of
what life's like out here.
It's amazing what we can
accomplish on a daily basis.
I mean, we are our own little
floating city, and I think
that's gonna amaze a lot of
people.
Everybody's like, "oh,
you're in the Navy.
You know, you go to all
these foreign ports."
But that's just such a small
part of what it is that we do.
There's a lot of sacrifice
out here.
So I think that's what
they'll take away.
Hello?
Happy anniversary, baby.
I love you.
How's Aidan doing?
Aidan's asleep right now.
He's asleep?
Oh, no, he's awake now.
Did you hear him?
Yeah, I heard him.
He was like, "uuh."
Are you doing OK?
The days are dragging now.
I just want to get home.
It just sucks.
You know, hearing Aidan,
not seeing him.
Getting home, don't
know what to expect.
You know, my hands will probably
be shaking like a leaf.
It's been trying with the baby.
But I'm sure everything will
be fine when you get home.
I just hope you'll be able
to get along with him.
I'm sure you will.
He's really adorable.
Are you there?
I'm here.
I love you.
I love you too, baby.
Well, I got to get going in case...
All right, baby, I'll let you.
Ok, baby.
And give Aidan a kiss for me.
Take care, please.
All right, I will.
Love you.
Love you.
Bye sweetie.
Love you too.
Bye.
Bye.
What I miss the most about being on
deployment is, is my wife and my kids.
Uh, this is the fourth year
in a row that I've missed my
birthday, the second...
Or, I'm sorry, the third year,
out of four, that I've
missed my son's birthday.
The second anniversary
that I've missed.
I've missed every mother's day since
I've been on the ship except one.
Uhh, that's very hard to take.
I miss home.
I miss my family the most.
Family.
I miss being at home.
Take a nice hot bath.
My own bed.
I miss my son the most.
Being able to go out
after work.
Freedom.
Quiet.
I miss good food.
Chocolate pop tarts.
Going to McDonald's.
Good food.
McDonald's.
I miss pizza.
I like pizza.
I miss land.
I miss working in my yard.
I miss very much the sound
of birds.
That was never something that I really
thought about very much, but I...
I sure do now.
If she wasn't here, I would
miss her more than anything.
I don't really have a
girlfriend right now to miss.
Uh, and even if I did, I
think I'd miss my mom more.
Sex.
The thing I miss the most, to
be honest, is being normal.
I... I feel like a Dyke janitor every
day when I put on this outfit.
Cooking, music, free time, being
able to get in my car and drive.
Friends.
Sleep.
You.
Two point five.
Bearing one four six.
Hello, CATCC, you swinging
the big rigs some more?
One, five, four.
Ok, thank you.
It's CATCC...
One, four, e madam.
Four e, thank you, bye, bye.
O-o-d-u-I-c-a-t-c-c
one minute to push.
Ok, bye.
Take handle
one point three airborne.
Two ten. Deuce.
Tell 207. Have Marsha tell 207 he
may be needed as an open stone.
Copy that.
Yes, sir.
Hobo on a hot dog.
Gopher on soft dirt.
What was it?
Fly on the meadow what?
Meadow muffin?
Oh, yeah, I don't hang out in cow
pastures much, but we're good.
All right.
That's a new one for today.
Fly on a meadow muffin.
Apparently has something
to do with cow pastures.
Cow patties.
I didn't have cows.
You're about as
redneck as they come.
You should know about cows.
I'm not as redneck as they come; I
never owned anything bigger than
a sheep dog.
You can't even do math.
How's that make me a 'neck?
That just makes me a dork.
That just makes me dumb.
Let's go ask the eight
ball if I'm a redneck.
All signs point to yes.
He would say, "hell yeah!"
Hillbilly.
My name is Susan Clapp, and I'm
originally from Dalton, Georgia.
He could adjust once
503 and 202 on deck.
I took a friend
to join the Navy.
She needed a ride.
I had a car, she didn't.
I went in with her.
It seemed neat.
I joined, she didn't.
That was sixteen years ago.
Why did they put 100
back in the tanker pile?
He's not a tanker anymore.
He's adjusted all the way down.
He is adjusted
all the way down.
I was offered, when I
enlisted, um, four jobs,
and one of them was air traffic
controller, and I knew I liked airplanes.
So I chose it, and once I
got into it, I loved it.
I can't imagine doing anything
else.
What kind of turn
you guys giving him?
Hold the traffic.
They've been doing left
turns all night long.
Stick to left turns.
103, I'm talking about 103.
We just gave him a right turn.
They've been doing left
turns all night long.
I agree.
Stick to it!
When it's busy, everybody's very
focused on what they're doing and when
the recovery's over, you just blow
off the steam from that recovery.
So we do whatever it is
that we do to relax.
Go, go, go.
I have three kids.
Two girls and a boy.
It's hard to be away from them
like this, but I call them
every day so that I can talk
to them.
Sometimes, they're really good
at being strong and just tell
me about their days.
But then, there's other days that, you
know, especially the ten-year-old,
she starts to cry.
That's my son, Noah.
He is so cute.
I do not have a husband.
We're divorced, and we're fighting over
the custody of the kids right now.
But he has temporary custody
while I'm on this deployment.
I really don't know what'll
happen, but I think I'll
regain the custody of my
children once I get home, once
the deployment's over with.
Good afternoon, guys!
Welcome to "new parents"!
This is the one class where
I'm not telling you that you
are doing something wrong!
This class is fun and exciting
'cause you guys are going home
to something new,
something cool.
It's not just you and
your wife anymore.
Don't let this interfere with
your relationship, though.
Children need to bring your
relationship closer together,
not farther apart.
There's a good number of
couples that will be having
a few problems to begin with.
And then, the baby's born
and they're really happy.
But they're not focusing on
fixing whatever problems
were in their relationship
to start with.
So for your homecoming, who's
gonna greet you at the pier?
Chances are, it's gonna
be mom and baby.
Who are you gonna approach
first?
Your wife's first.
She's the one you fell in love
with.
She's the one you're gonna
be with.
Give her the hug, give her the flowers,
and then check out your new baby.
And if no one else has told you
this already, don't be the
one person that comes down the
pier without the flowers.
What are your first words
gonna be to your wife?
"I love you.
I'm happy to see you."
Not, "gee honey, you
put on some weight!"
Parenting is the one thing in
life that you can do without
any prior training, and if you
had a great family environment
growing up, and you look up to
and you respect your parents,
then chances are, you're gonna
do a lot of those same things,
and you're gonna be a great
parent.
But I imagine at least half
of you, maybe better, had
situations that were abusive,
verbally or physically.
You know you don't want to repeat those
same patterns in your own family.
So there's confidential
counseling at "fleet and family"
if you need it.
I hope you guys are all excited.
I'm really excited for you.
Good luck to you guys.
I have no idea what's gonna
happen when the kid's born.
I mean, this is my kid.
You know, this baby's gonna
look up to me for everything.
And, you know, I'm not even
married to Tanya, and I live
in an apartment, and
Ski is my roommate.
I don't know what to do.
I don't know what I'm gonna do.
I mean, I'm gonna see
what it takes.
Of course I'm not gonna choose
going to get drunk and play
drums with the guys over
having to watch the baby
or take care of the baby,
and they'll understand.
Between playing the drums and
taking care of the baby, yeah.
Hmm.
Is this a picture of the baby?
Yeah, that's
a picture of my son.
When my wife had the baby,
I just felt kind of weird
because we did whatever the
hell we wanted, when we wanted,
and all of a sudden, we couldn't do
anything without thinking about him.
And she's insanely
infatuated with him, dude.
Really?
You know, as much as I wish
I could go back and just do
what I was doing before cruise, you
know, just hanging out and having fun.
The only thing really to worry
about was what time I had to
go to work, what time I got off,
and if I had watch that night
or that weekend, and what the
hell I wanted to do around
California, you know?
It's gonna be rough.
I don't even have
living room furniture.
I remember the first time she let him
stay with her grandmother was like
a couple of hours, and then,
she was all like trembling and
stuff like that, and she got the
shivers, and she had to run.
She... we had to stop what we
were doing just to come pick
him up and do... do it with him...
Like take him with us.
Does Tanya like kids?
I hope.
For the kid's sake, huh?
Everyone keeps saying we're gonna get
married, and really, I haven't known
the girl for six months now.
I'm gonna go back.
She's gonna be pregnant.
You know, week after that,
I'm gonna have a baby there,
and you know, we...
I'm gonna be going through all
these emotions from just
being off this boat.
You know, and being back home, and
trying to get myself settled back in.
It doesn't help the fact that she
hasn't wrote me in days now, so...
Yeah, totally not cool.
Taley, Taley, can you hear me?
It's mommy.
Hi mom.
How are you?
My kids are doing pretty good.
I talk to them almost every day.
What are you all doing?
They're really, really
getting excited about coming
out to Hawaii to meet the boat.
So that is absolutely
fantastic.
Hello.
Hi Nupe.
Hi mom.
How you doin'?
Good.
I ordered some Girl
Scout candy from you.
Did Yaya tell you?
They have started school.
Um, Noah started preschool.
My baby.
I missed his first day of school.
That was very hard on
me 'cause you know I, and
because of my situation, I
didn't get any pictures of what his
first day at school was like, so...
I miss you, Sparky.
I'll see you
in a couple of months.
A couple, a couple of months?
Ok.
His dad wouldn't send me any
pictures of his first day at school.
I love you, buddy.
Bye, bye.
I don't know what he wore,
or you know, anything.
It's a big moment to miss, and
it's very hard, it's very hard.
I'll call you
later on this week, OK?
Ok, I love you.
I love you, too.
I miss you.
Love you and miss you too.
All righty.
Ok, bye.
Bye, Taley.
I hate saying goodbye.
Hopefully there's the...
Guess not.
Ok.
Hello?
Tanya.
What are you doing?
Sleeping.
Yeah, sleeping.
That's what I thought.
I've been trying to get
a hold of you.
You can tell,
I probably woke you up.
I'm sorry.
So I got this email from you
today.
Like five minutes after I sent
it, you replied back, and you
said you can't go to Virginia
with me and the baby, December
27th to the 9th of January.
Is that what you're saying?
What did you just say?
Huh?
Did you say that you can't go to
Virginia with me and the baby?
Is that what you said?
Yeah.
Me, you and the baby
go to Virginia.
Well, we got to take the baby.
'Cause my parents aren't going to
be able to see it any other way.
So even though we're getting
really close, and I'm really
excited, it's kind of scary,
you know.
Not in a bad way.
I mean, it's just,
just like both.
It's both scary and like
exciting, at the same time.
'Cause I'm gonna be there
in like thirteen days.
We have a lot going on.
Yeah.
What's wrong?
You don't want to go out to
Virginia.
I didn't say that.
You're shy.
Hello?
Hello.
Piece of [Beep] phone!
I'm gonna break the [Beep]
out of you. God!
Oh, my God!
I can't even have a
conversation with her.
Good afternoon,
Defenders of Freedom.
My name is Dwight Gray, and I'm
with the "fleet and family"
support center.
And let me be one of the
first to welcome you back.
Welcome!
Thank you.
Reunion is a roller coaster.
It has that up and down kind
of thing.
How many of you want
a home-cooked meal?
Is that the first thing you
want?
My role, what is my role?
Guys, if you are on your very
first deployment and your wife
has found independence, she's not
going to give it up right away.
You have questions about whether you're
still needed in your relationship.
Yes, you are, OK?
Uh, criticism.
If they dye their hair, gain
weight, change something,
don't criticize them when
you get off the boat.
Don't look at them in
that shocking manner, OK?
Give them that hug.
You love them, but keep
the criticisms down.
You're dating all over again,
because you haven't been couples.
It's easy to do.
It doesn't take a lot.
And if you take time with your
spouses and you take the time
to do the romance all over
again, it will work, OK?
My last cruise, I was married,
but didn't have any kids.
Since that cruise, we've had Madison,
who's now two years old, and Andrew,
who's seven months.
And I've been...
I've been gone most of his life.
My daughter was born in 2000,
while I was on the ship.
She was almost three months
old when I got home.
I got to see the video when I got home,
which was still another gut check.
I got a three-year-old
back home.
That's who I miss the most,
it's my three-year-old.
We did an eight-month cruise.
I left, she was hardly crawling, and
I came home and she was walking.
And it took like, three months just
for her to get to know me again.
I hope it doesn't take
that long this time.
So I need to stop talking about
them, or I start cryin'.
I got a video.
What is it?
My birth.
Not my birth, Aidan's birth.
I don't think
they had them back then.
This is tough.
I missed his birth.
It makes me hurt so bad.
She sends me pictures every day.
And it hurts a little bit,
but it's sort of calming.
I mean, I'm just really
glad I got this, finally.
So I was an ass
when I left, flat out.
I didn't spend a lot of time
with her.
I was at work.
I was trying to pack up.
She would try to do things for
me, or with me, and I'm like,
"I have to go to work, I have to
get stuff prepared to leave."
And it was like a disassociation
for me, 'cause it was tough.
Just because you're a marine
doesn't mean you're not human.
Doesn't matter how big, how
bad you are, it's... it's
the way it is, I mean, emotions.
You're still human.
Randy's gonna be an awesome dad.
He's just scared.
I was scared, too.
I mean, when I first seen my daughter,
I was afraid of dropping her.
I know that's what he's
thinking.
He's afraid that he's not
gonna be a good dad.
But just... just because he
thinks he's not gonna be a
dad, that's the reason why he is gonna
be, he's gonna be an awesome dad.
That little boy is gonna be proud
that Randy is his dad, and that's it.
No email from Tanya again.
Last time she wrote me
was the 18th.
Today is the 27th.
I don't know, dude.
It's like she went on
without me or somethin'.
How many times a day does
your wife email you?
Like um...
A couple of times.
Five, six.
A lot.
This girl's pregnant, and she can't
email me for nine days, dude, to let
me know what's going on.
Dude, I think she doesn't
even care anymore.
I don't even know.
She never tells me how she
feels.
Like, I sent her like the
sweetest email like a week
ago, you know, telling like
how much I care, and how
excited I was come home, and
how you know, no matter how
scary this situation was for
us, that I was gonna come
home and be there, and
not run, you know.
Yeah.
And she, I know she's
gotten it, dude, and she
won't even write me
back with two words.
Well, in three days, you'll be
able to find out what's going on.
That's... right.
I'm done with this, Mirrs, I'm
done with this boat, I'm done
with chief, I'm done with
gunner.
Are you leaving out of Hawaii?
Hell yeah,
I'm leaving out of Hawaii.
Hey, give me the tape.
Unless they try
and take it from me.
It's another world, we
have another world.
My kids, they were supposed
to come for tiger cruise.
But their dad now has decided
he doesn't want them to come.
It's very important for
me to have my kids here.
It's a once in a lifetime
chance for them.
I've been without them long
enough, and my hopes were up
for it, and it's a huge letdown
to know that it won't happen.
You know, I don't envy chief
Shrek at this moment,
being out there, watching that.
Not at all.
It's the only thing that keeps
you going is, you know, on this
date, you're gonna see them.
Smell 'em, touch 'em,
hug 'em, love 'em.
The whole nine.
So it keeps you going.
And to be this close to the
finish line and have that
prize yanked from me is very
hard.
It's real hard.
You know, it's not like
somebody said I'm not a good
mom and can't have them.
It's not one of those
situations.
It's just someone just saying no and...
Just because he can.
This is the hard part
about deployment.
You have no control.
There's not a damn thing
you can do about it.
Hey sweetie.
How are you doing?
I just wanted to call and
tell you I love you.
What?
I wanted to call and
tell you I love you.
So what are we doing, what are
we doing to make up for me
being an ass before I left?
I don't know.
What do you want to do?
Why don't we go to California?
Go to Hawaii.
Well, do we have the money
to spend in Hawaii?
Do I have to get
pregnant again?
Oh, I told you we shouldn't have
stayed that extra couple of days.
That's what did it.
Yeah.
It was for that, it was
for that one night of
Salsa dancing, I'm telling you.
We'll be paying that for
eighteen years, I'm tellin' you.
It was expensive...
That was an expensive cover charge.
You there?
Sweetie?
I'm done with that...
Yeah, yeah, I'm looking at Hawaii
right now, though.
It's awesome.
I'm manning the rails, so I
look all pretty in my whites.
I'm gonna go out tonight,
probably have a little bit of
dinner, me and Marrero.
He just had a little boy.
So I've been hanging out
with him a lot, getting some
information, some advice from
him.
I'll be there tomorrow
evening, OK?
All right, are you excited?
Huh?
You have to pee.
Ok, well, awesome.
All right well, you go pee,
and I'll call you later,
and I miss you, all right?
All right, babe.
Bye.
Thanks, dude.
It's awesome.
Ooooh, man!
I'm starting to get
jittery, man.
Finally home, dude.
♪ It's almost heaven I'm almost gone
I'm almost right so I'm almost wrong
I'm almost thoughtful why don't
you go pick up the phone?
It's almost you
I'm almost home ♪
We've transited pretty darn
near 50,000 miles to get here.
This is our last stop
before we get home.
The money is green, the cars are
American-made, you're back in America.
♪ I'm almost happy that's
almost good I'm almost doin'
and the things I should and it's
almost perfect like Styrofoam
I'm almost there
I'm almost home ♪
look at that,
formation, look at that.
God, getting chills.
I'm getting chills.
♪ It's almost just right it's almost
too nice I almost see through
the fears in your eyes and I'm almost
believing that it's mine to own
I'm almost there
I'm almost home ♪
That was good.
Outstanding.
Outstanding job, everybody.
Outstanding job,
secure along the rail.
Welcome back
to the United States.
What's the drinking age here?
Twenty-one.
Yes it is, very good.
Ok, now I feel better.
I didn't want to hear
sixteen, eighteen.
All right, guys, have a good time.
Please be safe.
Please stay out of trouble.
I don't want anybody in jail 'cause
you know what, I'm going fishing.
I'm not gonna come get you.
So enjoy.
Thanks, guys.
Against all enemies... against all enemies...
Foreign and domestic...
Foreign and domestic...
And I'll bear true faith...
And I'll bear true faith...
And allegiance... and allegiance...
Obey the orders... obey the orders...
Of the president
of the United States...
Of the President of the United States...
And the orders... and the orders...
Of the officers appointed over me.
Of the officers
appointed over me.
My kids are coming
on tiger cruise.
My ex just wasn't going
to let them come.
Really, that was basically
about it.
But I was not gonna just take no for
an answer when there was no reason
why I can't see them.
So I contacted my attorney.
And I'm not really
sure what all went on.
It was just the two lawyers
with the judge, and the judge
sided with me on that one, so...
I hope that they'll take away
how important mom's job is,
what the people out
here really give up.
And maybe by meeting other
people, they'll have the
understanding that sometimes,
moms and dads don't have a
choice, that they have to leave
because the boat has to go.
And being around other tigers
and around other sailors,
I think they'll see
the huge big picture.
It's you!
How are you doing, baby?
Oh, my goodness.
Look at you!
I'm so glad that it
is gonna happen now.
I'm sad that it had to go in
front of a judge just for them
to be able to come see me at
the completion of deployment,
but I'm so happy
that they're coming.
You know, I'm just a little anxious
to, you know, to see the kid.
I, I honestly had a little
dream about it last...
Yesterday, you know, like
he's still little, you know.
I want to see what six months
has done to him, you know.
For all I know, he has
hair on his lip now.
But we'll see.
I just, I just want to see, you know,
how much he's changed, 'cause I know
I haven't changed.
You know, I went from 33 to 34.
I haven't told my son
anything about tiger cruise.
He just knows he's coming.
He has no idea.
I want him to come out here
and expect nothing, and when
it all happens and he's just like,
"wow, that was the best thing
I've ever done in my
whole 11 years of life."
Are you guys all waiting
for the same flight?
Flight 15.
Good, I know where I am now.
They're bringing them
down in a moment.
Oh, are they?
That's what they said.
How would I describe my son?
He's a lot like me
when I was little.
You know, he's nervous
around me.
And I was nervous around
my dad, you know.
I... I think I got into
a lot more trouble.
You know, I was more mischievous.
I got into stuff.
I would say, for his age, he's
a lot more mature than I was
when I was his age.
You know.
He's a very intelligent kid,
you know.
Every now and then, just like
any other kid, he has his own
little self-esteem problems.
He does everything for my
approval, and I know that.
'Cause I did the same thing for
my father, and I still do it
in a sense for him, you know.
Come on over here, kid.
Oh.
How you doing?
Good.
Look at you.
Oh, you got your own camera
and everything now, huh?
Come here,
give your dad a hug, dude.
Ah.
That's all you got, right?
You got a haircut.
No. I have another bag.
Come on, let's go.
You have to sign it.
You have to sign me out.
Yeah, I know.
Here, let me get a photo of you.
The whole experience of being out
here with me, shooting planes
and playing up in the tower.
I mean, he's never gonna
forget it, you know?
So I'm gonna try to make it...
I'm gonna try to make
the emphasis more on him
than for me.
I just want to see it.
I've been on this boat
five months.
I can care less about the
water and shooting stuff.
But to him, it's gonna mean
something.
And that's, that's where
the value comes in.
So what do you got in here?
Got books and stuff?
There's books.
Books.
Oh, God.
Don't you have something you
need to show me right now,
like right now right now?
Envelope, it's in the...
Here, get it.
What's your bag...
What's your bag look like?
Is it the blue one?
No, it's a yellow one.
Hmmmmmm.
Mom said that she told
you about that and that.
What, the c and the n?
Mm-hmm.
What's the n? What's that?
Needs improvement?
In what?
English.
But you got a b.
I mean, how do you need
improvement if you got a b?
The attitude, huh?
Behavior.
Yeah. But I see you brought
that d to a c, right?
Actually, that was an f.
It was a...
You brought it from an f to a c?
Come on, kid, that's cool.
Anyway, I call you my
fourth quarter kid.
You know what that means?
You start off slow in
the first quarter.
Then you start improving in
the second quarter, then you
start improving just a little
bit in the third quarter, and
then, in the fourth quarter, you
just bang it away and win the game.
Remember back in Maryland,
how you started off slow?
There's always been something on
my mind with regards to my son.
He was born in '93 to me and a
lady named Holly Montgomery.
And she had a lot of issues.
She was, you know, involved
with drugs and all that.
Um, we broke up when I went into
the Navy, or shortly thereafter.
You know, I proposed to her.
I wanted her to be my
wife and everything.
I brought her out to Pensacola.
I did all this and she was
there for like two months, and
she was like, "you know what?
I got to get the...
out of here."
Let's go, kid.
And so she did,
and that was it.
She had the smarts enough
to give me full custody.
And, after that, I spoke to
her on a couple of occasions
with regards to my son
and some custody stuff.
Other than that, I really
didn't deal with her, you know.
Only kind of pep talk I did
give her, I told her, I said,
"the least you can do
is call every Sunday.
At least let him know that you
know, hey, I'm gonna talk
to my mother tonight.
Damn it, can you please give me
that?
If you can't, just
don't even do it."
And she's like "OK, OK, OK, I will.
" And she did.
She did that.
I mean, she missed a
couple of Sundays.
You know, she was good for like
five, then she missed one,
but then, she'd, she'd
make it up, you know?
She'd call, "sorry, I couldn't
do it" for whatever reason.
But she tried, she tried
to make it happen.
You know, people like that
aren't very good with schedules,
let's just put it that way.
But she seemed to try
to make that one work.
Let's get another picture
of the kid.
In the taxi cab.
I remember her calling me
and she wanted to see him.
She wanted me to take him to some
motel she was hanging out at.
And I was like, "no,
it's not gonna happen."
And, you know, I'd been, I'd
been direct with her like that
before, but it seemed to have,
you know, she started crying,
you know, and she started
saying all this stuff,
you know, "I'm sorry about
this and this and this."
Just being apologetic.
And I'm like, "is this Holly?"
You know, 'cause she's
normally not like that.
Just a few days later, my mom calls
me and she says, "Holly's dead."
I said, "say what?"
My mom just start breaking
down right there.
You know, just breaking down.
She's like, "she's been shot."
It was like, everybody kind of knew
that something like this may happen.
I mean, the way, if you live
that type of lifestyle,
the potential for being killed,
or killing somebody, or just
coming up missing, you know,
is there.
Which is unfortunate, but you know,
people make their own choices.
Are you ready to go
on this big old ship?
You want to shoot some planes?
Knowing somebody, especially
your son's mom, is killed,
for God's sake, is just,
not good.
I don't even know if I
really got over it.
You know what I mean?
I mean, I still have
my own little moments.
But, I know if I haven't, you
know, I know for sure he hasn't.
You know what I mean?
Some of that, you know, came to
my decision, you know, I'd like
to bring my son out here.
You know what I mean?
So I think it's kind of
special.
Maybe it will take his mind away
for a little bit, you know.
Taley?
Where are you at, mom?
I'm at the...
I'm down here where the baggage claim
is. That's as far we can go.
You are?
Then we're at the wrong door.
F2?
Ok.
Ok, I'm coming over there.
I'll find it.
Ok.
Oh, Taley!
Hey, mom!
Mama!
Oh, my Nupie, you're so big!
Where's your hair?
Hi, Taley.
Hi, mom.
Hi, mom.
♪ I say, now girl you know it's true
his heart and mind will never stop
searching for you and girl, when love
is strong gonna keep on searching
I don't care how long for you
I'll climb the highest mountains
or swim the deep blue seas ♪
About six hours from now,
I'll finally be home.
Pretty rough morning.
Woke up kind of hung over
from the partying last night.
Called Tanya this morning and basically,
I knew something was wrong.
And I just decided to ask her.
I've known something's been
wrong for a while just 'cause
I haven't been getting emails.
I basically asked her if there
was anything she had to tell me,
and that moment, she got
silent, and I pretty much knew
so I started assuming
things and askin' her.
What, what it is now is, she's, I guess,
she's been with her ex-boyfriend
for a while.
She was with him this
morning when I called.
♪ Oh, I would never give up
on you oh, I would never stop
searching for you ♪
You know, this has happened
to me so many times.
Every time I go to the boat.
And I knew something
was going on.
I don't know. I...
Part of me says everything will be
all right when she sees me and
you know, I'm there and...
I don't know what kind of guy
would be with a girl that's
pregnant and, you know, her
boyfriend's on deployment.
♪ Oh, I would never give up on you
give up, give up I'm not gonna
give up on you I'm gonna keep on
searching 'til my searching is through
someday we'll be married and we'll
start anew but until then, girl
I'm not gonna give up on you,
no I will never give up on you
and I will never stop searching
for you and I will never stop
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© VJ Me 2010