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July 30, 2009

The Virginian-Pilot
© July 30, 2009

NORFOLK

The aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower has docked and the first sailors are waiting to disembark.

The Ike and its thousands of sailors and Marines completed a five-month deployment to the Middle East, supporting troops in Afghanistan. Most of the ship’s air wing, Carrier Air Wing Seven, returned home Wednesday.

Also due home today is the hospital ship Comfort, which carried out a humanitarian mission in the Caribbean and Central and South America.

First Lady Michelle Obama will visit Norfolk Friday to meet with service members and their families in a special homecoming ceremony.

Obama has made a focus on military families part of her agenda – during the 2008 election, she visited with military families in Norfolk to outline proposals to provide improved services for veterans and more predictable deployments.