As the world waits for what comes next in the Middle East, military families here in San Diego are doing what they can to stay connected with loved ones on deployment there.
Jared McClurg is a U.S. Army veteran and father of five children. The family has military housing in the Murphy Canyon neighborhood. His wife, Morgain McClurg, is an information technology specialist aboard the Navy destroyer USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee.
The ship deployed from Naval Air Station North Island in March.
He believes the destroyer is now operating near the war area. “So, I’m going to be worried about her. I know she’s out (there). I just don’t know what the involvement is,” McClurg said.
While she’s gone, he is caring for his children, Aurora, 6, Harry, 5, and Sloane, 3. His older teenagers Gavin, 17, and Alexis, 16, help him.
M.G. Perez
M.G. Perez
The eldest son, Gavin, graduated from a charter high school last week and has already talked with an army recruiter about enlisting.
” A lot of my family is blue collar. A lot of them are union workers. Nobody else is a heavy equipment operator. So, I’ll do that in the military,” he said. He is old enough to understand what is happening in the world right now.
“It’s really nerve racking because I hear all the stuff on the news about what’s going on. And, hearing that she’s over there right now, it’s kind of scary.”
The Navy 5th Fleet falls under the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. It is responsible for approximately 2.5 million square miles, and includes the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean.
The Central Command shares deployment information with families on a need-to-know basis.
Husbands, wives, and children often know very little about the specifics of their loved one’s mission. When they are able to communicate, the conversation is limited.
We just tell her that we’re here waiting. We know the sacrifices that she makes to make a better life for her, and for all of us.
Jared McClurg, military husband and father
McClurg and his children keep it simple. “We just tell her that we’re here waiting. We know the sacrifices that she makes to make a better life for her, and for all of us,” he said.
Jared McClurg
Jared McClurg
Morgain McClurg is an informational technology specialist on the USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee. She is shown in this family photo from earlier this year.
He was an army helicopter mechanic in Iraq. He said he knows what his wife faces in the wake of this weekend’s bombing Operation Midnight Hammer over Iran.
“I hope it’s a lot easier than it was in Iraq (for me), and it doesn’t last so long. (I hope) people actually get to come home.”