Note: ITC Stacey Thinn was dropped from this list on 23 Mar 2013 due to 60 days of no contact.
22 Jan 2013:
Good morning all.
As my last post stated we came back home unrepentantly early. We have been spending precious time with our family and loved ones, making preparations on the ship to return to our mission in a few short weeks.
As always we have appreciated everything that you all have done in support of us being away. Continue to be blessed in all that you do and remember that Love is a better 4 letter word than Hate.
01 Dec 2012
Good Morning,
We have a change in schedule. Pulling in for repairs that happen to correspond to the holidays Yeah! :D, but we will be back shortly :(
Is there is a way to take the address off or block until we get back out here because I was planning on still posting as we just got mail on the 29th, I wanted to say Thank you to Boy Scout Troop 888 from Loveland Ohio for the boxes of envelopes and paper.
You can not image how excited the crew gets when we call them up to take boxes to their berthing with all the great snacks, personal hygiene items and updated magazines (especially the Sports Illustrator). I will say the females make out way better than the males but they are getting their share.
The attached letter is to Rebecca she sent us a package we received it after Holloween. Her husband a Corpman (medical) in the Navy placed a fake rat in as a joke, well his name is Ricky the Rat and he has made a home. I do not have pictures as of yet available, but know that Ricky currently is perched atop of the Christmas tree in the CPO mess decked out in his red Santa hat and a white beard. As soon as I get some pictures back I will send. What was meant to be a gag has turned into a pet project....Thanks Rebecca.
As always,
Thank you to the Whipples & DB
C. Reed
SPQF Entertainment
First Baptist of Tallahassee
M. Daino
L. Yon
D.B. Johnson
The Hugs Project
All the children that wrote (on the FlagsAcrosstheNation.org letters)
D. Lane
A. Hughes
J.Disney
Which Which Support Center
Duty calls I will write again soon
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If you would please post this. Do not have the address for Rebecca, that mail day was crazy as we received over 50 boxes and some of the packages met with disposal accidents but want her to know we greatly appreciated her efforts.
8 November 2012
Dear Rebecca,
Thank you so much for the thoughtful letter and care package! You have no idea how good it feels to know that our country loves us just as much as we love them. Receiving care packages definitely make deployments a lot smoother. Being away from home is one of the hardest parts about military life. Most of us are parents with children waiting for us at home. Others are children themselves who are fresh from mom and dad's home. Our ship is one of the smaller in the fleet. Most Cruisers only hold about 350 people or so. I know that sounds like a lot, but compared to our sister aircraft carriers, it's nothing! We have a lot of college students onboard too! I'm sure being from a military town you are aware of all of wonderful benefits offered to active duty. We're fortunate enough to have NCPACE instructors onboard facilitating college level courses. It's always a bit startling to see them walking around our ship in civilian clothes, we are all so used to seeing nothing but coveralls 24/7! You mentioned your husband is a Navy Corpsman, is he stationed on Lejeune? Our Chief Corpsman is a former FMF so the marines are near and dear to his heart. Speaking of your husband, let him know his ugly ass rat has made it to just about every corner, desk drawer, pantry, berthing, and freezer believer it or not onboard! He's also been half stomped on, kicked, thrown, and stabbed! The crew is enjoying playing pranks on one another even past Halloween! He's made so many appearances that we're putting him in our cruise book! Well Rebecca, thanks again for taking the time out of your life to send us greetings. People like you make our service that much more meaningful. Keep up the good work in school! We're cheering you on to get your degree before your husband! Good healthy competition is always encouraged!
22 Nov 2012
Happy Thanksgiving Day.
I want to say Thank you all we got mail yesterday it was an awesome day in many regards, you will understand as you continue to read. God is awesome and so are you all.
CFC is in effect on the HUE CITY, I have made my donation and have been talking AnySoldier up as well.
Thank you in advance for your patience, and continued support of your Sailors and the EISENHOWER STRIKE GROUP team. They've performed superbly thus far - in no small part, due to your support.
Wishing you all the best and a very Happy Thanksgiving.
12 Nov 2012
Things have been extremely busy and we do appreciate all that everyone has done in adding a bit of happiness the lives of this crew. Even though I had not had the chance to update the website, we did manage to get some personal handwritten letters out to those who have sent us care packages.
On behalf of the crew I want to thank you so very much and much appreciation to the Resign's, the Whipple's and DB and a special Thank You to Rebecca at East Carolina University in Greenville NC.
I will write again in a few days with a picture or two....but just so that you all know we really appreciate what you have done to help make this time away from our friends and family a bit better.
Very Respectfully,
ITC(AW) Stacey Thinn
23 Sep 2012
This is the day we all look so forward to on the ship. It is what we call a RAS replenishment-at-sea, this is how we get repair parts, food and most importantly MAIL!!!
It can be a very dangerous event if just one person is not paying attention to what they are doing. There is a cable the gets attached between our ship and the supply ship and basically the pallets float across the water from one ship to the other; and yes things have fallen into the ocean forever gone. It takes almost the entire crew to get all the cargo on deck, unpacked and in its proper place.
We are so looking forward to our next one on the 24th hoping to get in some of the items from our Aug and Sept posts. The holidays are coming up if you would like to send some decorations the Sailors would love that it would be really AWESOME to have some activity that let us feel a bit better about being away from family and friends.
20 Sep 2012
Hello,
First I would like to thank each and every one of you who sent out packages.
The Sailors went crazy with joy, I have attached a couple of pictures. Some people sent notes and cards but did not include an address, those that did I personally and in some cases had another Sailor write back to you; hopefully
you will get the letters soon but mail does take some time out here on the ocean.
I had one Sailor who is still revising his letter bring it to me to make sure he had all his ducks in a row.did not want to present the wrongappearance but he was so grateful for the laundry detergent. Not sure who sent it off the top of my head but someone had the idea to take small size plastic soda bottles and fill with different types of powder laundry
detergent. Awesome idea, please keep that coming. I was also requested powder bleach as the Deck guys work hard all around the ship (xtreme manual labor)inside and outside and it is hot over here. They were extremely excited over the hugs, not sure how many uses you can get out of one but so many have been walking around with them, its rather cute!
We have a great deal going on right now and that is why it has taken me a little longer than planned to update but wanted to get my thanks out to those that I was unable to thank in a personal letter it meant the world to them. Following is a list of items they would like to see.
Laundry detergent
Dry Bleach
Dryer Sheets
Yankee Candle air fresheners on a string
Q-Tips
Hand Sanitizer
Envelopes and writing paper
Pumpkin Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Gum
Batteries (AA,AAA C & D)
Nerds
Candy (no chocolate or gummies) they don't make it in the heat..lol
Juice boxes/pouches.
Nerf type guns (shoot people with) Dollar Tree is good for that.yes kids will be kids helps to burn off energy and aggression
Pony Tail holders (match hair color)
Bobby Pins
Dove Shower gel
Suave shower gel
Degree deodorant
Old Spice deodorant
Axe shower
Crackers
Pretzels
Easy Cheese
Smooth Peanut Butter
Rice Works Chips
Razors (Mach3/Fusion)
Cocoa Butter lotion
Dental Floss Picks
Air Freshner/Lysol (fresh linen)
Laundry Pods
Bath & Body Shower gel
Very Respectfully,
ITC(AW) Stacey Thinn
10 Aug 2012
Good morning,
We are deployed on the USS HUE CITY which is a guided missile cruiser (navy ship) homeported in Jacksonville, FL the 3rd largest Naval Station in the US. We deployed mid June and do not expect to return for quite some time. Currently I am the only Senior Female Enlisted onboard so many of the needs are geared towards my female Sailors; however I have male Sailors that work for me as well. We live on board the ship and can spend as much as 60 days or more afloat if the mission dictates before pulling into a port for some rest and relaxation, generally 3-4 days only. We generate our own electricity which is 110v and produce our own water (created from yes sea water) which contains a high quantity of Bromine to ensure that it is safe for human consumption.
We have Sailors from all over AL, IL, NJ, SC, NC, GA, CA, NY MI just to name a few as well as the Caribbean. They are young and talented, 2 have taught themselves how to play guitar and violin since leaving on deployment. We have artist, writers, singers and dancers.
The following list is based on conversations I have had with the Sailors on board. It does contain many items but we are appreciating anything that you can do. We also do not expect to get all our needs met at one time.
Rice Works chips sunflower seeds pumpkin seeds toothpaste tooth brushes(soft0 slim jims dry fruit almonds cashews craisins popcorn jerky Capri Sun juice packets tuna/chicken & cracker snack packs fruit cups socks(wht ankle med & lg) mini LED flashlights batteries (AA/AAA) stationary (paper&env) pencils Pens(blk) Keurig-Hot apple cider k-cups Tide Pods laundry soap dryer sheets bath/body wash Johnson&Johnson Always panty liners and pads (Infinity) Clorox wipes ponytail holders (black, brown,tan) deodorant(degree, secret, dove)Yankee Candle air freshener(on string) Tide Spot Pen Frebreeze fabric spray Lysol spray Clorox wipes Olay Age Defining Body wash & Lotion ear phones hand sanitizer
Blessings un 2U