NATIONAL CITY (KGTV) — A National City mother is preparing to welcome her son home on Thusday, after he's been at sea for more than 300 days aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.
For Rocina, the homecoming is about more than seeing her son again. She wants people to understand what sailors have endured during the deployment, particularly as conditions aboard the carrier have drawn public attention and criticism.
Rocina is using only her first name because she wants to protect her son’s identity. This was her son's first deployment, and she said after earning his Bachelor of Science degree, he decided to join the Navy to help further his education and career.
On Wednesday, Rocina started preparing one of her son’s favorite meals: birria.
“I said, ‘What do you want to eat now? Your dad wants a taquero,’” Rocina recalled. “And he said, ‘No, I want Mommy’s cooking.’”
She is also preparing a welcome-home celebration for him and his fellow sailors.
“When I spoke to my son, I said, ‘Why don't you bring someone that has no one,’” Rocina said. “After all the struggle, they deserve a decent meal to eat,” she said.
The meal carries extra meaning because of a conversation Rocina had with her son during the 320-day deployment that worried her for months.
She asked him if he had eaten.
“He said, ‘No. We're not eating good.'"
Rocina said her son told her he noticed changes in his body because he was primarily eating carbohydrates and protein.
“When you're lacking food or eating poorly, how are you going to provide a good service to the Navy?” she said.
Rocina cannot share details about her son’s job aboard the carrier. But she said he works in an area where he has limited access to sunlight and only a few opportunities to get outside for fresh air. She said his shifts can last 16 to 18 hours.
ABC News reported in August that the Senate Armed Services Committee sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth raising concerns about deteriorating conditions and mental health aboard the Lincoln.
Rocina said her son told her he witnessed his fellow sailors struggling with their mental health, even with suicide, firsthand.
“He would [tell them] things like, ‘Hang in there. We're gonna make it through.'"
As details about conditions aboard the carrier have circulated online, Rocina said some of the comments directed at the sailors have been difficult to see.
She said she has seen people call the sailors “babies” and “cowards" and compared their deployment to being on a vacation cruise.
“No, this is a real job,” she said. “And they're fighting for your country. They're fighting for you.”
She wants people to remember that the sailors aboard the Lincoln have endured more than most people will ever see.
“They're stronger than you think they are, and they're more resilient than you think they are,” she said. “Please don't say those things.”
Now, after more than 300 days apart, Rocina is focused on one thing: bringing her son home, feeding him a meal made with love, and showing him and the rest of the sailors how appreciative and grateful she is.
