Happy homecoming at the Seabee Base

There were a lot of tears, smiles, and hugs at the Seabee Base today as members of Naval Mobile Command Battalion, or NMCB 11, returned from a six month deployment overseas.

The Seabee Base in Gulfport buzzed with nervous excitement and anticipation. Armed with signs, stars and stripes, family, friends, and beloved pets lined up for the final countdown. Seabee Mother Gina Phillips said, “This is Minnie, his little baby. This is her little shirt, ‘welcome home, Daddy.’ This is his little sister, Princess Daisy. I rescued her from the shelter here in Gulfport. They can’t wait for him to be home. I’ve been sending pictures. He’s been snapchatting and screenshotting and everything with them. They can’t wait.”

Seabee Wife Alyssa Reals has been holding down the home front, but she did manage to convey her intentions upon her husband’s return on a poster board and gave their two daughters a helping hand with signs of their own. “The girls’ sign says ‘dreams do come true. Welcome home. Daddy, we’ve missed you.’”

In all, about 180 Seabees are returning from their deployment and more will be coming soon. Seabee Wife Heather Fox said, “There are other spouses and other family members at different homecomings. You get to feel the support and really show the love that you have for each other. It’s not really just about your service member. It’s about all of them coming home and all of them being safe.”

And then the moment they had all been waiting for as buses appeared on the horizon, rolling up with precious cargo, the sailors of NMCB 11. They are not only heroes to those back here on the home front, but also hold the precious title of daddy, husband, and friend. Seabee Anthony Phillips said, “Seeing my little baby girl is amazing, seeing my mom as well. It’s the first time for seeing her be here.”

As for Alyssa and her two daughters, Bristol and Cambry, they held tight to their daddy’s return and saw first-hand that dreams really do come true.