NORFOLK, Va. — As a tornado roared through Goshen Township — ripping apart the city fire department, homes and roofs from an area church, Andrew Daye was unaware his family was directly in the storm's path.
“Our house got smoked pretty bad. My wife's house got annihilated. Theirs was really bad,” said Daye.
Daye serves as a fire controlman on the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. The ship was on deployment as the EF-2 tornado grew to around 500 yards wide and upended his family’s life.
“I knew there was a tornado. I knew it was bad. I didn’t know anything else,” Daye said.
While he spends his workdays ensuring they can defend their ship, not being able to protect or be there for his family was difficult to work through.
“It felt weird. It was the first time anything like that happened,” Daye said. “It's like if something bad is happening, you can't be there. You can't do anything.”
RELATED | Before and after: EF2 Goshen tornado leaves damage in its wake
That lack of connectivity for some sailors on board is an issue that the ship’s newly appointed commanding officer is hoping to change.
“I have lists of things I want to change over the next two or three months,” said Captain Christopher Hill.
Hill said morale on the ship is one of his top priorities, adding that it leads to mission success.
“I found that some of my best sailors are the ones who talk to their parents every single day and I want to keep that going,” he said. “To make internet a little more available, broader bandwidth so, when you’re underway at sea you can connect with families.”
There’s no timeline on the expanded bandwidth, however, the ship’s new commanding officer has already ordered fewer announcements on the ship-wide public address system to allow sailors working swing and overnight shifts the chance to rest.
“Sleep is a tactical edge in combat. It improves mood, it improves reaction time and makes you a happier person so you can get along with other people and create a team and camaraderie that is important to an effective warfighting team,” Hill said.
As for Daye, who spent five years working for Skyline Chili before joining the Navy, he’s hopeful to get back home at some point to see his family. He said he appreciates how the community came together to help his loved ones and others in Goshen put their life back together.
As for his life in the Navy, “If we were ever to be attacked, or if there's any sort of bad situation like that, I can trust the person defending the ship because it's me,” he said.
His team of sailors handles all the fire control radars and anything to fight and defend the ship.
“Could have stayed home, could have gone to college,” Daye said. “I think what I get to do here is way cooler than any of that.”
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