USS Paul H. Carr

Press Release, Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds and a Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest

CARR Families and Friends,

Today we have reached the 20% mark for deployment and now that we have been gone for over a month, married personnel will commence receiving their Family Separation Allowance (FSA). FSA is $250 per month and is paid to compensate families for added expenses incurred because of a forced family separation.

A belated congratulation to SN James Cameron and his wife Jill Ann upon the birth of their baby Harper who was born on 19 June (6lbs 7oz). Mother and baby are both doing well. (more…)

USS Paul H. Carr

Liberty and a History Lesson

CARR Families and Friends,

This week we didn’t see much action while at sea (weather may have effected the narcotics flow) and we conducted our first port visit.

Day 24 – Sunday, June 24th
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Today was Captain’s Cup event 3 – darts on the flight deck. Two Sailors from each division competed as a team in a modified Cricket tournament. Players alternated throwing three darts per turn in an attempt to hit either the number 20, 19, 18 or 17; the first team to hit three of each number won and advanced to the next bracket. (more…)

Juanita Carr Rush

“NOT SO HARD, GOD!”

When Juanita Rush was pregnant with David Stephen, her firstborn, she came home to Checotah to be with family. Her husband, David Marrs Rush, was TDY (military-speak for Temporary Duty) or out to sea, or she just wanted to be with her mama. You have to remember, she was 18 years old when David was born!

At that time, Peggy Carr Dodd and her daughter, Nancy Lynn Dodd, now Milam, were staying with Mama Carr while Peggy’s husband, Harry Dodd, was serving in the Korean Conflict aboard the USS ESSEX (CV-9), an aircraft carrier (David Marrs Rush also served onboard the ESSEX, albeit as an Airedale, after Harry Dodd had rotated off). Harry Dodd had been recalled to active duty approximately September, 1950, after serving a few years immediately after the end of World War II.

David Stephen Rush was born April 13, 1952, so Juanita would have been in Oklahoma late March, early April when those lovely Oklahoma thunderstorms come sweeping down the plains, as it were. Nancy Dodd would have been about four years old, and was a quite lovely four year old, full of spunk, and faith, and compassion, and so forth. Apparently, Nancy had been told by her mother, Peggy, she did not have to be afraid of thunder because it was just God rearranging his furniture up in heaven. To those of us who remember wooden floors, rearranging furniture by sliding it on wooden floors could be a noisy experience. A thunderstorm brewed up one day and soon turned into a loud affair. The storm continued to build and the thunderclaps continued. After one particularly loud clap, Nancy stuck her head out the back door and hollered up to heaven, “Not so hard, God!”

Those of us who know and love Nancy recognize the complete faith that God heard her, and the complete assurance of a four-year-old girl that God would obey her!

Juanita remembers quite vividly the picture of little Nancy Dodd, with her long red-haired pig tails, leaning out the back door and looking up at the sky. She also remembers that Nancy would come and pat her on her belly, quite swollen at that time, and telling her that she did not have to be afraid when the baby came.

Grandma Austin

Grandma Austin’s Golden Hair

When Juanita Carr, now Rush, was a little girl her grandmother Nancy Austin, came to live with her and her family. Apparently, prior to that, Nancy Austin would, like they did in the old days before Social Security and nursing homes, spend a few months with each of her children. As she aged, dementia started manifesting itself. As she advanced in her dementia, there were one or two episodes that made Mama Carr fear for her safety, and so Grandma Austin was brought to stay with Mama Carr and her brood. (more…)

USS Paul H. Carr

CARR gets down to business – Days 10 through 16, Sunset Tour 2012

CARR Families and Friends,

First off, Happy Father’s Day to all the father’s on board CARR. One of the hardest parts of our job is the time away from our wives and children. In addition, happy Father’s Day to all the fathers of CARR’s Sailors!! Most of us owe a ton to you all!

Great week for CARR as we entered our operating area: we conducted two refuelings at sea, disrupted a narcotics movement, and successfully conducted a boarding. (more…)

USS Paul H. Carr

Week 2 of CARR’s “Sunset Cruise 2012” – hugging the coast

CARR Families and Friends,

Family Readiness Group Note: All CARR friends and families are invited to a meet and greet potluck dinner on Thursday, June 14th 5-7pm at Mt. Trashmore Kids Cove in Virginia Beach. Request all attending bring a dish, dessert, or drinks to share. Please RSVP to usscarrfrg@gmail.com or on facebook OR on facebook: (www.facebook.com/USSCARRFRG) and include what item you will be bringing. If you are not sure what to bring, please contact the FRG and we will provide suggestions.

Day 3 – Sunday, June 3rd (more…)

USS Paul H. Carr

USS CARR’s First Week of its Last Deployment

CARR Families and Friends,

My first weekly update is a short one as we commence our transit to the Caribbean Sea for deployment. Our focus over the next six months will be executing our Countering Transnational Organized Crime mission and enforcing our seven guiding principles of watchstanding: Integrity, Level-of-Knowledge, Procedural Compliance, Formality, Questioning Attitude, Forceful Backup, and Risk Management. (more…)

USS Paul H. Carr

USS CARR wraps up COMPTUEX

CARR Families and Friends,

COMPTUEX has wrapped up and we returned to Norfolk today. CARR did an excellent job at sea – including VBSS, USW, live fires, to Chaff firing events!!

This week’s significant events included:

Day 17 – Sunday, May 6th
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Today’s focus was undersea warfare yet again. The goal today was to (more…)