Brothers reunited at sea aboard USS Stethem

MANAMA, Bahrain – Two brothers, deployed on two ships at  situs slot the moment working within the U.S. fifth Fleet space of operations, obtained a uncommon probability to catch up face-to-face Aug. 18 throughout an tools switch between their ships.

Pinehurst, North Carolina, natives Lt. j.g. Christopher Kester, strike officer aboard USS Stethem (DDG 63), linked up together with his youthful brother, Ensign James “Jimmy” Kester, assigned to USS Carter Corridor (LSD 50), obtained to satisfy briefly on Stethem’s flight deck for a fast embrace and some brotherly phrases earlier than turning to and going their separate methods.

Chris stated the transient reunion was, “a welcome shock.”

“It was nice to see my brother working alongside our workforce as we carried out maritime interdiction operations,” he stated. “I’m proud he adopted in my footsteps to change into a floor warfare officer.”

With each ships stationed on reverse ends of the nation – Stethem is predicated in San Diego whereas Carter Corridor is homeported in Norfolk, Virginia – neither brother imagined they might discover one another collectively midway world wide. To their shock, nevertheless, Stethem and Carter Corridor joined collectively to conduct built-in operations within the Gulf of Oman. When the ships carried out an tools switch, Jimmy jumped on the alternative to accompany the tools to Stethem so he might spend a short second together with his older brother.

As Carter Corridor’s small boat arrived alongside Stethem, Jimmy climbed up the pilot’s ladder to search out Chris on the flight deck ready for him. The brothers embraced, took a fast image to ship residence to their household, and loved a couple of minutes of small speak earlier than saying good bye as soon as extra.

“It’s been about 9 months since I final noticed my brother,” Jimmy stated. “That’s the longest we’ve ever been aside. Though it was just for a couple of minutes, it was price it.”

The U.S. fifth Fleet space of operations encompasses roughly 2.5 million sq. miles of water space and consists of the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Purple Sea, components of the Indian Ocean and three important choke factors on the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal and Strait of Bab al Mandeb.