Before Huntsville sailor Ahmad Mohammed made it home to Alabama, his mother went to California to welcome him back. Angel Okafor was there when the USS Abraham Lincoln returned to San Diego on Oct. 8 after more than 10 months away.
“My Sailor who left home a young man and returned a true Warrior,” Okafor wrote in a Facebook post welcoming him back. She thanked “The Most High” for keeping him safe.
Okafor had served in the Navy herself. This time, she was the one waiting at home as the Navy extended her son’s deployment. She told WAFF that she had photographs of him on the wall while he was away. At times, the family went days without hearing from him. When letters or emails did come, she said, her son kept them positive.
The Navy said calls home were limited when threats were high. Mohammed’s grandmother, Theresa, said it was hard to imagine the grandson she calls “my pumpkin” serving in a war. She kept praying that God would bring him home.
During its deployment, the USS Abraham Lincoln supported U.S. military operations against Iran and spent more than 260 consecutive days at sea before a port call in Thailand in early September. The Associated Press reported that the long deployment drew attention to stress among the crew and reports of food and hygiene supply shortages. The Navy said combat operations delayed resupply and temporarily limited meal choices.
The day before the carrier returned to San Diego, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth presented the Presidential Unit Citation to the carrier and accompanying ships for their combat operations against Iran.
On Nov. 4, it was Huntsville’s turn to welcome Mohammed home. Family members waiting at the airport greeted him with signs, flags and hugs. WAFF shared a reel on the long awaited meeting.
Mohammed has about a month of leave before he reports back for duty. For Okafor, that means time for the everyday things she had missed, like giving her son a home-cooked meal and seeing him spend time with his friends.
“I’m just going to hug on him and love on him and just enjoy him the whole time he’s on leave,” Okafor said.
Sherri Blevins is a reporter for 256 Today.
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