Hertwig serves country aboard aircraft carrier
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But that’s what happened after Hertwig was stationed with about 5,500 others aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt that left port in Norfolk, Va., shortly after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.
On Sept. 19, the ship set sail and was integral in Operation Enduring Freedom while in the Arabian Sea. Hertwig’s job was to maintain weapons systems for a particular type of aircraft called the EA-6B. Called Prowler, the systems are designed to jam enemy radar or communications.
For Hertwig and some other sailors aboard the ship, this was their first involvement in a war. While Hertwig had been on various deployments before and after conflicts in the past, he found himself involved in the real situation as it was unfolding.
“With what happened on Sept. 11, we knew we were going to be out there for a long time,” Hertwig said. “We knew what was in store for us, that we would be out there for a long time and that we would probably go to war.”
“Everybody had to have just a little more focus because we knew this was for real. The ship and the air wings were very prepared, because we did well on our training work-ups.”
Aboard an aircraft carrier, the main mission is to fly.
“We have different types of aircraft that do different things, so our main mission is to do whatever they need. If they need a bombing mission, air support, air-to-air or reconnaissance or ship surveillance, we do pretty much anything.”
While at sea, crew members broke a 22-year-old Navy record for being the ship with the longest continuous service at sea without a port visit. The old record, set by the Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier in 1980, was 153 straight days. The Roosevelt was out for 159 days.
On top of that, ship personnel worked 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. One crew member’s wife gave birth while he was at sea.
While deployed, Hertwig and others received letters from other Americans. And upon hearing about a letter campaign designed to support deployed members of the military, residents of Warren County responded in earnest.
Hertwig received mail from “all over Warren County,” including correspondence from a kindergarten class at Bobby Ray Elementary, two classes at Morrison Elementary, three students and a class at Warren County High School and his local church.
On leave this week, he got the chance to say thanks. Hertwig visited area schools to meet those who took the time to write during his deployment.
“It was nice. We had people from all over the country send us letters and cards, but to get those from your hometown and be able to communicate with people from your hometown, that’s pretty cool,” he said.
As far as being a hero, the jury is still out on that one, he added.
“We received a lot of letters saying we were heroes. I don’t think really any of us out there see ourselves as heroes. This is our job now. This is what we do. This is what we’re trained to do,” he said.