Photo By Gunnery Sgt. Jessika Alarcon | U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Felipe Rodriguez, left, a Company Commander with the Special...... read more read more
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NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, ITALY (Nov. 29, 2016) - During an overseas deployment, a father is reunited with his son in the most unlikely of circumstances.
Captain Felipe D. Rodriguez, a company commander assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Africa at Naval Air Station, Sigonella, Italy, crossed paths with his son, Lance Cpl. Tyler Rodriguez, a rifleman deployed with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit and aboard the USS Wasp.
Deployments overseas can be difficult for Marines and their families; the unwanted separation and the struggle of staying connected through social media or telephone are hardships well known by military families. Despite the odds, a father and son were able to reunite during the fourth and fifth months of their deployments, respectively.
Felipe Rodriguez has been on multiple deployments throughout his Marine Corps career, ranging from a month long to an entire year.
“I wasn’t always home to raise my son because I was usually on deployment, and my wife had to take on my responsibilities as a parent while I was away,” Rodriguez said. “But when I had to see my son depart on his deployment, and experience what my family had to experience every time I left, my wife and I weren’t ready for it.”
Tyler Rodriguez planned on joining the U.S. Army Special Operation Forces, but his father, being a Marine, couldn’t see his son join another branch of service. With his father’s encouragement and after seeing his friends join the Marines, Tyler changed his mind and enlisted to become a Marine rifleman.
Now a Lance Corporal, Tyler is on his first deployment with the 22nd MEU.
During mid-November, the 22nd MEU was traveling through the Mediterranean Sea and needed to resupply, and Italy had the closest port. While the ship was off-shore, Rodriguez’s son was tasked to escort the resupply aircraft to Naval Air Station Sigonella, giving Capt. Rodriguez and Lance Cpl. Rodriguez a chance to reunite.
“Seeing my son in Italy was definitely a welcomed surprise,” Rodriguez said. Tyler and I were lucky enough to both get stationed in Camp Lejeune, N.C., so I was able to say goodbye to him before he left, but to cross paths on deployments is something unheard of.”
During their time in Italy, they had the opportunity to spend an afternoon climbing Mount Etna, one of the famous active volcanos in Sicily.
Unfortunately, with the thrill of their shared experiences overseas, they were forced with the bitter-sweet moment of having to say goodbye to each other a second time.
“When I deployed as a rifleman to Afghanistan, I remember the environment being dangerous and unstable, which is a situation that I didn’t want my son to be in,” Rodriguez said. “But I see the eagerness in my son’s eyes to be the best rifleman possible for the Marine Corps, and I want him to experience what he joined the Marine Corps to do.”
Despite the hardships and struggles he and his family have faced through 20 years of service, Rodriguez believes his career has given him many things for which to be grateful, including watching his son carry on the proud tradition of becoming a Marine and reuniting in the middle of their deployments.
| Date Taken: | 11.29.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 12.02.2016 10:52 |
| Story ID: | 216230 |
| Location: | NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, IT |
| Web Views: | 2,739 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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