Sunday, April 15, 2001

By Mark Oliva, Stars and Stripes

OAK HARBOR, Wash. — It’s going to be one heck of a party.

More than 10,000 well-wishers were to be waiting on the Tarmac at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island on Saturday to welcome the 24 crewmembers of the EP-3E surveillance plane that was detained in China.

About 60 family members were to greet the 22 sailors, one Marine and one airman as they came off a Navy C-9 transport airplane Saturday afternoon at the Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron ONE’s hangar entrance.

Navy officials are housing and escorting the families to the air station, where the crew is based. Requests for interviews were refused.

Chuck Neidzialkowski, chief of the Fleet and Family Support Center, is coordinating the family reunions. "We’ve tried to make sure everyone has someone to greet them."

Families are full of anticipation for the crew’s impending return, said base chaplain Navy Lt. Jon Conroe.

"Last night, the feeling was one of great joy," Conroe said during a news conference Friday. "There was a lot of laughing among the wives. The family members are grateful for all the attention but would like to get back to normal lives as fast as possible."

Counselors have been preparing families for the return of the crewmembers, who were detained 12 days on China’s Hainan island after their plane collided with a Chinese fighter. The crewmembers, who have been going through debriefings since their release Wednesday, were not expected to speak during the 45-minute celebration Saturday.

Base commander Capt. Larry Salter said the celebration will consist of two parts: the families meeting the crewmembers, then an official ceremony.

"We’re surely just ecstatic they’re coming back," Salter said during a news conference Friday.

The crew was deployed to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, and wasn’t expected to return until June.

Possible distinguished guests include Navy Adm. Thomas Fargo, Pacific Fleet commander, and several members of Congress, but base officials couldn’t confirm this Friday.

There are signs the crewmembers are in good spirits, Navy Capt. William Marriott, squadron commander, said Friday in a news briefing.

But Marriott said some crewmembers might need time and counseling to beat fears or concerns about flying again.

"It’s a primary concern of ours," Marriott said. "We’re offering counseling. Our intent is not to throw somebody up who isn’t ready to go."

Local base counselors say they don’t expect the crewmembers to suffer from lingering physical or mental ailments.

"These people were treated with respect. They weren’t interrogated in the classical sense," said Neidzialkowski, a certified mental health counselor of 26 years. "The greatest thing they might have to deal with might be the publicity."

Neidzialkowski has been focusing mostly on assisting and preparing the families for the crew’s return.

"It’s been a roller coaster," he said. "At first, everyone was very frightened and very confused. There was a lot of anxiety for [the crew’s] well-being. I think everyone got a little more relieved … as things progressed.

"We’ve been briefing them about the repatriation process," he said, letting families "know what to expect. We’re making sure people don’t have too high an expectation. We coach them in that direction and encourage them to move slowly back into life."

Neidzialkowski said most of the immediate families are young, none having children older than 5.

Navy officials said all 24 crewmembers would be granted 30 days of leave to begin immediately after the homecoming ceremony.

Locally, schools also have been stepping in to assist those children and parents left behind while the crew was deployed to Kadena.

"Each of the elementary schools has counselors on site," said Sherry Fakkema, assistant superintendent of Oak Harbor School District. "We’ve tried to keep the kids’ lives as normal as possible. We provide structure and routine that this is a safe, normal place. We have wives of the crew who are substitutes in our schools, and they asked to keep working."

But Fakkema said the incident has had a ripple effect throughout the schools, where 60 percent of the students are military families.

"The impact is lasting. We are reminded we are in a military community. Life is fragile and we need to think about our neighbors."

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