Our longtime readers know that we followed Southwest Customer Francisco Delgado on his deployment last year to the Persian Gulf.  To show our support for the men and women of the USS Nimitz, we want to continue the diaries with one of Francisco's former shipmates, Marco Melloni.  Marco is part of the Southwest Airlines Family because his father, Bruno,  works in our Technology Department here in Dallas.

Hello, I am IC3 Marco Melloni. I am currently stationed in San Diego California onboard the USS Nimitz, and I am serving my final year of service in the US Navy preparing to depart on my third and final deployment over seas. I work in communications electronics in support of my ship.

Seven days, that is the amount of time I have left here in sunny San Diego before I depart on yet another cruise into the Pacific onboard this mighty aircraft carrier. I have completed two of these six-month cruises into the Pacific since boarding this ship several years ago. In fact, only a few months ago we pulled into the waiting embraces of friends and family after my second voyage into the deep blue sea. But as duty calls, we turn right around and prepare to repeat our task. Much has happened in this short period home. Friendships were won and lost, strengthened and weakened, but in the end we do what we can to make the best of this little time we have. People join the military for various reasons. Be it patriotism, duty, a hope for a better life, or self betterment. Yet in the end, we all make the sacrifice for those we leave behind. It is those people that stay behind that give us the strength to continue on and drag through months at sea. I have noticed now with the coming of my third departure that within the short weeks and days of leaving, my bonds with those whom I care about grow oh so very strong. It is not until you realize that you are to be without, then and only then do you realize just how important what you have really is. With this in mind I am spending these last moments in the best ways that I can. With the people I care about, the friends who carry me through it all, and the love who holds my heart. In the coming months I will be giving as detailed a description as possible of our journeys until we finally again, return home. I hope that my writings will give to you all an open eye into the workings of our everyday life.