Friday 7 August 2026 0000
The true backbone of our military community is not measured by headlines or geopolitical strategy, but by the quiet sacrifice of those who serve and the families who wait behind. On this “R.E.D.” Friday, August 7, 2026, that human reality takes center stage as we reflect on the recent homecoming of our sailors.
The Homecoming of the USS Virginia
On Monday, August 3, 2026, the first-in-class nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Virginia (SSN 774) officially returned to its homeport at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut. Under the command of Cmdr. Jeremy Wheelis, the submarine completed a demanding six-month deployment operating within the U.S. European Command area of responsibility.
For half a year, the sailors of the Virginia operated silently beneath the waves in arduous environments, executing critical national tasking alongside international allies. While mainstream media often reduces such deployments to cold statistics or strategic metrics, the true weight of the mission is felt by the human beings behind the uniforms.
The Real Cost of Deployment
A six-month submarine deployment means six months of silent anxiety, missed milestones, and steadfast endurance for the families holding down the home front. As the Virginia docked in Groton, the pier-side atmosphere captured the emotional core of military life: families reuniting, spouses embracing, and loved ones finally seeing an end to the long wait, including five sailors meeting newborns born while they were away at sea.
Why We Remember Everyone Deployed
This is precisely why we wear red on Fridays. R.E.D. Friday (Remember Everyone Deployed) is a steadfast commitment to keep those who are currently serving away from home in our hearts and minds. While the crew of the Virginia is blessed to have returned to the arms of their families, thousands of other service members remain stationed across the globe on foreign shores and deep waters, separated from everything they hold dear.
We honor the resilience of our service members and the families who support them. Respect, honor, and sacrifice remain the true foundation of our community.
I am not a veteran. I am a member of the Civil Air Patrol, the United States Air Force Auxiliary. But in 1991, personal loss brought me to a place I never left.
Over two decades later, that loss led me to the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown, Connecticut, where I took on the coordination of Wreaths Across America — which grew into the largest and fastest growing veterans program in the state. I didn’t do it for recognition. I did it for them.
In 2016 I founded the Connecticut Veterans Bulletin. Not because I served, but because I believe those who did deserve to be honored, connected, and kept alive.
Twenty-two veterans die by suicide every day. I knew about that number before it became a hashtag. I knew it personally, long before anyone was talking about it.
This publication exists because that number is unacceptable. Because every veteran in Connecticut deserves to know someone gives a damn.
That someone is me.
Discover more from CONNECTICUT VETERANS BULLETIN
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.