Accompanying Photos

 

Photo Caption: Family members and friends of Capt. Bruce H. Lindsey attended the ceremony when Lindsey became commander of the USS Carl Vinson, including (front, from left) Ruth Lide, Eleanor Thompson and Marjorie Lindsey; (back, from left) Capt. Al Thompson, Julie Thom...

NORFOLK, Va. — As child growing up in a Naval family, Bruce H. Lindsey learned what it was like to be a career serviceman.

His family moved often, and because of this, he didn’t think he wanted to join the Navy. He remained uncertain until he decided to attend the U.S. Naval Academy in 1978 after graduating from Reidsville High School.

That was his first step down the path followed by his father, Wes, who retired as a Navy captain and died in December 2007.

From the time he entered the academy, Lindsey has succeeded in pursuing a Naval career.

On July 7, Lindsey became the 12th commander of the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), one of the nation’s 11 aircraft carriers. The ship is 1,092 feet long and weighs approximately 97,000 tons when fully loaded,

Attending the Change of Command ceremony, held onboard before the assembled company of the carrier, were Lindsey’s mother, Marjorie; Mike and Maxine Fargis; Dot Love; Ann Melvin; Marie and Mike Martin and daughters Caroline, Kristen and Kendell Martin; the Rev. Doug McElroy and Dana McElroy; the Rev. Dave Huggins; Bill and Katherine Merritt; John and Gail Orshall; David and Reid Severance; Ronald and Jean Tate and Zack; John Jones; Mike Shelton; Dustin, Daniel and Joycelyn McCall; and Mary Lisa Sherrill, all of Reidsville.

Several were schoolmates and members of the Reidsville High School Rams football team on which Lindsey played cornerback and was a drop kicker. He also was a member of the tennis team.

Others attending were members of First Baptist Church, which Lindsey attended for many years after his family moved to Reidsville in 1977.

“It was a lot of fun to have the Reidsville contingent come and visit,” he said July 23 during a telephone interview from the ship after it had returned to Norfolk.

The crew had completed two weeks at sea, during which time they launched and recovered airplanes for the first time in four years.

The ship, which was commissioned in 1982, had just completed a major overhaul, Lindsey said. He explained that aircraft carriers have a 50-year life expectancy and are overhauled about 23 years into their service in a four- to five-year process.

After the work was completed, Lindsey and the crew were ready to assume their duties on the carrier.

“That was the first chapter in the second half of this ship’s life,” Lindsey said. “This was a major milestone.”

After the ceremony, the Reidsville group toured the ship before attending a reception in Lindsey’s honor.

Born in Charleston, S.C., where his father was stationed, Lindsey received his commission from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1982 and was ordered to Pensacola, Fla., for initial flight training.

As a naval flight officer, he works the weapon systems.

His first shipboard landing was on the USS Enterprise in 1984 in the Gulf of Oman. He was a passenger in a plane that made the landing on the carrier C-2 because he was being transported to the ship.

“There are no windows, so you really have no idea what’s going on,” Lindsey said. “A crew member tells you when to brace right before you land, and the plane catches the wire (that stops it).

“When it’s over, you are exhilarated, and it’s like riding a roller coaster ride at the end,” Lindsey said. “You want to go do it again.”

Over the years, Lindsey has accumulated more than 2,700 flight hours and 640 landings aboard aircraft carriers.

He attended the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., where he received the President’s Award for Academic and Public Service Excellence while earning a master’s degree in National Security and Strategic Studies.

Four years ago, he was awarded a doctorate in public policy from George Mason University. 

Lindsey reported to the USS Theodore Roosevelt in 2005 to assume duties as executive officer, completing deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Two years later, he took command of the USS Dubuque.

He is married to the former Linda Lee Brown of Chesapeake, Va. They have a son, Ben, a senior at the University of Virginia who plans to attend medical school, and a daughter, Blair, a rising sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill.

As commander of the Carl Vinson, Lindsey said he has approximately 2,800 people under his direct command. The air wing adds another 2,200. All told, the ship will have about 5,000 onboard, he said.

“We are like a small city. We have a post office, a medical/dental facility, food services that feed about 5,000 people three meals a day.

“In a way, I am like a mayor of a small city except I didn’t have to get elected,” Lindsey said.

“I don’t think I would be a good politician.”

Ann Fish is a Reidsville native who has lived in Eden since 1979. She is a retired newspaper editor and reporter. Contact her at annsomersfish@yahoo.com. Cutline