A U.S. Navy lieutenant stood with arms crossed watching a helicopter prepare to take off. This would be the last time he would see his sister for a while.

The siblings, both Naval Academy alumni and Los Gatos, California natives, shared time deployed aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) before one left to continue operations elsewhere.

"It's fantastic having someone you know on the ship that you can embarrass every once in a while," said Lt. Robert Pederson. "It's also good to have someone there if you need anything."

Robert Pederson is an MH-60R Sea Hawk naval aviator by trade and a Theodore Roosevelt shooter in charge of launching and recovering aircraft. His sister, Lt. j. g. Erika Pederson, is a naval aviator assigned to the Battlecats of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 73.

"Being an older brother is awesome because you get to be the first for a lot of things, but then you also get to see and share a great sense of pride in your younger siblings," said Robert Pederson. "Having Erika on this deployment is great because I get to live vicariously through her and hear about her experiences before I go out there as a department head or even further."

Robert Pederson entered the Naval Academy in 2004. Six years later his sister followed in his footsteps.

"I decided to go to the Naval Academy with my passion of flying from when I was a kid," said Robert Pederson. "Growing up, I loved going to air shows with my father and I was able to achieve my dream with the academy."

Robert Pederson has been flying in the Navy for nine years and was also a flight instructor for 31 months at HSM 41 in San Diego.

"Right now I would definitely agree that he is the better pilot," said Erika Pederson. "He has more hours and more experience. I am immediately jumping into work-ups and a deployment. By the end of deployment, I may have a few more experiences that he doesn't."

After high school, siblings can be pulled in different directions due to career decisions. However, Robert and Erika Pederson both joined the Navy and ended up on the same ship during a deployment. Deployment together provides opportunities for shared memories that wouldn't otherwise be possible.

"It's an amazing experience and I'm super excited I get to spend it with another family member," said Erika Pederson. "It's something not everyone else can say."

Their paths may potentially cross again at the end of deployment but until then, they will continue to serve their country together.


For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), visit www.navy.mil/.