When a Sailor decides to reenlist and stay in the Navy they usually try to do something special or unique to commemorate the event. Reenlistment ceremonies have been performed hundreds of feet in the air, submerged below the water line and in the middle of the desert.

Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Christopher James Wheeler, a Sailor assigned to Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), had the idea of reenlisting on the flight deck of his grandfather's past ship, aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65).

"Growing up, he would always tell me sea stories about carriers he had served on, things he encountered and he built it up so much that it made me excited about the Navy," Wheeler said. "I always wanted to join the military and he is the reason why I decided to join the Navy."

Wheeler said his grandfather would tell him these sea stories about his Navy career as parachute rigger. Many of these stories took place on Enterprise.

"He used to tell me how big the aircraft carriers were and how they would never feel the waves; how you could barely tell you were in the middle of the ocean," Wheeler said. "Once they encountered a typhoon and it was so powerful that could really feel the waves. They could tell it wasn't the smoothest ride in the world and that even a ship that size could be humbled by Mother Nature."

Wheeler's reenlistment wasn't Lt. Cmdr. Michael Duwel's first time reenlisting a Sailor, but this one was unique and very special to him.

"It's pretty special, there is a significance to it and it's always more memorable when it means more to that person," Duwel said.

Lincoln is currently undergoing Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) at Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries in Newport News. Enterprise is also at Newport News Shipbuilding for its defueling and deactivation.

Lincoln is the fifth Nimitz-class ship to undergo RCOH, a major life-cycle milestone. Once RCOH is complete, Lincoln will be one of the most modern and technologically advanced Nimitz-class aircraft carriers in the fleet, and will continue to be a vital part of the nation's defense.

For more news from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), visit www.navy.mil/.