Roughly 90 sailors from USS Kearsarge recently came home from 10 days underway to find their cars were towed from a fenced lot at Pier 14 on Naval Station Norfolk.
One spouse, who WHRO agreed to not identify because of the potential impact on her husband's career, said her husband contacted her from the ship the day after an Aug. 29 Teddy Swims and Miranda Lambert concert on base. The ship had been at sea for several days prior to the concert, which was sponsored by Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) on base.
“I got a frantic phone call from my husband saying, ‘Hey, I need you to go to the base and see if my car is still there.’ And I asked him what was going on, and he said, ‘Well, they're saying that all our vehicles over there were towed,’” the spouse said.
When USS Kearsarge returned to Norfolk in early September, sailors were bused to the MWR impound lot. Pictures show sailors waiting in a long line for more than three hours to get their vehicles back.
Kelly Wirfel, a base spokesperson, said the base coordinated with the ship’s security and barriers were put in place at Pier 14.
“Naval Station Norfolk personnel also discussed the parking restrictions with USS Kearsarge security personnel and specifically identified the areas where vehicles could not be parked. Barriers were placed in the affected parking area in advance of the event in the restricted parking as well,” said Wirfel, in a written response.
The spouse said sailors, including some senior staff, weren’t told and spent hours retrieving their vehicles. Sailors did not have to pay when they picked up the cars, but were told to save their receipts. It’s unclear who paid for the $180 impound fee for each towed car. She was told it was the ship’s captain.
“If they had notified the Kearsarge properly, I doubt there would have been as many vehicles towed, least of all the CO's personal vehicle,” said the spouse. “One or two sailors could have missed signs and a barrier. Dozens? No.”
After a maintenance period, USS Kearsarge has been working up to a scheduled deployment. It has been in and out of Norfolk as the ship trains with Marine units stationed in North Carolina. The Ambitious Assault Ship carries sailors and Marines.
The ship hosted Vice President JD Vance during the Independence Day weekend in New York City. In May, the crew attended Fleet Week in New Orleans.
