How my brother's mental toughness through a Covid deployment helped bring us closer

Khassim Diakhate

January 20, 2022 / 9:00 am

caption: Petty Officer Serigne Diakhate spent nearly a year out at sea on an extended deployment during the Covid pandemic.

Imagine going to sleep after working a 12-hour shift only to be kept awake the whole night by aircrafts shaking your room. This was a reality for Petty Officer Serigne Diakhate, a Navy sailor on the USS Nimitz.

Serigne spent nearly a year out at sea on an extended deployment, instead of the usual six months that is expected. That was because the Navy wanted to prevent outbreaks of Covid on ships as the pandemic started to rise.

RadioActive’s Khassim Diakhate talked to his older brother Serigne about his experience.

[RadioActive Youth Media is KUOW's radio journalism and audio storytelling program for young people. This episode was entirely youth-produced, from the writing to the audio editing.]

The worst part about it is that we didn't know when we were coming home... because of Covid. Just not knowing is what really made it challenging. Serigne diakhate

From April of 2020 through March of 2021, my brother Serigne took on one of the toughest Naval deployments in history.

“Being on quarantine on the ship while we're in the beginning of the deployment, it just... it's a mental thing, like a mental block that you have to overcome,” my brother says.

The USS Nimitz spent 321 days deployed at sea without any ports due to Covid, as well as rising military tensions in the Middle East. The hours and living conditions played a huge role in the mental difficulties for sailors and Marines during their deployment.

“We're working seven days a week, 12-hour shifts so it's a non-stop constant grind, hustle.”

I couldn’t imagine being in my brother’s shoes during that time. I have trouble even remembering to take out the garbage before the truck comes, let alone surviving long work hours.

“And then there were times where we would have a water shortage, so we can’t do laundry for like a week,” my brother remembers.

And it just kept getting worse. Hearing these experiences from my brother really helped me realize how mentally tough he is.

“You'd be trying to sleep and a heavy aircraft is coming and landing just right above you, and you just feel the ship moving and it’s loud and you hear the catapults and it's just a very hard environment to get sleep in.”

Navy Deployments usually last about six months but because of Covid, this became the longest Naval deployment since the Vietnam War.

“The worst part about it is that we didn't know when we were coming home,” my brother says. “So we're out just not knowing when we were gonna come back because of Covid. Just not knowing is what really made it challenging.”

I ask him if there was a point when deployment made him unsure about the future.

“You just have to keep reminding yourself of the reason why you are doing this,” he answers. “Yes, you don't know when you're going to come home, but you've just got to pray you're going to come home eventually.”

Part of what helped my brother make it through this tough time was having the chance to talk to my family. Eventually with a lot of self reflection, he realized that this deployment was bigger than himself.

“Being able to talk to my family every once in awhile... I’d call on the payphone you know, call my mom, my dad, you guys, and like I said just reminding myself that I'm doing this for a good reason,” Serigne remembers.

I ask him what he advice he'd give to himself at the start of deployment, knowing what he knows now. He says he'd tell himself to “stay resilient. Do not let things get to your head, just stay strong, and you know, it will all be over.”

Hearing about my brother’s optimism and mental toughness during an uncertain point in his life made me discover a greater appreciation for him.

This story was created in RadioActive Online Intro to Radio Journalism Workshop for 15- to 18-year-olds, with production support from Kyle Norris and Meghana Kakubal. Prepared for the web by Antonio Nevarez. Edited by Diana Opong. Consultation support by Alain Stephens.

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