He learned how to be a soldier; now, Alex Moore has to learn how to be a father.
Moore met his infant son, Hunter, for the first time yesterday when he and nearly 250 other sailors returned from a six-month deployment on HMCS Charlottetown.
Families waving Canadian flags cheered, hugged and welled up with tears at the sight of loved ones who have been abroad for half a year.
“I cried like a little girl when he was born,” said Moore, who was able to talk to his family via satellite phone during the birth on Feb. 14. “Now I have to learn how to be a dad. Look how tiny his hands are. I can’t wait to spend all kinds of time with him.”
As part of Operation Altair — Canada’s contribution to the U.S.-led anti-terrorism mission Operation Enduring Freedom, HMCS Charlottetown, including a CH-124 Sea King helicopter detachment, left Halifax on Nov. 1, 2007 for the Persian Gulf region.
The tour involved surveillance, boarding suspicious vessels and gaining intelligence on potential terrorist activity, including a major illicit drug seizure and a rescue off the coast of Oman.
