PEARL HARBOR — Deployed for seven months, the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis spent the majority of that time bouncing back and forth between the Persian Gulf and North Arabian Sea, supporting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq while also representing a show of force during heightened tensions with Iran.

The floating airport with about 70 aircraft and 5,000 in its crew and air wing pulled into Pearl Harbor yesterday for a short stay after transiting the Strait of Hormuz, an oil shipping lane and chokepoint between Oman and Iran, no fewer than 10 times.

For the Pearl Harbor-based destroyers O'Kane and Paul Hamilton, meanwhile, it was a return home after O'Kane deployed with the Stennis and Paul Hamilton was paired with the carrier Ronald Reagan in the western Pacific.

The Stennis air wing flew more than 7,900 sorties, dropping nearly 90,000 pounds of ordnance in Iraq and Afghanistan, and demonstrating what one commander called the "geographic flexibility" of a flattop.

Storekeeper 3rd Class Isaac Casares, 19, who joined the Navy in July 2006, was still pretty much in awe of the whole experience.

"It was just ... unbelievable. I can't believe I was there," said Casares, from Shiner, Texas. "Feels pretty great I'm helping out the country doing this."

The noise from jets constantly taking off "was loud, of course, but you get used to it," he said.

EXERCISES OFF IRAN

The February arrival by the 1,092-foot carrier marked the first time since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 that the U.S. had two carriers in the Persian Gulf region.

The Stennis and Nimitz strike groups, with 15,000 sailors and Marines between them, conducted two major exercises off Iran's coasts.

Machinist Mate 1st Class Jay Mamac, 33, who was born and raised in 'Ewa Beach, said a few times he saw Iranian vessels.

"They'd come up, look at us, we'd look at them, and they'd go away. It was kind of interesting to see another country's navy come out," Mamac said.

The Stennis was in the Gulf region when Iranian vessels intercepted 15 British sailors and marines in two inflatable boats and held the crew for 13 days. But Mamac said there were no close calls with the Iranian navy.

"No tensions whatsoever," he said. "Just sightseeing is all it was for us."

The carrier USS Enterprise arrived in the Middle East earlier this month, reducing the U.S. carrier presence to one in the region, but continuing the ship rotations there.

Mamac is meeting his wife, kids and father in Hawai'i. The big thing he expects to do?

"Probably eat," he said. "I miss all the local foods out here."

Carol and John Meyer flew out from Washington state and were among the hundreds of family members waiting on the pier for loved ones. Carol Meyer was scanning the faces of sailors streaming off looking for her son, Master Chief John Meyer.

"Brings tears to my eyes," said Carol Meyer. "He's been gone since January. It's wonderful to see him and everyone coming back safely from the deployment."

STENNIS DEPARTURE

The Stennis will leave Pearl Harbor for San Diego tomorrow. Mamac's father and son will be among the 1,200 family members making the trip to San Diego on the carrier on what's known as a "tiger cruise." From there the flattop will head back to its home port of Bremerton, Wash.

The Stennis Air Wing set records for combat support for troops in Afghanistan, flying more than 22,000 hours from the North Arabian Sea, over Pakistan and to Afghanistan and back, and into Iraq from the Persian Gulf.

Capt. Bradley Johanson, commander of the Stennis, said 10 trips through the Strait of Hormuz to and from the Persian Gulf and north Arabian Sea show the tremendous versatility of an aircraft carrier.

If the call comes in to move the carrier from the Arabian Sea to "go in, set up in the north (Persian) Gulf and begin flying missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom the day after tomorrow ... we can do that," Johanson said.

VALIANT SHIELD

The Stennis, along with the carriers Nimitz and Kitty Hawk, participated in the exercise Valiant Shield, which recently wrapped up off Guam.

More than 30 ships, 22,000 troops, and about 290 aircraft participated in a repeat of the big interoperability exercise that was first held last year.

The exercise pitted the carriers against six to seven fast-attack submarines that played enemy forces.

"We did very well against the submarines," said Rear Adm. Kevin Quinn, the commander of Carrier Strike Group Three, which includes the Stennis.

Damage Control Chief Select June Alarcon, 32, who lived in Kane'ohe before he joined the Navy at 17, had deployed to the Persian Gulf twice before, but not during wartime. This time, he really felt like he served his country.

"I've always wanted to get to do a deployment during a critical time, but I never had a chance," he said.

"This time, I finally got a chance."

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.