Seaman Christian Wood, a 20-year-old Tumwater High School graduate, is a yeoman aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The carrier is set to arrive in Bremerton from its previous homeport in San Diego.

Farrar, 42, a Tumwater resident and massage therapist, said her daughter hasn't had many chances to visit home since she left for basic training in February 2004. Wood joined the aircraft carrier in the midst of its six-month deployment to the Indian Ocean. The deployment ended in November.

She loves the idea of having her daughter close enough to home that she can visit on weekends, she said.

But her daughter has mixed feelings.

"She's really homesick and really excited to be home," Farrar said. "But at the same time, she said, 'Mom, I joined the military to see the world.' "

Wood has visited Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and other international ports of call while stationed aboard the ship.

The USS John C. Stennis will replace the USS Carl Vinson, which will shift its homeport to Virginia sometime this summer. The Navy occasionally rotates carriers among its various fleets.

About 3,200 sailors as well as family members have begun relocating to Bremerton. Some families will have to wait to secure government housing in Bremerton, because sailors with the Carl Vinson reside there until they depart, according to the Web site of the USS John C. Stennis.

The 1,092-foot-long carrier, named after a U.S. senator from Mississippi hailed as "the father of America's modern Navy," was commissioned in December 1995.

Christian Hill can be reached at 360-754-5427 or chhill@ olympia.gannett.com.