JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After serving in the Middle East for 10 months, Master at Arms Second Class Rakim Rowley was welcomed home to Jacksonville Tuesday by his colleagues, old friends and a very excited wife.
"I'm just a bundle of nerves," said Sierra Rowley, as she waited for her husband at JAX. "I'm very excited. I just can't wait to see him. I'm going to try not to scream."
She didn't scream, but she took off running at the first sight of her husband.
Sierra Rowley has been so excited she hasn't been able to eat. Navy K9 trainer Rakim Rowley felt the same way -- counting the minutes after boarding his last connecting flight.
"53 minutes," Rakim Rowley said. "53 minutes is the gap between my friends and my coworkers and my family and getting him back home."
The "him" he was referring to is Raven -- a black Labrador who serves as a bomb sniffing dog.
"He's been excited ever since we made it back to the U.S. I think he knew that we were closer to coming home," Rakim Rowley said.
Besides the relief of sleeping in his own bed and binging on pizza, barbecue, and seafood, Rakim Rowley gave a new perspective on Jacksonville's recent rainy weather, which he experienced on his way home during a layover in Virginia.
"It rained a lot in Virginia, and it felt so good to have rain on my skin," Rakim Rowley said. "I was in 117 degree weather. It was a little difficult out there. So when you feel that rain again for the first time, it's kind of like you're a kid.
One of the first thing the couple said they're going to do is binge-watch Netflix shows.