Saugus sailor returns to port

SAUGUS – After almost a week at sea, a Saugus resident is back with his family, albeit for a brief stay before shipping off once again.Robert Bruce Jr., 31, returned to Saugus from San Diego after a deployment in the Persian Gulf with the United States Navy. For the last week, Bruce has been spending time with friends and family before heading back to San Diego today.But his family isn?t just celebrating his return. Bruce was recently promoted from Seaman to Petty Officer Third Class.?It?s a bump in pay grade and a bump in rank,” said Bruce. “It?s basically a step in the right direction. It?s a lot of time and you have to pass a test. Now instead of being a worker, you?re a supervising worker. Now you have people that are under you that you?re in charge of.”Bruce was also recently awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.?It?s pretty prestigious,” said Bruce. “You get it from your chain of command recognizing you went above and beyond the call of duty. I guess they thought I did that. It?s basically about my performance over deployment. As I was on the ship I was qualified in mostly everything that you could be qualified in. In addition to all those qualifications, I was able to study enough to make it to third class. I was very proud to get this.”Bruce said the award should also help with his Navy career and should allow him to advance in rank more quickly.Bruce has been stationed on board the LSD 52 USS Pearl Harbor, an amphibious dock landing ship.?We transport Marines ultimately,” said Bruce. “That?s our mission. We went to a bunch of different countries and have done a bunch of training missions ? and try to show a Navy presence in the waters.”In just a year with the Navy, Bruce has already been to Singapore, Bahrain, the Philippines, Thailand, Guam and Cambodia.?We were the first Navy ship in Cambodia,” said Bruce, who has three years of service left. “It?s been a long, long time. They made a big deal about it. It was one of our first stops.”Bruce was also stationed off the coast of Kuwait for several months in support of troops there.?We?re really proud of him,” said Bruce?s dad, Robert Bruce Sr. “He knows that. The whole family is proud of him. He?s serving his country, and he?s trying to do a better thing for himself and his family.”On a sunny afternoon last Thursday, Bruce sat around the kitchen table catching up with his parents Karen and Robert Sr., his brothers Nick and Joey and sister Lynde. In one corner of the room the Bruces had a Christmas Tree set up while Easter and New Year?s Eve decorations were spread out across the table.?We?re celebrating it all in one day,” said Bruce. “I?ve literally been home for like an hour. It?s good to come home and get a little grounded. I?ve learned so much and have seen so much. People don?t see that many countries in all their lives. I got to experience all that in a big burst.”Bruce said his deployment has been even harder since he had to leave his wife Melissa behind.Bruce?s mom Karen said it?s good to have her son home, even though it?s only for a week.?He looks good,” she said. “He looks fit. He?s always been a big water baby even from infancy. He learned how to swim and fished. He loved fishing so he?s never not been around water. We couldn?t do it, but him, we knew he could do it.”While he?s home, Bruce isn?t planning to stay on dry land for long. He, his father and two brothers have chartered a boat in Gloucester for a father/sons fishing trip.?Eight months on the ocean and he?s going on a fishing trip,” said Karen Bruce. “What does that tell you?”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].