Military digest 12/20/04

Navy Petty Officers 3rd Class Michael E. Roberts, James L. Mercer and Timothy C. Carlisle and their fellow shipmates recently returned from a routine scheduled deployment to the Arabian Gulf, while assigned to the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy, homeported in Mayport, Fla. Roberts, Mercer and Carlisle are among more than 7,600 sailors and Marines aboard the ships of the Kennedy carrier strike group deployed to carry out America's ongoing operations in the global war on terrorism. Roberts is a 1990 graduate of Dexter High School who joined the Navy in March 2000. He is the son of Elaine and Paul Roberts of Sikeston. Mercer is a 2000 graduate of Charleston High School. Carlisle is a 2001 graduate of Scott County Central High School.