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-Short Attention Span Theater- |
USS Truman Continues Preparations to Aid Hurricane Relief |
2005-09-04 |
USS HARRY S. TRUMAN, At Sea (NNS) -- The Norfolk. Va., based ship will serve as the command center and afloat staging base in the waters off the Gulf Coast. It was scheduled to arrive this morning. Phase two of USS Harry S. Trumanâs (CVN 75) involvement in Joint Task Force (JTF) Katrina began at dawn Sept. 2 with a refueling at sea (RAS). Truman received 1.3 million gallons of jet fuel from USNS Supply (T-AOE 6) to support Army and Navy helicopters that are scheduled to embark tomorrow. âWeâve never taken on this much fuel at one time since Iâve been here,â said Aviation Boatswainâs Mate (Fuels) 2nd Class Johnny Clayborne. Clayborne is a New Orleans native who has been stationed on board for two years. âItâs difficult. This is a larger amount of fuel, so we have to do a lot more testing for the purity of the fuel.â The SH-60 Seahawk and Army UH-60 Blackhawks scheduled to come aboard will fly to and from the ship with food, water and other supplies for those affected by Hurricane Katrina. âWe have more than 20,000 bottles of water and more than 17,000 [meals, ready to eat],â said Supply Officer Cmdr. John Palmer, of Lexington, Ky. We also have cots, sheets and blankets, said Palmer. Truman is scheduled to arrive off the Gulf Coast early Sunday morning, and one of her tasks will be to support the helicopters bringing these items ashore. âWe are unsure of how many helos will come aboard, but it will probably be between 30 and 40,â said Trumanâs Air Boss, Cmdr. Doug Carsten of Byron, Mich. âWe talked with our counterparts on the West Coast, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), who helped in a similar mission during the tsunami relief. They were doing up to 90 missions a day. I think we can match that here aboard Truman.â For all the key players, this RAS was business as usual, but as usual, it required the utmost cooperation among the various departments involved. âIf one of us is tired, the other will pick up the slack,â said Aviation Boatswainâs Mate (Fuels) 3rd Class David Tuttle of Enfield, Conn. âWeâve got all our shipmates looking out for one another.â In addition to aviation boatswainâs mate specialists handling the fuel hoses and storing the fuel for further use, boatswainâs mates and gunnerâs mates also manned replenishment stations. âDuring underway replenishments, we always work together,â said Boatswainâs Mate 3rd Class Josh Van Drei, of Valley City, Ohio. âWe canât do it without the gunners; we canât pump fuel without the âfueliesâ and we canât run the station without Deck Department. Everybody has to cooperate together to get this done.â While the job was routine, the focus was definitely much different. The RAS detail wasnât simply loading fruit, vegetables or soda for use aboard Truman, but rather, serving a purpose toward the greater good. âIt makes me feel proud â Americans helping Americans,â said Van Drei. âWeâre primarily a fighting force and not a humanitarian aid force, but going to help people lets them see the wide range of what the military can do.â |
Posted by:Sherry |
#1 A ship of pros, quite unlike the ship of the fool cited above... |
Posted by: Ptah 2005-09-04 19:44 |