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VRC-30 "Provides" Airborne Supply Line on Kitty Hawk

Navy NewStand

Story Number: NNS030502-11
Release Date: 5/4/2003 4:02:00 AM

By Journalist Seaman David Beyea, USS Kitty Hawk Public Affairs

ABOARD USS KITTY HAWK, At Sea (NNS) -- Before the mail call, before the bombings and before the patrols, there is Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 30, the Providers, and their C-2A Greyhound aircraft.

"We support the fleet by bringing high priority mail, cargo and passengers to the ship," said Chief Aviation Electrician's Mate (AW/NAC) Lee Eureste, maintenance chief and air crewman for VRC-30.

Without the vital parts brought aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) by VRC-30, some Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 aircraft supporting Operation Iraqi freedom might not have been mission ready.

VRC-30 operates two C-2As, known as CODs, short for carrier on-board delivery. In addition to bringing parts and supplies, these craft help keep Kitty Hawk's Sailors stocked with personal needs. Items ranging from candy and cookies, to morale, welfare and recreation supplies, are brought aboard by the Providers.

"A lot of times, we bring in a bunch of geedunk (junk food) for the crew to enjoy," said Eureste.

All supplies brought aboard by the Providers, whether mission essential or personal in nature, help Kitty Hawk run smoother. Without VRC-30, the Hawk/5 team would rely on ship-to-ship underway replenishments as the sole means of bringing on supplies.

By bringing supplies aboard on Greyhounds, Kitty Hawk is able to keep to its flight schedule without the worry of daily replenishment-at-sea evolutions. The Providers simply join in with aircraft that are launching or landing for their missions, causing little to no disturbance to Kitty Hawk's schedule, Eureste said.

"To bring it by ship would mean the aircraft carrier would have to stop its evolutions. We want to be able to continue to get the supplies and continue what we're doing," explained Eureste.

With Greyhounds that are able to carry up to 7,000 pounds of cargo, or 1,000 pounds of cargo and 22 passengers, VRC-30 provides a supply line for Kitty Hawk.

The supply line from Kitty Hawk's operating area in the Arabian Gulf would start with a 45-minute flight to the Bahrain International Airport, where cargo was dropped off and picked up. Once at the airport, Provider air crewmen, with the help of maintainers, had three hours to unload cargo and mail arriving from Kitty Hawk, and load-up an average of 4,000 pounds of cargo.

"Sometimes, in a crunch, when we only have an hour to load the mail and cargo, the help of the maintainers helps out greatly," said Eureste.

Once the Greyhound is loaded, there's another 45-minute flight, back to Kitty Hawk, where the carrier on-board delivery crew, with help from maintainers and deck hands, had an hour and a half to perform a turnaround. In this time the COD would be unloaded and reloaded, ready for another flight.

With an average of 8,000 pounds and 15 passengers a day, VRC-30 performs two to three runs every day. "They usually give us an early afternoon, a late afternoon and one evening (flight)," explained Eureste.