• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Tarawa Medical Department Prepares for Western Pacific Deployment

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS050425-07
Release Date: 4/25/2005 3:02:00 PM

By Journalist 3rd Class Adam Stapleton, USS Tarawa Public Affairs

USS TARAWA (NNS) -- With a summer deployment fast approaching for the San Diego-based amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa (LHA 1) (Big T), the ship's medical department is preparing to handle the needs of more than 3,000 Sailors and Marines.

The upcoming deployment is to be an intense six months, according to Tarawa's crew.

“It takes a lot of training,” said Lt. Cmdr. Vincent DeCicco, Tarawa’s senior medical officer, whose department just received a fifth consecutive “Green H” award for overall excellence in health promotions programs. “Training is the big thing. We’re conducting training every day on everything from sick call and biological warfare to physical fitness and operation space cleanliness.”

With time quickly winding down, hospital corpsmen and dental technicians are working overtime almost every day to meet the medical needs of the crew, the embarked units and the Marines.

“Sometimes the hours are arduous, but you have to remind yourself at the end of the day that all of this is going to pay off during the deployment,” said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Joshua Miller, a Tarawa surgical technician.

Tarawa’s medical department has to be ready to handle more than just the care of their crewmates. Tarawa is the flagship of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 1, which is comprised of six ships and a submarine.

“Since we’re the largest ship in the group, we have to be ready to take care of the Sailors on the smaller ships traveling with us, as well, should certain emergencies arise,” said Lt. Stephanie Samson, Tarawa’s medical administration officer.

With more than 20 helicopters in ESG 1 providing support and an afloat medical facility second in capability only to the Navy’s hospital ships, “Big T” and the Expeditionary Strike Group will be ready to adapt to any medical situation. This includes a wide range of operations from supporting the Marines of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, to humanitarian relief and disaster assistance operations.

During the deployment, Tarawa’s medical staff will be supplemented by Fleet Surgical Team (FST) 3, which arrived aboard in April. FST 3 brings operating specialists, the ability to conduct certain surgeries at sea and the capability to handle mass casualty events.

“We’re looking forward to deployment and we’re going to be ready for any mass events that might occur,” said Lt. Cmdr. Henry Lin, FST 3’s general surgeon. “We will be able to perform as close to a hospital at sea as you can get.”

“We treat them as our brothers and sisters,” added DeCicco.

“The medical department here is being very supportive to us, providing us with all the equipment and support we need to accomplish our mission,” said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Joseph Samonte, an FST surgical technician. “Having this kind of teamwork from Tarawa’s medical staff is essential.”

Much like the Marines they train to support, Tarawa Medical and their FST 3 counterparts are prepared for any contingency, should the need arise.

“Westpac is right around the corner, and Tarawa’s medical department is ready,” said DeCicco.“We’ve got a great staff and crew here on the ‘Big T,’ and we’re looking forward to the deployment.”