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Emory S. Land Completes UNREP During 2006 Gulf of Guinea Deployment

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060314-19
Release Date: 3/14/2006 10:39:00 PM

By Journalist 2nd Class (SW) Rebekah Blowers, USS Emory S. Land Public Affairs

GULF OF GUINEA, West Africa (NNS) -- USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) completed an Underway Replenishment (UNREP) March 9 while on its 2006 Gulf of Guinea deployment.

USNS Laramie (T-AO 203) came alongside off the coast of Africa and loaded Emory S. Land with 44 pallets of supplies, mail and also refueled the ship with 395,289 gallons of fuel.

Land's Commanding Officer, Capt. Michael Budney, said that this was an evolution the sub tender undergoes once a year.

“The evolution went flawlessly. Everyone did an excellent job,” Budney said. “This is a great training opportunity for the crew. A lot of our crew will end up going on other ships that do this evolution regularly, so now they are able to see it at least once.”

Chief Boatswain’s Mate (SW) David Trigg, Deck Department chief, said he was very proud of the hard work his crew put in to get the job done safely. He said that in preparation for the UNREP, all departments concerned were given training - both hands-on and in a classroom setting - along with numerous rehearsals and walkthroughs.

“This is one of the most dangerous evolutions around...the training paid off because we were ready for what we had to do,” Trigg said.

Stores Officer Lt. Roldan Mina said that his department put in training and manning to ensure the evolution was a success, as well.

“We prepared manpower, material handling equipment, everyone in PPE [Personal Protective Equipment], all the elevators manned...it was very successful,” Mina said. He added that an UNREP is important not only for Land Sailors, but also for other parts of Emory S. Land's mission.

“We took on stock, repair parts and mail. Whenever there is an UNREP, it helps not just the ship, but other units we support as well,” Mina said.

He stressed that the underway replenishment is a team effort and couldn’t have been done successfully without participation from every department on board.

“It went like clockwork. For a crew that doesn’t do UNREPs all the time, it went perfect. Everything went the way it was supposed to go,” Trigg concluded.

Emory S. Land deployed to the Gulf of Guinea in late February to initiate a series of security cooperation activities that will promote regional stability, counter terrorism and advance U.S. interests in the Gulf of Guinea region, while maintaining positive relations with regional partners.

This deployment will include a number of bilateral maritime safety and security training opportunities. The efforts will focus on maritime domain awareness, leadership development, natural disaster response, and medical and awareness and disease prevention. This is the second year Emory S. Land has deployed to the region with embarked mobile training teams designed to bolster existing capabilities within each of the partner nations. Gulf of Guinea nations participating and observing in this year’s deployment include Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, Congo and Angola.