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DET X-Ray Completes a Variety of Tasks

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS091112-13
Release Date: 11/12/2009 4:14:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Christopher Koons, USS Wasp Public Affairs

USS WASP, At sea (NNS) -- When the need arises Sailors from Beach Master Unit 2, Assault Craft Unit 2 and Amphibious Construction Battalion 2 based at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek in Norfolk, Va., come together to form DET X-Ray, which embarks USS Wasp (LHD 1) and other ships to assist with vital operations.

"We assist with hurricane relief, salvage operations, and direct Marine equipment coming to and from shore," said Chief Boatswain's Mate (SW) Karl Kundrat, DET X-Ray's Beach Party Team commander. "We're the first responders in case of a natural disaster.

"It depends on what tasks our commanding officer assigns us," said Kundrat. "Recently, we deployed on USS Oak Hill (LSD 51) and conducted exercises with Brazilian, Uruguayan, Chilean, Colombian, Ecuadorian and Peruvian marines in off and onloading personnel, passengers and vehicles."

Because of the highly technical nature of its work, DET X-Ray is composed largely of rates in which the ability to work with different types of equipment is necessary.

"We have boatswain's mates, quartermasters, operation specialists, gunner's mates and construction mechanics," said Kundrat. "Our guys also provide training to other nations' militaries."

The specialized nature of DET X-Ray's work also requires them to have the latest in military hardware.

"We have two Light Amphibious Re-Supply Cargo vehicles, which can run on both land and water," said Construction Mechanic 3rd Class Nicholas Asmussen, lead mechanic for DET X-Ray's Beach Party Team 1.

For Asmussen, being a member of DET X-Ray fits perfectly with his own hobbies and interests.

"I worked on cars when I was growing up, and it's what my dad did in the Navy, also," said Asmussen. "I like being able to work on engines and vehicles in general."

The scope of DET X-RAY's responsibilities has taken Asmussen and his colleagues to remote parts of the world to perform sometimes unusual tasks.

"Two of my most memorable experiences were repairing three generators for a clinic in Liberia and fixing an ambulance in Ghana that hadn't been running for three years," said Asmussen.

Wasp and the embarked Security Cooperation Marine Air-Ground Task Force are working alongside Mayport-based Destroyer Squadron 40 during a three-month deployment to build interoperability and cooperation between U.S. and partner nation naval forces through a variety of exercises as part of Southern Partnership Station.

For more news from USS Wasp, visit www.navy.mil/local/lhd1/.