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Team Seal Beach Completes Major Ordnance Operation

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS131122-14
Release Date: 11/22/2013 1:23:00 PM

By Gregg Smith and Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Eli Medellin, Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Public Affairs

SEAL BEACH, Calif. (NNS) -- Personnel from Navy Munitions Command CONUS West Division Unit Seal Beach and Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach supported the fleet's ordnance needs with the completion of a major operation in Long Beach Harbor Nov. 22.

The Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7) was anchored in Long Beach Harbor for four days of intensive work as munitions were moved to and from the weapons station via a series of barges.

More than 700 tons of missiles and other munitions were transferred during the operation.

'Missiles that needed recertification and periodic maintenance were unloaded from the Carl Brashear and will be taken to our surface-launched missile intermediate maintenance facility,' said Craig Allen, Unit Seal Beach ordnance operations department head. 'At the same time, certified missiles and other munitions from the base were loaded back onto the ship.'

'This is an operation we need to perform whenever we have a ship that is either too large, or carries too many explosives, to safely dock at the weapons station's primary ammunition loading wharf in Anaheim Bay,' said Unit Seal Beach Director Kevin Miller.

Because the configuration of the bay does not support some types of Navy ships, a certified explosives anchorage was used in Long Beach Harbor, three miles away from the weapons station. Protected from heavy seas by the Long Beach breakwater, the anchorage has been in use by the base since World War II.

With the operation taking place largely outside of the base boundary, coordination with other law enforcement agencies was essential.

Working with the weapons station's security unit were patrol boats from the Long Beach Police Department, Orange County Sheriff's Department, Los Angeles Police Department and the U.S. Coast Guard.

'Everybody has their position and we all work together as a team. We have an outstanding relationship with all of them,' said Master-at Arms 1st Class Mark Schlom, leading petty officer for the station's harbor patrol unit.

'We were also able to call on our naval reservists to provide additional water and land-side security support,' said Master-at-Arms 1st Class Alex Roeloffs from the naval Reserve security force assigned to the base.

'We help man the gates and towers as well as manning the harbor patrol boats,' said Roeloffs.

'Besides being used for T-AKE-class ships, this type of barge operation allows Navy Munitions Command to maintain the ability to load even larger vessels, such as LHAs and LHDs, as a contingency,' said Miller. 'This would be important in cases where weather delays prevent the use of helicopters to support the normal loading of these ships through our Fallbrook Annex.'

'While requiring significantly more resources that a standard operation at our wharf, this is still a critical mission for us,' said station and Unit Seal Beach Commanding Officer Capt. Tripp Hardy. 'We need to be able to support the fleet's munitions needs, and this type of unique activity is one of the tools we use to get the job done.'