Ships to Return After Supporting Hurricane Katrina Relief
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS050921-10
Release Date: 9/22/2005 5:23:00 AM
From Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet Public Affairs
NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Nearly 3,500 Sailors will return to their home port here as USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) returns to Naval Station Norfolk Sept. 23 and dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) returns to Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek Sept. 22.
The ships departed Sept. 1 and arrived in the Gulf Coast region Sept. 4 to provide disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Truman anchored 50 miles off the coast of Mobile, Ala., and served as a forward floating base for 40 SH-60 Seahawks and Army UH-60 Black Hawks, some of which were from Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville. The helos ran approximately 90 missions ashore per day.
“Our goal was to bring the helos closer so they could be more responsive,“ said Truman Commanding Officer Capt. James P. Gigliotti. “We became that afloat forward support base where we could provide fuel, food, maintenance support and a mobile landing strip that would allow us to flow helos to the affected area a lot quicker, which meant a faster response time.”
One of the carrier’s most important missions was the production of water for the region. Truman is capable of producing 400,000 gallons a day.
Many Truman Sailors went ashore in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi to assist in taking water, food and other supplies to thousands of stranded hurricane victims. Sailors also volunteered to provide skills in language translation, equipment operations, medical treatment and other areas.
Whidbey Island deployed off the coast of Biloxi, Miss., with 35 members of Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 2 and more than 200 Marines of Marine Expeditionary Unit Service Support Group 24 Joint Task Force (MEUSSG-24 JTF).
Whidbey Island was prepared to help with electrical service, convoy operations, debris cleanup and water production.
ACB-2 was vital to cleanup efforts, bringing more than 30 different types of equipment, including a bulldozer, two Humvees, a dump truck, three causeways and 7-ton trucks.
ACB-2 also brought 15 water bladders, which hold up to 3,000 gallons of water. Aboard the ship were six Reverse-Osmosis Water Purification Units, which are capable of producing 400 gallons of water an hour.
Medical and dental teams from Whidbey Island set up a clinic at a Biloxi high school Sept. 9.
Sept. 12, Sailors from Whidbey Island, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 7 and Mexican amphibious ship ARM Papaloapan (A 411) cleaned up local schools in the Biloxi school district.
Truman and Whidbey Island are two of 19 U.S. vessels that provided disaster relief assistance in the region. Both were underway, with preparations complete and tons of supplies aboard, within two days of the order to ship out. In addition to the much-needed supplies, both ships brought vital manpower and special capabilities to the region.
"We were called upon by our country and fellow americans to do a job, and you did it well," Rear Adm. Joseph Kilkenny, commander of the Harry S. Truman Strike Group, said in a message release to the crew members of Truman and Whidbey Island. "You are a symbol of courage and dedication of our armed forces. The generosity and willingness to
stand up in a time of need is a testament of your honor, courage and commitment."
The Navy's involvement in the humanitarian assistance operations is part of a collaborative effort. The Navy is working to meet local and state requirements forwarded to the U.S. Northern Command through the Department of Defense from state governors and Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinators.
Working closely with Federal, State and local authorities, it has been determined that certain Navy capabilities are no longer required to achieve current and future objectives in the Gulf Coast region.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
