USS Tarawa docks, 3000 US sailors in Perth
The USS Tarawa docked in Fremantle with more than 3000 US marines and sailors making Perth home for the weekend.
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23635597-2761,00.html
Clarissa Phillips
May 02, 2008 05:00pm
The US Navy ship has been deployed for six months already, and will be heading home to her homeport in San Diego for a two-week break after the short stop Down Under.
Those on board haven’t been on land for more two weeks, and Captain John Miley said they’re looking forward to it after a stint in the Gulf.
“I know the sailors and marines have definitely been looking forward to coming down here and getting in. We’ve been underway now for a couple of weeks, so it’ll be a nice break for them. They’ve been working hard,” he said.
The Tarawa crew have made several stops along the way to provide humanitarian assistance to disaster areas.
The deployment started in Bangladesh, where the crew provided medical and dental assistance during the Sea Angel 2 Operation last year.
They then sailed to the Gulf to provide maritime security for troops and other ships in the area, followed by marine training exercises off the coast of Africa before heading back to the Gulf.
It’s a tight squeeze on board the ship, with the massive crew having to fit their lives on the 250 metre ship.
The Tarawa houses all crew, with sailors and marines piled up in triple-bunks, with barely centimetres between their faces and the bed above.
The Tarawa also has gyms, a hospital, dentist, shops, internet access, television and radio, plus has to store food for all on board.
And there are dozens of trucks and tanks to fit in, with loading the ship requiring precision planning by engineering staff, including Lonnie Collins.
“We have everything planned out already…and they give us the plan, our load plan. Depending on what we take, if we get a bunch of boxes it can take four hours. Trucks, it can take an hour, or 30 minutes,” Collins said.
The amphibious assault ship is more than 30-years old and carries 35 aircraft including AV-8B Harrier jets, and Cobra, Hueys, Super Sea Stallion and Sea Knight Helicopters.
The short runway on board means the aircraft have to be agile, most able to take off and land vertically.
Even after years of flying Harrier jets, pilot Mike Rountree still gets nervous when it’s time to land.
“The hardest part is landing on the ship. Ever single time, no matter what we do, missions or otherwise, when we come back to the ship it’s challenging,” he said.
And each aircraft plays a different part. H46 helicopter pilot Michael Johnson’s main role is assault support.
“What our job is is to get marines into and out of zones within a minute of where they want to be and within a hundred feet of where they want to be,” Johnson said.
It takes about two years for pilots to earn their wings to fly any of these multi-million dollar aircraft, which is a huge responsibility seeing the average age of the crew is just under 20.
The Tarawa crew will also volunteer their time at the Cohunu Koala Park while they’re in Perth, where marines and sailors will help weigh and document koalas.