Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

e-mail from the tsunami efforts

hr
hr Member Posts: 6,106
in THE MAIN WALL
FW: hard work...Forwarded to me by a former squadron mate and retired
> maintenance LDO in the Navy. Larry
>
>
> Kelly is onboard USS Lincoln with a super hornet squadron (VFA-2)--The
> planes are in the hanger bay, but the people are out saving lives after
> this
> most terrible tragedy.
> Happy New Year, Dell
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Robert K LCDR (VFA-2)
>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2005 11:58 PM
>
> Subject: hard work...
>
>
> Thanks so much for all the emails....I'm so behind on answering all of
> them.
>
> I'm still aboard the ship, but have a little bit more of an idea of
> what's
> expected:
>
> Our squadron (and the others I believe) have broken ourselves into 5-man
> working teams -- about the number of people they can squeeze onto a
> helicopter. We have put together about 30 of these teams from our
> squadron,
> and I'm the team leader for #9. Assuming we keep up the pace of getting
> a
> team ashore every other day, I'll be on deck in about a week. From the
> guys
> who have made it ashore, most of the work is non-stop unloading supplies
> from the big-wing cargo carriers (C-130's, etc.) staging them, and then
> loading up the helos as fast as they can so that they may ferry them
> deeper
> into the country. Each team goes ashore for a full day of labor and
> then
> returns with the last helos to the ship before sunset.
>
> Our helo guys are working their asses off.
> A good friend of mine from high school is actually a pilot in one of the
> two
> helicopter squadrons we have aboard. I ran into him in the wardroom
> between
> meals a couple of days ago, and he was visibly exhausted from being in
> the
> cockpit for seven hours straight. I heard he appeared on CNN during a
> brief
> interview within the past few days. Mark Leavitt -- great guy. His and
> other friends' stories are very sobering. The number of orphans they
> saw is
> just crushing.
>
> One day, a 737 carrying supplies hit a water buffalo during landing roll
> out, tearing up much of the landing gear as it skid to a stop in the
> middle
> of the runway. Everyone was ok (except for the animal), but the single
> landing strip was now obstructed, preventing any more supplies from
> arriving. Pushing and pulling the huge aircraft off to the side was
> futile.
> Eventually, someone back here on the ship thumbed open the F/A-18
> operators
> manual, looked inside the front cover and found the phrase, "for any
> aircraft emergencies, please call Boeing at 1-800-12......". He picked
> up
> the satellite phone, called the number, and at 4am Seattle time, was met
> with, "Hello, this is Boeing emergency services, how can I help you?"
>
> "Ah, yes...I've got a 737 that hit a water buffalo."
>
> "Is this your 737?"
>
> "Uh...not really."
>
> "Ok...well, what exactly is the problem?"
>
> "Well the landing gear was trashed and we can't push or pull it off the
> runway."
>
> "I see...I think I can help you...."
>
> ...And he did. Our folks got him in touch with the folks on site at the
> runway, had the equipment put in place to lift the behemoth, and start
> getting it out of the way. I believe the cargo planes should be back in
> business this morning.
>
>
> In the meantime -- and I'm not sure you all realized this -- the entire
> rest
> of the airwing is essentially grounded. The hangar bay is stuffed with
> planes, and what jets are left up on the flight deck are tightly packed
> into
> clusters to make as much room for the helos as possible. Our deck is
> used
> as the gas station for all the US helos working in this area. And it's
> full
> service -- helos land, keep their rotors engaged, and a fuel hose is run
> up
> to them. Ten minutes later, they're removing the chocks and chains and
> returning to Bandar Aceh for more supply runs.
>
> Unlike my last deployment, I'm not anywhere close to the people who make
> decisions out here; so I'm like everyone else wondering how long we're
> going
> to stay out here doing this. But, if I were, I'd think that the
> decision of
> when to leave would not be based on keeping our homecoming schedule. As
> long as we're saving lives, I don't think we're going to leave unless
> we're
> relieved by another US command structure which can provide at least the
> same
> airlift capacity. Those of you who are Navy friends of mine I'm sure
> are
> wincing because you're familiar with all the CQ currency issues which
> are
> certainly going to become an issue at some point. Everyone is out of
> the
> 7-day window as of today, i.e.
>
> Joe Barnes, a friend of mine who spent his day ashore humping bags of
> rice
> yesterday, said a Red Cross worker came up to him and thanked him for
> the
> lives the Americans had saved. Sometimes, after a helo drops off a load
> of
> supplies at a remote village, they take onboard badly injured men,
> women,
> and children -- whatever they can carry -- and bring them back to the
> Red
> Cross folks at the airfield. Some of these people wouldn't have
> survived
> without the medical attention they received at Bandar Aceh. Because of
> stories like that, I feel it would be a grave mistake for us to leave
> just
> to make it home "on time" -- politcally and morally.
>
> For the time being, I'm just like all of you -- sitting on my hands,
> wishing
> I could do something.
>
> I'll try to answer as many emails as possible. And I'll be sure to keep
> you
> informed on what's going on out here.
>
>
>


<A HREF="http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm?id=144&Step=30">To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"</A>

Comments

This discussion has been closed.

Categories