USS Kearsarge wins hearts and minds -- Part 3

ABOARD THE USS KEARSARGE, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- The USS Kearsarge took part in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. But for the last four months the amphibious assault ship encountered no enemy fire. Instead, its duties as part of Operation Continuing Promise 2008 -- including an unscheduled stop for hurricane relief in Haiti -- were strictly humanitarian.

The warship's compliment of four CH-53 Marine helicopters manned by Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464 became indispensable when the mission took a detour in September to assist in Haiti following a string of four hurricanes and tropical storms that devastated the Caribbean island nation.

The Atlantic phase of Continuing Promise was purposely scheduled during hurricane season to put assets in the area if disaster relief was required.

"Our job here was to provide the heavy-lift assets to transport personnel and supplies back and forth into each of the countries," explained Lt. Col. William Bentley, who heads the helicopter squadron.

Flooding seriously hindered ground transportation of aid from the Haitian capital to outlying areas, which is where the helicopters came in handy. "We were transporting World Food Program supplies and aid from their warehouse in Port-au-Prince into the outlying areas as far as 107 miles," Bentley explained.

Then there were the three amphibious vehicles parked in the hold of the Kearsarge. To deploy them, the well of the ship is flooded. The vehicles float into the ocean, and afterwards the water is pumped out. "These can go anywhere in the world they want to as long as there's a beach to land on," said Chief Warrant Officer Richard Barr, the officer in charge of the watercraft.

Bentley said that in 19 days the troops transported more than 1 million pounds of aid by air to Haiti. Add to that the 2 million pounds hauled by the amphibious boats and it equals significant help to Haitians attempting to regain their footing following four tropical storms.

But the mission also affected those conducting it. Petty Officer 2nd Class Josh Smith recalled women scooping rice off a dirt road with their hands after a valuable bag had broken. "Their need was desperate," he said, and locals were "working hand-in-hand beside us."

"Flying in the helos, you could see where the water had risen to," Airman 1st Class Brian Privett said. He remembered large swaths of land and bridges completely submerged by water -- a stunning sight from his elevated vantage point.

The four helicopters, which slumbered with their hydraulically controlled blades folded on the flight deck, are the biggest in the American military, noted Marine Cpl. Brett Buske. He knows the CH-53s better than almost anyone else -- it is his job to fix anything.

The chopper's 32,000-pound lift capacity enables it to transport two Humvees (or even another CH-53, if the occasion arises). During flights the aircraft is prone to leakage, Buske said, but not to worry: "With these, everyone jokes around that when it stops leaking, that's when you know you're out of fluids. So that's when it's time to get scared."

In what is perhaps the ultimate "Take Your Sons and Daughters to Work Day," the Navy hosted a Tiger Cruise during the mission's final three days at sea. Some of the crew's family and friends embarked in Miami and rode the Kearsarge north to Norfolk, where its tour was ending. Special events were held (think ice cream social, bingo night, movie night and a talent show).

While for some there was an atmosphere of the last days of summer camp, the Kearsarge's crew still worked just as hard as it did during the four months prior.

Seven-year-old Katelyn Sikes had a word of warning before boarding the ship. "Watch out for the alligator!" she said with all due seriousness, referring to the officer in the plush alligator suit who takes pictures with the new shipmates. She had been on a Tiger Cruise before to spend time with her mother, Lt. Cmdr. Kathaleen Sikes, a family nurse practitioner.

Katelyn could be found wherever the action was -- on the bridge where she got a lesson in nautical navigation, in the below deck trying on firefighting gear or performing with a group in the talent show to the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way."

And she was on Vulture's Row, the outlook above the flight deck, to get a firsthand view of a Marine Corps spectacle while the Kearsarge was anchored off the coast of North Carolina.

Norman and his crew were returning to New River Air Station in Jacksonville, N.C., and after making two trips transporting cargo, the Marines were "spinning all six" -- referring to the six CH-53 helicopters. The Marines loaded on the helicopters and lifted off one after the other, making for a loud and impressive show of force. Before returning home, where Norman was planning to have a beer in the hangar followed by a steak dinner with his wife and two young sons, the aircraft looped north more than 10 miles away, formed a line and returned to buzz the ship.

And there was Katelyn, sporting a flight helmet many sizes too big for her head.

When the Kearsarge docked in Norfolk, she, unlike the crew, was not yet ready to leave the ship.

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(Medill News Service)