USS Kearsage heads to Pakistan...

[Mary, Proud Mom of Nick]

Kearsarge ARG, 26th MEU bound for Pakistan

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Aug 27, 2010 17:20:23 EDT

NORFOLK, Va. — With three sharp whistle blasts, the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge began pushing away from Pier 12 at Norfolk Naval Station to begin the long, long voyage to the North Arabian Sea and the international Pakistan flood relief mission.

Kearsarge left a month earlier than planned, along with the amphibious transport dock ship Ponce and the dock landing ship Carter Hall, on two weeks’ notice. The group won’t make a single port call en route, according to Kearsarge’s commanding officer. And it’s not due home until late May, according to 2nd Fleet — nine months from now.

The ships of the amphibious ready group cut through stiff winds as they made for the Atlantic on Friday morning out of Norfolk and Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, beginning the short trip south to Morehead City, N.C., to pick up the Marines who weren’t bused to Norfolk to board Kearsarge. Within a week, the group will begin crossing the Atlantic; it’s expected to arrive on station in about a month, according to Col. Mark Desens, commander of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

“We are all grateful to flex the disaster relief capability of this Navy and Marine Corps team,” said Capt. Larry Grippin, Amphibious Squadron 4 commodore, during a pierside interview. “This mission shows that the U.S. military is truly a global force for good.”

The United Nations says the floods have covered nearly 63,000 square miles, killed more than 1,600 people and displaced millions

The hurried deployment underscores the Obama administration’s concern that the massive flooding could undermine local faith in the Pakistani government, and its desire that displaced and starving Pakistanis see the U.S. and Pakistani efforts in a more positive light than any insurgent force’s attempts to win hearts and minds.

To date, news reports indicate that insurgents have resisted taking violent action against aid teams, including those being flown in to northern Pakistan by U.S. aircraft. Marine Corps heavy-lift helicopters began flying such missions from the Peleliu ARG on Aug. 12.

Thursday, however, Taliban insurgents told The Associated Press that they are considering launching such attacks. Desens told Navy Times before Kearsarge pulled away that he hopes the Taliban realizes, at a minimum, how negatively such attacks might be viewed by those hoping for assistance.

More importantly, Desens said, “That would be the wrong thing to do at this time. We’re going there to provide assistance and relief to the Pakistani people. That’s the bottom line. We would certainly hope, whether it be the Taliban or anybody else, [that they] would refrain from interfering with that mission while people are in need.

“That said, we’re Marines,” Desens said. “When we go ashore, we always have the ability to protect ourselves.”

The 26th MEU also brings an enhanced aerial capability in the form of 10 MV-22 Ospreys, the tilt-rotor aircraft that Desens said will significantly beef up the relief effort.

“You’ve got an aircraft that’s over twice as fast, has at least double the range and a higher payload” than the heavy-lift helicopters now flying off the Peleliu, he said.

“For example, in the time it would take to go from the Peleliu to northern Pakistan, where the 15th MEU is operating right now, it takes about seven hours for a CH-46 just to get there,” Desens said. In the V-22, he said, “You can fly up, do missions, and fly back to the ship” in the same amount of time.

To date, the U.S. military — Navy, Marine and Army helicopters and Air Force C-130 cargo aircraft — has delivered more than 2 million pounds of relief supplies and rescued more than 7,000 people, according to the Pentagon. Second Fleet officials said Kearsarge is packing only limited relief supplies — essentially a reserve, as the supplies they’ll be flying will be on station.

“That’ll be pushed to us once we get in theater,” said Capt. Baxter Goodly, Kearsarge’s commanding officer.

Goodly said it’s not yet known how long the Kearsarge group will remain on station. “We are there at the invitation of the government of Pakistan,” he said. “We will be there as long as they need our assistance. Once that ends, we will go on to the remainder of our deployment.”

Additional missions, he said, would be in support of other ongoing operations in the region and the Mediterranean Sea — mostly maritime security operations, including counter-piracy work. The 2,200 Marines embarked also serve as a strategic reserve force, he said.

Leaving early was weighing heavily on the minds of sailors such as the three young dads, standing pierside, each holding an infant child. “This is what I signed up for,” said one of the three, Operations Specialist 3rd Class Josiaman Thomas, hugging his 6-week-old daughter, Kamora. “I mean, I wish we’d had the time to spend with our families, but that’s fine.”

Down the pier, Fireman Connor Upchurch of Pittsboro, N.C., had no such concerns as he stood with his father. He admitted he was feeling some anxiety. But the 22-year-old was looking forward to his first deployment. “I’m pretty eager to get started,” Upchurch said.

 

MC3 BRIAN GOODWIN / NAVYFamily and friends watch the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge pull away from Naval Station Norfolk, Va., on Aug. 27 for its transit Pakistan, where sailors and Marines will aid flood-stricken regions.

[Jen - Ship10mom(Div340)]

How is it that the location and route of our ships can be published like this? I don't understand.