(Click to enlarge all photos)
Aboard USS Kearsarge (LHD-3)
I spend a lot of time in my kayak reliving my days at sea as part of the PACE Program, run by Central Texas College. The program offers college level classes (and credits) to sailors assigned to ships (afloat). Becoming a part of that program was one of the better decisions I have ever made, and, as of this writing, I have been on two deployments: one, on an Amphibious Assault Ship (helicopter and harrier jet carrier); the other, on a Guided Missile Destroyer.
Since becoming a part of the P.A.C.E. Program, which acronym stands for, Program Afloat for College Education, I ruminate a lot about my time spent aboard ship with the young sailors who are trying to better themselves by acquiring some college credits while defending their country. I must say that all such memories are more than pleasant, and I have a new appreciation for the young men and women who choose to go “down to the sea in (U. S. Navy) ships” to preserve our dominance of the world’s oceans. My first deployment was in November 2007 aboard the USS Kearsarge, LHD 3, an amphibious assault ship. It is the fourth U. S. Navy ship named for Kearsarge Mountain in New Hampshire. The primary mission of amphibious assault ships is the embarkation, deployment, landing and support of a Marine Landing Force. While aboard Kearsarge, I was in the company of 3,000 Marines and 1300 sailors, and there was not a heck of a lot of room to move around. I slept in a small “stateroom” with three other civilians (one of whom was another PACE instructor), and there was not even enough room to have an original thought. My four classes all dealt with writing – from very basic stuff to more advanced levels, including poetry, drama, and the short story.
The other PACE instructor and I arrived in Bahrain in early November only to learn that Kearsarge had left the area to head for the East Coast of Africa to chase after the Somali pirates who were menacing commercial shipping in that area. They were somewhere near Djibouti when we left Bahrain aboard the USNS Lewis and Clark to find her. We spent eight days on the Lewis and Clark (a re-supply ship operated for the Military Sealift Command by a civilian crew), and during that time we did underway replenishments (refueling & re-supplying) with three Navy ships in the Indian Ocean, one of which was the USS Ponce, LPD 15, on which oldest son Bob had served as Executive Officer in 1998-1999. Given the number and types of Navy ships at sea on any given day around the world, what were the chances I would find myself on a ship I was not scheduled to be on, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, meeting up with a ship on which one of my sons had previously served? On the eighth day, we finally rendezvoused with Kearsarge and were flown to her deck in one of the two helicopters of the Lewis and Clark. We started our classes immediately since we had only six weeks to complete them before the next courses were to begin (so each of our class sessions would be extended, and classes would be held six days a week with tutoring on Sundays).
Living conditions could have been better, but they were not bad. Privacy, of course, was non-existent. The Ward Room Mess was a huge room filled with round tables that sat eight to ten people each. The Marine Officers tended to sit away from the Navy Officers, but even they (the Marines) segregated themselves (ground pounders in one area, aviators in another). The Navy guys blended much better with each other, although the pilots did seem to gravitate toward each other.
The time went very fast, and each day was more or less a blur. It seemed like all I did was eat (breakfast), teach, eat (lunch), teach, work out, attend Mass, eat (dinner), correct and comment on that day's essays, prepare the next day's classes, and sleep, because that is exactly how the days went. We were lucky to have a Catholic chaplain aboard, Fr. Fix, who said Mass every night (except Saturday, for some reason), even though it was attended regularly only by a small group of Marines, the Navy dentist, and me. Sergeant Major Tom Hall, USMC, acted as Lector and Eucharist Minister at every Mass. We became good friends.
Kearsarge made only one port visit during my time on board, and that was in Jebal Ali, the port of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and we were only there for three days. That stop was really the highlight of the trip, though, as the other PACE instructor and I got to ski at the indoor ski resort in Dubai – twice! Other than that mini ski vacation (which amounted to two half days), I will always remember spending every available minute (and there weren’t many) watching flight operations – many at night. There was a deck on which was located the flight tower, that Sergeant Major Hall showed me during my first week aboard. I probably never would have found my way up there had Tom not shown me. I spent as much time as I could on that deck, watching the show as the helicopters and harrier jets took off and landed on the short, moving, and swaying runway.
I should mention the first man I encountered aboard Kearsarge, after deplaning from the above-mentioned helicopter, was Chief Jay Schimke, who was the PACE liaison. Jay was the electronics go-to-guy on the ship, and was very smart and very competent. I’ll never forget how he managed to get me home for Christmas. I finished my courses on December 21st, and had only to distribute grades and have the students complete a course evaluation form on the 22nd. The next opportunity to leave the ship would be on January 3rd, in Haifa, Israel, so I would miss Christmas with the family – a fact I was aware of when I accepted the assignment. On the evening of December 21st, Jay contacted me and asked if I could leave the ship the next morning to fly to Bahrain and thence to the USA. I would have to be on the flight deck at 0830. I told him I had to meet with all my classes, distribute grades and have the evaluation forms completed, so I didn’t think it was possible. It was about 8:00 PM, on the 21st. Jay said: “let’s get it done.” With his help, I contacted all my students and requested them to meet with me in the classroom at 0700 the next morning. Jay and I worked quickly to complete all the administrative forms for the Navy and Central Texas College, and he helped me complete all the paperwork in the ship’s administration office so I could be properly checked out. Later that night, LTJG Kelley Fitzpatrick, USN, knocked on our stateroom door behind which I was feverishly completing last minute preparations for departing. Kelley, whom I had met in Bahrain and spent a lot of time with on the Lewis and Clark (he was a helicopter pilot joining the Search and Rescue group on Kearsarge), had a huge smile on his face, and said: “Guess who’s flying you off this boat?”
The next day, Jay insisted on carrying my bag up to the flight deck and stayed with me until I got the signal to approach and enter Kelley’s SAR helicopter. We took off headed for Bahrain, making one stop on the USS Carr, a Frigate patrolling in the Persian Gulf, to drop off some supplies. I really was not surprised that all my students came through, and all showed up at 0700 sharp to get their grades and fill out their course evaluations.
I got to the international terminal at the Bahrain airport at around Noon, on the 22nd, and had to wait until 0200 the next morning for my flight to London. From London I flew to Miami and thence to Jacksonville. I really owe that Christmas with my family to Jay Schimke, who went out of his way to get me a seat on that helicopter and then helped me well into the night to get everything done. I was absolutely delighted to learn later that Jay won the Admiral Zumwalt Award for Visionary Leadership, on January 12, 2008, and that he had been nominated for the award (nominations must come by way of an essay from a sailor who works for the nominee) by one of my students, Tony Milbut. Tony had been in my advanced writing class, and was one of the best and brightest.
(On such things does one ruminate while paddling a one-person kayak miles out in the ocean - closer to God.)
USNS LEWIS & CLARK (T-AKE-1)
USS PONCE (LPD-15)
USS KEARSARGE (LHD-3)
