Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Sean Galbreath | 170511-N-SA412-010 PORTSMOUTH, Va. (May 11, 2017) Sailors aboard the amphibious...... read more read more
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PORTSMOUTH, Va. (May 11, 2017) – The crew of the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) had their first meal served May 11 aboard the ship since pulling into the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for its scheduled incremental availability maintenance period more than four months ago.
The meal signifies the first step in moving the crew back aboard since the ship returned from an eight month deployment in December.
“First and foremost, our mission is to make sure our ship is ready and operational,” said Senior Chief Culinary Specialist Danilo Buenaflor, the Ship’s Leading Culinary Specialist. “Moving back to our ship is the first step of us knowing that we’ll be out of the shipyard soon.”
Before the crew could enjoy the meal in the ship’s galley, Sailors spent the week moving the temporary galley from the neighboring barge/housing facility back to the ship.
“We had a lot of preparation in the transition of moving all the food on board,” said Senior Chief Buenaflor. “[We dealt with] preservation of the spaces, cleaning and sanitizing the galley, and ensuring all the food is safe when we prepare it onboard the ship.”
The transition took a crew of approximately 100 Sailors to move all the equipment and food back onto the ship.
“We moved 25 palettes of dry food one day, and everything in the freezer and the dairy box the next,” said Culinary Specialist Seaman Travis Vanhouten, a culinary specialist aboard the Wasp. “We were busy all week moving everything over and making sure the ship’s galley was clean and ready to give this crew the quality product they deserve.”
Sailors were decidedly pleased about the return to the ship’s galley.
“It felt good to be eating on the ship again,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 2nd Class Sarah Strong. “When you’re busy working on the ship, having to drop everything and walk over to the barge is inconvenient. Eating on the ship saves a lot of time.”
The recipients of the Culinary Specialists’ work were not the only people glad to be back on the ship – so were the CSs themselves.
“When we’re at sea, the Wasp becomes our home,” said Seaman Vanhouten. “Being on the barge feels sort of foreign, you know you are only there temporarily so it’s hard to settle in.”
The crew’s move aboard underlines the teamwork that will be important at sea.
“This is not just a food service evolution,” said Senior Chief Buenaflor. “It’s the entire command helping each other out to make the crew move aboard and the transition run smoothly and safely.”
| Date Taken: | 05.11.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 05.11.2017 20:35 |
| Story ID: | 233585 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 218 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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