Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Amber Speer | 211018-N-CJ603-3110 NORFOLK (Oct. 18, 2021) Aviation Maintenance Administrationman 2nd...... read more read more
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At 8:30 in the morning, the first explosion went off. Though the fire started small, it quickly grew out of control, taking over the ship and ultimately resulting in the decommissioning and scrapping of the USS Bonham Richard (BHR).
“That fire has everything to do with us for one simple reason: we find ourselves now in the same position BHR was in when it comes to an extended yard period,” said Machinist’s Mate Chief Jared Alessi, assigned to USS Wasp’s Engineering Department, who was previously stationed on the BHR during the fire that ravaged the ship for five days. “I’m watching this fire just raging,” Alessi remembered, “and I started crying.”
During her 18 months in the shipyards, the crew worked tirelessly to get her operational again. In some cases, they literally put their blood, sweat and tears into their work. As the fire heightened, so did the Sailors’ courage to fight it and take back their ship.
“Our instinct as Sailors is to rush into the fray because that’s where we need to be,” Alessi said. “Every time you turned around there was something to do. There were Sailors coming up to me saying, “Chief, what can we do?’”
When disaster strikes on a ship, the most important thing a Sailor can be is ready. This was an important lesson the Sailors on the BHR had to learn the hard way.
On July 12th, 2020, a class “B” fire broke out in the lower vehicle stowage area. For the next five days, all hands fought tirelessly against the fire. In the end, the vessel was only two months away from being able to go underway when she was decommissioned. With amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) in the shipyards, her Sailors must be prepared for any disasters that could occur just as they would at sea. To prepare, the crew performed Damage Control – Industrial, a proof of concept the Navy has implemented to test a ship’s response capability to structural casualties during extended yard periods.
According to Wasp’s Assistant Damage Control Assistant Lieutenant Junior Grade Esther Stonecypher, Wasp was selected to be a pilot ship for DC-I so the Navy could determine what this inspection would look like and how it would run.
“The reason why we’re doing [DC-I] is because of the BHR out in California,” said Damage Controlman 3rd Class Jeffery Zimmerman, assigned to Wasp. Zimmerman is in charge of Damage Control University, a course of instruction to keep Sailors up to date on the basics of damage control. “If it happened to them, it very well could happen to us.”
Afloat Training Group (ATG) is in the process of pushing DC-I out into the Fleet for ships going into extended yard periods. DC-I consists of three portions. Prior to going into the yards, the ship will get an administrative look. Then, once the ship is in the yards, ATG will train the Sailors. Lastly, the crew will demonstrate their damage control abilities for a certification.
Wasp wasn’t able to participate in the first two steps due to their timeline, but ATG was able to use her crew to test the certification process, according to Damage Control Assistant Lieutenant Commander Phil Smith.
During the certification, Sailors were assessed on fighting an “A” fire, flooding, and toxic gas. They were expected to set boundaries within 12 minutes of a casualty being called away, man and ready a fire party in five minutes, and set material condition Zebra within 15 minutes among many other things.
“It is arguably more important for Sailors to be masters of damage control more so than for them to be experts at their rating,” Alessi said.
A ship’s condition and how much care the Sailors put into her, determine the success of the crew. Sometimes, knowing the simplest things about the ship can save it.
“We need to know which doors are inoperable, where has someone moved, fixed or temporarily installed a piece of firefighting equipment,” said Smith. “Be brilliant at the basics.”
Previously when a ship was in dry dock, her crew wasn’t expected to perform drills and general quarters. Sailors were focused solely on refurbishing the ship. With DC-I, the Navy will be able to ensure that all Sailors from the lowest paygrade to the highest are retaining basic damage control in order to contain any casualty that may come their way during dry dock.
“It’s putting the training wheels back on the bicycle after taking them off,” Zimmerman said. “I can feel completely confident in the fact that…air department, deck department, any of those people…can go do my job if I’m not here or if I already went down in the fire.”
All Sailors, no matter their rank or rate, should have the capability to fight back with full force and protect their ship no matter the dangers.
“Courage is not the absence of fear,” said Alessi. “At the end of the day, every Sailor needs to ask themselves one very simple question: Am I ready?”
| Date Taken: | 08.25.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.31.2021 21:10 |
| Story ID: | 412286 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 154 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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