By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Mario E. Reyes Villatoro
USS Emory S. Land Public Affairs
Emory S. Land Departs HMAS Stirling Following Submarine Maintenance
HMAS STIRLING, Western Australia (Sept. 14, 2024) – The submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) departed from HMAS Stirling, Western Australia, after a regularly scheduled port call, Sept. 14. HMAS Stirling was the seventh port call in Australia of Emory S. Land’s current deployment, which began May 17.
Emory S. Land arrived at HMAS Stirling Aug. 16 with a mixed crew of active-duty and Reserve U.S. Navy Sailors, Royal Australian Navy sailors and Military Sealift Command civil service mariners to conduct a submarine tended maintenance period (STMP) with Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Hawaii (SSN 776).
“It was a great experience working with our Australian counterparts, expanding the sustainment options for U.S. SSNs while helping the Royal Australian Navy prepare for Submarine Rotational Force – West and eventually their own Virginia-class submarines,” said Capt. Brent Spillner, commanding officer of Emory S. Land. “We have a lot of very complementary aims and capabilities, and it was very rewarding to find new ways to support each other’s fleets.”
The STMP marked a significant step toward Australia gaining the capability to operate, maintain, and support a fleet of sovereign conventionally armed SSNs, which is a central requirement in executing Pillar 1 of the AUKUS security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
During the STMP, Australian Sailors who have been attached to the submarine tender since January took the lead on conducting repairs aboard USS Hawaii. Emory S. Land also worked in conjunction with the Royal Australian Navy’s Fleet Support Unit-West at HMAS Stirling, which provides repair and maintenance services to the Australian fleet.
"The work that we've done during the STMP is critical in demonstrating the tasks required to repair and sustain nuclear powered submarines," said Cmdr. Calvin Hargadine, Emory S. Land’s repair officer. “The Royal Australian Navy sailors embedded with Emory S. Land were directly involved with each of the jobs accomplished during the availability, highlighting the interchangeability and proficiency of these sailors in conducting maintenance on these vessels. They became a part of our crew while they were here for over seven months and became family in a short amount of time. It is sad to see them go, but I know they’re going to be doing great things when they get back to their own fleet.”
At the end of Emory S. Land’s port call, the Royal Australian Navy sailors bid farewell to their American counterparts and returned to their parent commands around Australia.
“I think that the skillset that we learned and the experiences that we got will help the Royal Australian Navy in a number of ways,” said LEUT Joseph Melbin, the officer in charge of the Australian detachment aboard the submarine tender. “The biggest one is not necessarily on the technical front, but more so on the social front in terms of the connections we’ve made with the crew aboard as well as the differences that we learned from each other in the engineering systems that we use.”
For the STMP, Melbin assumed the position as the ship’s production maintenance assistant, a vital role tasked with coordinating and communicating all major repairs performed on the submarine.
“The Fleet Support Unit is very, very good at what they do, and it was a pleasure to work with them throughout this exchange program,” said Spillner. “LEUT Melbin and his team really took the reins and made the STMP a success, performing just as well as USN personnel who’ve been doing this work far longer. There’s already a high degree of trust and interchangeability between our navies, and I’m sure we’ll only draw closer in the future. It really is exciting to have such capable and energetic partners and to be able to more rapidly exchange new technologies and best practices with each other.”
While with Emory S. Land, Royal Australian Navy sailors were trained within the repair department of the ship, working in varying divisions such as the hull maintenance division, electrical repair division and the ship’s mechanical repair division.
Royal Australian Navy Able Seaman Marine Technician April Franklin commented on the goal of working side-by-side with her U.S. counterparts stating, “The main mission overall was to get as many skills and integrate as best as we could with the Emory S. Land Sailors and adapt as much as we could, and I think we’ve definitely done that. I think we went above and beyond, and exceeded.”
Also embedded with the crew of the submarine tender were U.S. Navy Reservists. For this portion of the deployment, 66 Reservists activated and mobilized to HMAS Stirling to assist with repairs and ship husbandry.
“I joined the Navy for a sense of service and to be a part of something bigger than myself,” said Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Bryan Overton, one of the Reservists. “The best part of active duty was experiencing the submarine community and the camaraderie the community offers.”
While the STMP was a pivotal part of the port call, Sailors were also able to strengthen cultural ties with the Australian public by participating in community relation events (COMREL) such as volunteering at the food bank, cleaning enclosures at a zoo, and playing sports with local organizations in order to foster collaboration and understanding between the U.S. Navy and local communities.
“I took part in two Ronald McDonald House COMRELs, helping out by cooking in the kitchen,” said Machinery Repairman 2nd Class Sean Reese. “It is a good feeling to know that I was there to make a difference for the local kids and families in Australia. That is an experience worth doing every time.”
While moored at HMAS Stirling, Emory S. Land also hosted a series of tours to a wide range of guests, including Prime Minister Albanese, several other cabinet members, senior military leaders including Acting Undersecretary of the U.S. Navy Thomas Mancinelli, Chief of the Royal Australian Navy Vice Adm. Mark Hammond, and Director-General of the Australian Submarine Agency Vice Adm. Jonathan Mead, as well as a wide range of international diplomats, state and local government officials, business leaders, academics, civic groups, and media.
“I am very proud to be able to show our medical capabilities during tours, because when people think of military medicine, they think of medics, who are more specialized, whereas Corpsmen, we can bounce back and forth between many specialties,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Oriana Winebrinner. “Showing people that we have the capabilities and training onboard to save lives was an incredibly proud moment.”
During the previous five months, Emory S. Land conducted scheduled port calls in Darwin, Cairns, Sydney, Eden, Melbourne, and Adelaide. The ship’s Sailors had the opportunity to volunteer in the community, host tours, and repair allied nations’ ships in these cities. Emory S. Land is on deployment supporting the U.S. 7th Fleet, the U.S. Navy’s largest forward deployed numbered fleet, operating with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Emory S. Land provides expeditionary intermediate-level maintenance, services, and logistics support to deployed submarines.
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| Date Taken: | 09.23.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.23.2024 02:53 |
| Story ID: | 481486 |
| Location: | HMAS STIRLING, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, AU |
| Web Views: | 65 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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