Photo By Natalie Cole | Senior Chief Petty Officer Joe Manning, with Maritime Expeditionary Squadron – 9,...... read more read more
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CAMP PATRIOT, Kuwait – Soldiers and sailors tested their sea legs and accuracy as they fired from two types of vessels in a joint-service water range, Nov. 13, off the coast of Camp Patriot, Kuwait.
A 17-soldier crew with the 949th Transportation Detachment hosted part of the range aboard their vessel, the Landing Craft Utility 20-13. The 949th is a Reserve unit out of Baltimore, that falls under the 164th Transportation Battalion, 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Theater Sustainment Command. Soldiers with the 949th fired alongside Sailors with Commander Task Force 56, out of Bahrain.
Sailors with Maritime Expeditionary Squadron – 9 out of Camp Patriot followed the LCU 20-13 out to sea aboard smaller 34-foot tactical patrol craft. After firing from stable positions on the LCU 20-13, a large logistics vessel, sailors and soldiers transferred to the MESRON-9 patrol craft. The transfer required firers to leap onto the smaller boats as they bounced unpredictably on the surface of the Gulf.
Firing from the 34-foot tactical boats as they bobbed and rolled on the waves was the real test at the range, said Chief Petty Officer Andre Cardenas, a hospital corpsman with MESRON-9. “I guess it would be the equivalent of playing izzy-dizzy [bat] and then trying to fire at a target on land,” Cardenas said.
“I learned that what I see is a lot more difficult when you’re actually doing it yourself. When you’re firing at the target you have to make sure your coming down off the wave so that your weapon is actually coming … you’re walking in … actually walk ‘em down and it actually hits the target,” said Cardenas, whose last time firing weapons was from a tank.
Warrant Officer Anthony Lloyd, 949th detachment commander and vessel master, said the joint-service range was part of the continued training to keep the port secure. “The purpose of the range is to enhance the port security’s ability to protect and defend the port. It will also give my guys a chance to exercise their force protection measures and battle drills as well,” he said.
The mission of the LCU 20-13 is to transport supplies within the Central Command area of responsibility. “[We] move cargo from port to port in support of the war fight. We are an efficient means to carry cargo. We … get it to places to make it more efficient to get it to where it’s gotta go,” Lloyd said.
Pfc. Calvin Taylor, from Seattle, is a cook with the 949th LCU 20-13 crew. He said working on the Gulf aboard a logistics vessel was not the type of assignment he expected when he joined the Army. “I didn’t even know it existed,” he said referring to the Army boat field. Taylor said when his leaders offered him the chance to participate in a range involving 34-foot patrol craft, “I seized the opportunity.” While on the 34-foot patrol craft, Taylor chatted with the Navy crew about their procedures and the patrol craft’s capabilities.
Like Taylor, Lloyd said that he enjoys working in the little-known boat field and taking part in the unique joint-service training is offers crews. “A lot of people don’t know about the boat field. …It is rather unique. Most people associate boats with the Navy,” he said, adding, “I love it. This is it. See the water everywhere and … it’s good. It can be tiresome. Long hours, long days, but it’s rather non-stressful.”
When out at sea, the LCU 20-13 crew lives in the tight spaces of the grey vessel. When not at sea, the crew lives on Camp Patriot, a small camp near a Kuwaiti naval port. The crewmembers include cooks, engineers (including the chief engineer) and deck and engine-side crewmembers, according to Warrant Officer Robert Penner, harbor master for the 164th Transportation Battalion. Sailors with MESRON-9 work closely with the LCU 20-13 crew because the Sailors patrol and defend the port to keep it secure for larger vessels to operate.
Penner explained that in addition to the main intra-theater transportation, the LCU 20-13 crew hosts joint-service weapons training, salvage operations, Navy Construction Battalion (sea-bee) transportation support, and dive-team exercises. Penner said this month’s water range was the fourth range since May that the crew has hosted.
| Date Taken: | 11.13.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 11.16.2010 04:56 |
| Story ID: | 60202 |
| Location: | CAMP PATRIOT, KW |
| Web Views: | 344 |
| Downloads: | 8 |
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