Army Sailors Repair Dry Dock Ship

Photo By 1st Lt. Ryan Pace | Sgt. John Wilkey, a watercraft engineer from Paradise, California, kneels inside one of the engine rooms, next to one of the engines under work to get the ship back in the water to support vital missions and units along the Persian gulf.  

KUWAIT

11.29.2006

Story by 1st Lt. Ryan Pace 

143rd Transportation Command

By 1st Lt. Ryan J. Pace,
143rd Transportation Command Public Affairs Officer

Kuwait- Aboard their dry-docked Landing Craft Unit (LCU), the Army Reserves' 481st Transportation Company - Heavy Boat Detachment 3, of Mare Island, Calif., are working to repair their vessel for return to combat support missions in the Persian Gulf.

The two 1250 horse-powered, 16-Cylinder Cummings engines in the LCU are generally very reliable, with little or no significant maintenance, however repairs and upkeep are crucial to keep the heart of the vessel and the mission going.

All of the work on the vessel is done locally by assigned soldiers over a 3 to 6 month period, with focus on completing. One of the Warrant Officers overseeing the mission, Chief Warrant Officer Scott Jackson commented, "We don't begin our mission until we receive the last part; in essence, until we know we can complete the mission."

The unit consists of crews of 18 men per boat, stateside and overseas, running continuous 24-hour operations, to fully staff the crew required to run the flat-bottom, land-deployable watercraft.

The uniqueness of the mission is that many of the soldiers involved are deployed Reservists and Military Tech employees, who utilize their civilian skills to accomplish the mission. Soldiers that are part of the crew are generally watercraft engineers, operators, or deckhands.

"This mission has gone well, with help from the shipyard, and being out of water this has really been a success," said Sgt. John Wilkey, an engineer on the ship, from Paradise, California.

Staff Sgt. Michael Nikida, said "Our missions before and after we finish have been to support the mission in Iraq and Navy platforms with oil; This [mission] all used to be contract work but now we have gotten involved since the history is that they attempt to fix a problem and we end up fixing their mistakes- costing time, effort and money."


Nikida, just recently accepted for promotion to Warrant Officer, had a lot to explain in his new mission, along other soldiers working hard in the engine room on the ship awaiting duty.

"Our mission here is mostly maintenance- sometimes while the engine is running and we are under way- but, what makes this mission different is how rare it is to have a vessel in yard for a year, torn down, assessed and rebuilt," said Nikida, "As far as the mission itself, this has been a great learning process and platform for our junior mechanics to use their skills and apply what they know."

Spc. Eric Dugdug, also a watercraft engineer, said when asked of the outcome of the mission on the unit, "The purpose of this mission is that we can't sail with just one engine, since one is currently dead-lined, and when we are underway on missions, we have to stop at night- which causes a halt and maintenance work such as this to keep us going."

A unique fact is that little is known about the Army's Sailors, but either way, the 481st continues to get the mission done and contribute in volume to the overseas joint effort and transportation as a whole, Army-wide.

• Date Taken: 11.29.2006
• Date Posted: 11.30.2006 09:35
• Story ID: 8437
• Location: KW