Cmdr. David Damstra, head of the medical team for Operation Continuing Promise, recaps the work his people will be doing when the USS Kearsarge comes to port at its various stops in Latin America.
While aboard the USS Kearsarge, bloggers found a passageway that led to an outdoor platform directly below the flight deck. One night, we were treated to helo flight operations occurring not far above our heads.
0
This wasn’t a good day to be on an unfamiliar ship if you drank a lot of liquids, as I did.
The crew “secured” for random drug-screening the heads that all of us bloggers had been using , and we didn’t know where to find the ones that were open to the public. It wasn’t for lack of looking, either. We were all over several floors of the ship, and I never saw one bathroom that wasn’t closed -- and…
Man's best friend doesn't typically get to ride along with U.S. sailors, but a mutt named Jenna did for two years aboard a ship stationed in Japan. Lt. Cmdr. Matthew LaPointe was her commanding officer -- sort of.
If you spend your life at sea, it's a good idea to plan for the prospect of having to rescue a man overboard. The U.S. Navy has a dummy named "Oscar" for for just that purpose.
There's only one way to practice steering two ships together in the open ocean -- just do it. The U.S. Navy does "underway replenishments," or UNREPs, on a regular basis because that's one exercise you can't simulate.
Training, training, training -- that's what you do in the Navy. Lt. Cmdr. Matthew LaPointe, the training officer aboard the USS Kearsarge, discussed the hours of exercises required to prepare for a mission.
Better health in Latin America is one of the goals of Operation Continuing Promise. But the people delivering it first have to guard their own health. Hence the shield of insecticide being applied to uniforms in this video.
0
I won’t name names, but one of the bloggers who was supposed to be on the USS Kearsarge with us isn’t. He thought the ship was leaving this afternoon -- until the ensign in charge of the bloggers awakened said blogger with the news that the ship was departing in two hours. What a bummer.
But he’s not alone. Some of the guys in the wardroom told us last night that a few sailors inevitably miss…
0
Navy officers have it much better than the enlisted men when out to sea, at least in terms of comfort.
I’m guessing their meals are similar, but the officers’ wardroom is well air-conditioned. The crew’s mess hall is steamy and smelly -- and all we did was walk through it a few times while headed to other spots onboard. Eating a meal there would be most uncomfortable. I suspect the sailors burn…