Humanitarian Ops again?

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After Pacific Partnership 2009, the BYRD returned to Guam, our home away from home, to offload the riders and materials used throughout the mission. Arriving on September 23rd, we knew we'd only be around for a few days, but were ALL so glad to be back for a little R & R. The ship was supposed to get underway and steer towards Japan for the next few months to provide some logistical support to the ships in and around that region. I'm not super excited about going to that area again, but I enjoyed it last time, it's going to be back to normal operations again. I'm satisfied, that's probably the best way to describe it, with what we'll be doing for the near future. I get on the internet, buy some toiletries and essentials, have some good food, go out with my ship friends... and say goodbye to many other friends. I suppose that stands some expounding.



During Pacific Partnership, I made friends with many of the riders and got even closer to some of my Civilian Mariner friends. From my daily operations with the Vet Team to outings with the higher ranking riders and relaxing in the Chief's Lounge, I really enjoyed the companionship and discussions that occurred on this trip. It's the largest part, in my opinion, of what makes a mission like this so memorable... the people you meet and the lessons you take away from them. Almost every evening, after work, we would all lumber to the Chief's lounge on the ship to relax and have a little joking session while watching movies. It was here that we developed the wall of shame, it should have been dubbed the room of shame.



Every embarassing picture and memorable moment caught on camera was printed and posted in the lounge. These photos ranged from bar events to the Crossing the Line ceremony, from me standing over the dog I've just neutered to little birthday events celebrated with ice cream bought in the ship's store and a hat that says "24 and Standing" (though she's at least 58). As with everything in life, in order to appreciate the high points in life (such as these), we must deal with the valleys as well. It was very difficult for me to say goodbye to some of these friends.



Among them, of course, all the Vet team left. At this point, they have all become like family, but I really developed a special bond with Thomae and Jay, they became my older brothers, fostering in me a sense of accomplishment/confidence and re-instilling that desire I have always had, to work with animals as a veterinarian. As I hugged Jay goodbye, he tells me he'll write me a letter of recommendation for Vet School any day "Sis". I hug Tammy quickly, tell her how much I've appreciated her and I have to get out of there. Yep, I lost my cookies, I left as my eyes started misting over, trying to play it off, but they knew. Yeah, they're misty right now too. Shut up!



On the Civilian Mariner side, there's Kyle... 22 year old country, surfer boy who acts more like a 35 year old and has taught me that I don't need to impress anyone by trying to be a person that someone else thinks I should be. In his words, "Who gives a $h!t?" He doesn't care what others think unless it's someone he cares about... it's a really great trait to be true to yourself and I admire him greatly for it. On the other hand, he's a pain in the ass at times, but he grows on you. With my gal besties (friends) on the ship either on leave or "involved", it was just me and Kyle going out to explore some of these islands on his 32 hours off or the intermittent times when I wasn't occupied with my duties.



The "who gives a crap" persona turns into a well-adjusted, deep and communicative, caring person. He's not feminine by any stretch of the imagination, but I had more in depth conversations with him over life and "being" than I've ever had with any of my girlfriends. The depths of a person are too often based on what we perceive them as from their interactions with others instead of the one on one discussions. Oh dear, this discussion is turning touchy feely, not totally my intention. Upon return to Guam, it was his time to depart the ship and I drove him to the airport bright and early. I was very sad to see him leave as well.



So, we departed Guam enroute to Japan... and were reminded that tsunami/typhoon season was upon us once again. Terrible weather and nature's decision to hold earthquakes in not-so-technologically advanced areas brought devastation to so many parts of the world during our first few days out. The first one I hear of and is the 30 September tsunami that hits Samoa and American Samoa. We were just in Samoa! Please don't question my sense of patriotism and concern for my fellow Americans in American Samoa, but I was more concerned for Samoa (the former Western Samoa). It turned out that the former was hit the hardest, but all I could think of was the ability of the U.S. to take care of itself and I was more worried about the latter's government's ability to do the same.



The first images I see on tv of this disaster are of Lupe's, the place where I spent the majority of my off time in Samoa, including my birthday, surrounded by the owner's children, playing hide and seek. Everyone is fine, though the area and buildings are destroyed. It broke my heart to see such a wonderful life damaged like that, but my spirits quickly returned after I saw the kids were still playing and the family seemed to be happy, just thankful to have everyone be okay. American Samoa wasn't so lucky, so many dead and injured. "Why" seems to be the resounding question when events like these occur... it's hard to make sense of it. I hoped the ship might go back to assist, but the infrastructures of both islands was adequate to respond properly.



If this wasn't enough for one day, just after 5 p.m. local time, disaster struck again in the form of a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in Padang, Indonesia on the island of Sumatra. This location, on the other hand, was not set up to take care of this natural disaster. The death toll climbed by the hour, with people buried in rubble, landslides, etc. Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency announced that more than 500 buildings had collapsed in the city, with thousands of people still trapped. Hospitals, mosques, schools and hotels tumbled to the ground, and outlying areas were cut off by landslides. With power down and the continuous rain, it was impossible to even assess all the earthquake's effects. The Indonesian government committed about $10 million to the relief effort, but this island still needed help. Here comes the U.S. Navy and other Non-governmental organizations to assist. We were sent there at high speeds, we carry Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief supplies for these types of emergencies.



Now, the crew definitely had mixed feelings about all of this. We've been gone from our normal ops for about 5 months and people were ready to get back to our normal schedule. We didn't pack out like we would be out at sea for a long time, but the crew was excited to help. We didn't know what we were in store for...




Waiting, lots of it. I want to do something, the more people that go ashore the better in my opinion. We've just been doing all this humanitarian aid preparations and we're not doctors but we can help with clean up efforts. Obviously my opinion doesn't count for too much in the big Navy scheme of things. Yes, I understand that the Marines and doctors on the other ships will provide more efficient assistance, but to just sit next to the coast was difficult for me to stand. The USNS RICHARD E. BYRD ans USNS WALTER S. DIEHL provided fuel and supplies to the USS DENVER and USS MCCAMPBELL who sent their people ashore. Our helicopters, the Pumas, were sent in as surveillance aircraft to assess the outlying areas. Yay, we are helping out more... but most of us aboard were disappointed to not assist further, myself included. We were there for only a couple of weeks, then the reins began shifting back to the Indonesian people and off we went.



To all the people who have been affected by natural disasters, I truly hope that things work out for you and your families. Stick together, as a team you can accomplish so much. It shouldn't take something like this to bring people together, but if we can get anything positive out of these past few months, I hope it is cooperation and support among diverse peoples.

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Photos

Me and Brit in MODLOC
Boring, stay inside your little box... the rest of the month.