9/11 My Outrage

USS Dubuque, LPD-8 Courtesy US Navy

Hello everyone, if you are a regular reader of my blog you have already read my first entry on 9/11 and how I'm getting so upset at my fellow Americans and other people of the world who are bad mouthing the United States over Afghanistan. So the last I posted I was telling the story of where exactly I was on that day.

For me and all the other sailors stationed on board the Amphibious Transport Dock USS Dubuque, LPD-8 it was actually September 12th because we happened to be on a port call in Darwin, Australia.  First thing we heard was rumors going around the ship that a small plane, perhaps something like a Cessna had crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. At hearing this we all stopped what we where doing and took a break to see if we could find out was happening by tuneing in one of the news stations.

We turned on the news, and basically getting from them that it could have been anything from a light aircraft to a passenger jet that had gone terribly of course but not even a whisper about a possible attach. Then as we were watching another a jet liner came into view and smacked right into the other tower. Like I said in my first post on 9/11 all hell broke loose!

Before any of us could respond the general quarters (battle stations) alarm went off, our commanding officer didn't even second guess, he knew something bad was going down.  All of us on duty assembled on the flight deck and where given weapons and ammunition, the ship installed weapons which are normally unloaded while in port where loaded up and manned.  Our first responsibility was to make sure the ship and our crew were protected, our second job was to get over three quarters of the crew who was out enjoying liberty in Darwin back on the ship so we could get underway.  Sailors and Marines are not a dumb lot, and as soon as the attacks started making the local news there in Australia it didn't take long to get just about everyone back on board.

At this point all of us on board knew that our deployment schedule had totally changed and we would be heading somewhere to strike back, to be honest most of us thought our target was Iraq, but myself I wasn't surprised to find out that it was Al Qaeda after all they by this time had already killed some of our shipmates from the USS Cole. Within probably about 12 hours we where manned and ready to get back out to sea. I remember seeing others on board, as well as myself watching planes take off and land at the Darwin airport and just wondering if we or Darwin could be an attack, but Thank God no further attack came.  I to remembered that soon we would loose communication with the outside world so I immediately emailed my wife Sandi to tell her I love her and was OK.  My Father In law Gary Vines who was also in the navy

and although permanently assigned to the USS Pellilu happened to be on board the Dubuque that day of the attacks and he to wrote Sandi's mom to do the same.  About 1 hour after the attacks our phones and email was off. You can't have people telling family what our plans of attack were.

Like I said about 12 hours later, all of us exhausted from getting ready to get to sea, and watching the news we headed back to sea.  Now this is another thing I won't forget, as we started to slowly leave port, sliding through the channel the citizens of Australia lined the banks of the bay all the way to the beach waving US Flags and holding signs declaring their support for the American people, at that time I thought we would have the majority of the world's people supporting us.  We didn't know the death toll yet but we knew it would be large and because the main target was the World Trade Center it wouldn't be all American citizens who where killed.

As the coast of Australia slipped over the horizon that day I knew the world had forever changed and that we where in for a long deployment, I was right on both counts as our normally six month deployment stretched to almost ten and here we are nine years later still fighting in Afghanistan.

US Navy To The Rescue

The USS Ronald Reagan, one of the US Navy's newest aircraft carriers was in the news the last couple of days for coming to the rescue of the cruise ship Carnival Splendor who it seems had an engine fire and became stranded off the coast of Mexico. All in a days work for the USS Ronald Regan's crew, a horror story for the passengers who paid big bucks to make what was suppose to be a pleasure cruise.

OK first let me say, most of you who may be reading my blog (if there is anyone) know from reading my profile that I spent 20 years in the navy, and no I've never had the honor of being on a naval vessel that came to the rescue of a cruise ship, although I have been on board for rescues of aircraft in the water and merchant ships but those could make for other interesting stories. What I want to assure everyone is the passengers where never in any danger, the only ones who may have been in danger where the first responders of the crew.

The media is making a big deal out of the fire and you hear passenger's like, Leticia Lewis who told CNN "I'm just thankful to be alive". CNN's not pointing out those people who said "oh I wasn't worried at all". First of all the technology used in all types of newer vessels can control and put out a fire in a ships engine room in a matter of seconds before it can get out of hand, most of that technology are inventions pioneered by the US Navy and other navy's of the world. A good example is a chemical agent called Bromochlorodifluoromethane or the trade name Halon 1211.

Back in the mid 80's about the time I was serving on the aircraft carrier USS Constellation, engine rooms and many other spaces on board US Navy ships began replacing the old CO2 fire extinguishing systems most of us may be familiar with with the new Halon 1211 systems, which while on board was put to the real test when we had a engine room fire on board, and worked pretty good considering it was a new system, the fire did end up burning 42 Spaces (rooms) on board, however that was about 25 years ago and the Halon systems of today are a million times more reliable.

Briefly to tell you how this works with out getting technical is when there is a fire, Halon 1211 is automatically actuated and it destroys all the oxygen in the room, and as we know it takes three things for a fire to start or continue burning, Fuel, Air and an Ignition source. So the way Halon works is by getting rid of the air. As a side note to that I remember a terrible tragedy back in the mid 80's when a marine stationed at Marine Corp Base Camp Pendelton, Ca was looking for a quick high and breathed in some Halon 1211, needless to say it sucked all the Oxygen out of his body and killed him instantly, I tell you this just to show you how effective it could be.

So despite all the media hype about the possible danger the passengers where in, it's just that hype, it was a small fire and was out almost instantly. Now the fact that they spent that much money to go on a seven day cruise and ended up floating helpless of the coast of Mexico is a tragedy. Someone who may not normally get sea sick can get violently ill when your ship has no power and floating around like a fishing bobber, you add the smell of rotting food and sewage it makes for a horrible four days.

Yet Carnival being in the business of taking people on cruises have stood up and said everyone is invited to come back for a free cruise on them, (of course they did, don't want to loose the business right?) so the passengers got an experience of a life time, something they can tell their grand children about, I mean how many people have actually gotten the chance to see an actual aircraft carrier in action and still get to go on a cruise when the are ready.

You hear allot lately with people wondering if cruises are safe, and they are very safe, probably one of the safest and different vacation you can take, unless their is a major explosion on board a ship which to is highly unlikely barring a terrorist attack. So sit back in your patio chair and enjoy the cruise.

One thing I do want to say is that Carnival owes the US Navy and Coast Guard a big thank you, not only did they come too their rescue, the defense department announced today that they will not send Carnival a bill for their services.

Picture Courtesy of USA Today