Cleveland (LPD 7 CL 55) - Naval Cruise Book

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THE SHIP ' S PLATOON The Ship ' s Platoon is generally consists of (19) Marines from the landing force that embarks aboard an amphibi- ous ship. They function as a separate entity under the operational control of the the CCO. They are considered to be a part of the Ship ' s Company since they exist solely to support the ship. They are an augmentation force whose mission is to assist the Combat Cargo Department during Landing Force cargo equipment stowage, embarkation debarkation, and administrative movement operations. Upon arrival to the ship (normally 48 to 96 hours prior to the main body of the Landing Force), they receive detailed instructions from the Combat Cargo Department in their duties. The ship provides them nearly all of the safety protective equipment while the Landing Force provides their initial set of steel-toed boots, leather gloves, and coveralls. The Ship ' s Platoon is broken down into (3) teams and is supervised by a Platoon Sergeant. They support and execute inherently dangerous flight deck and well deck operations in a constantly changing environment. Some of their functions when underway are administrative documentation of all passengers, mail, and cargo that arrives departs the ship, ensuring that all vehicles and cargo are properly lashed and secured for sea, and assisting in the execution of onloads offloads. Upon completion of movements, they are returned back to the Landing Force to fulfill their combat roles. COMBAT CARGO OPERATIONS 23

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COMBAT SYSTEMS Combat Systems Department is also known as the eyes, ears and shield of our ship. The ET ' s are the eyes because they work on and control all of the ship ' s radar systems. They make sure that the ship is safe to navigate and give us the eyes to know that there are no other ships or aircraft in the area that will do us harm. The IT ' s are the ears because with out them we would not have e-mail and would not know what is going on at home. They also give us the ability to talk to the other ships around us and know what is going on fleet wide. The PC ' s are the shield because they are the protectors of the ship. The PC ' s work on the only weapon system that can shoot down any air threats that try and attack the ship. As you can see, with out Combat Systems Department working together with the rest of the ship the CLEVELAND and her crew would be blind, deaf and unprotected. Combat Systems Department WILL NEVER LET THAT HAPPEN! J ' 9 1 J 25