Dale (CG 19) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 93 text:

FLIGHT QUARTERS Ff itmn iSimKsmmgsmmafm lM

Page 92 text:

FLIGHT QUARTERS FLIGHT QUARTERS Flight Quarters, Flight Quarters, all hands man your flight quarters stations. By the time this word is complete- ly passed over the ship ' s IMC, dozens of crewmen are al- ready racing for their assigned stations. While at sea, flight quarters is an almost daily occur- rence for a deployed ship. DALE depends on helicopters to provide many supplies that would otherwise have to wait until DALE replenished at sea or returned to port. Hel- icopters provide a variety of items including routine sup- plies, repair parts for equipment, food and almost anything else you can imagine which can be carried in or under a helicopter. But the single most important item delivered by helicopter is mail, Pony in Navy lingo. Probably no other word passed gets the crew as excited as hearing that the next helicopter has Pony onboard. But flight quarters isn ' t all fun. From the bridge, where the watch team is computing the proper course to steer and ensuring that the checklist is complete, down to the fantail where the flight deck crew is preparing to receive the heli- copter, DALE sailors are hard at work. Gear has to be bro- ken out, equipment tested and proper safety clothing donned. The motor whaleboat must be manned. The flight quarters fire-fighting detail stands by, just in case. The flight quarters detail must be prepared for any occurrence, whether it be something as routine as refueling a helicopter that is low on fuel or an emergency such as a crash on deck. But another flight quarters is completed, uneventfully and the crew secures the detail . . . Until the next time.

Page 94 text:

•V ' .VV UNDERWAY REPLENISHMENT UNDERWAY REPLENISHMENT A ship at sea needs constant supplies while under- way in order to remain operational. Unlike back home, where you can just jump in the car and drive down to the nearest supermarket or gas station DALE cannot pull into port every time she needs fuel or food. Instead, the Navy sends the supermarket to us. In most cases, the supermarket was the U.S.S. SEATTLE the replen- ishment ship assigned to our battle group. Underway replenishment is one of the most haz- ardous evolutions that a ship accomplishes. Replenish- ments can occur at anytime of the day or night, regard- less of the weather or sea conditions. Danger exists when two ships must maneuver side by side, only 120 to 140 feet apart, while all the supplies are transferred by hose or wire cable from the sender to the receiver. Underway replenishments or Unreps are an all hands evolution. To transfer the enormous amounts of food and parts requires all hands to help. The supplies are taken directly from the deck and passed hand over hand by a human chain until it reaches the ship ' s mess- decks. Here the supplies are sorted based upon which storeroom they belong in. Then they are passed by an- other chain of sailors down to the proper storeroom. It can take three or four hours for all the supplies to be stored in their proper locations. At the same time that supplies are being trans- ferred, the ship is also receiving fuel from the supply ship. During a normal Unrep, DALE will receive be- tween 150,000 and 200,000 GALLONS of fuel, enough for several more days of sustained movement.