Iwo Jima (LHD 7) - Naval Cruise Book

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Heavy Weather Thursday, 22 September- The eye of Hurricane Rita passed us early this morning at a distance of about 300 miles. The storm system is so massive that it fills the entirety of the Gulf of Mexico. We maintained a southeasterly course throughout last night and today in an effort to pull away from the heavy seas and high winds of the storm system. However, with the eastward movement of the high over the southern United States, Rita has curved to northwest, as we had expected. The end result was that we were never really pulling away from the eye, which moved at about 9 miles per hour, and so remained afflicted with heavy weather throughout the day. We did a modest amount of rocking and rolling last night (mild by comparison to my days on good ship MCCLOY in the North Atlantic). You feel a lot more swaying on the 0-6 level where the At-Sea Cabin is located compared to most of the berthing compartments on the main deck - six stories below - or the main spaces - ten stories below. We have had the ship ' s bow dead into the seas and swells for the past 24 hours which allows the ship to ride reasonably well. At 40,500-tons with saltwater compensated fuel tanks, the ship provides a stable ride if handled correctly in the winds and seas. The winds stepped up from about 20 knots yesterday evening to about 40 knots sustained at 2000 this evening. At one point today, we observed 16 to 20 foot seas with the occasional spray flying over the bow and winds gusting up to 60 knots. The weather decks remain secured to all hands for the obvious safety reasons. I had a chance to venture down to the focsle this afternoon and stuck my head out the bullnose (an open chock at the very front of the bow about 50 feet above the wateriine) to observe IWO JIMA ' s bow cutting through the heavy seas. I could cleariy see the ship ' s bulbous bow rise completely out of the sea and then pound back in with an explosion of spray and foam, sending a mild shudder throughout the ship. An awesome and impressive sight. Hurricane Rita remains problematic. Given the storm ' s size, it is impossible or impractical for us to steam around her and come up on the southern side of the system, a transit of several hundred miles. That would take days. The southern half of the storm, her left side, is considered the less dangerous half (or semi-circle quadrant). The right side is considered the more dangerous quadrant, packing the highest winds. Given the storm ' s latest track, the eye is expected to hit landfall near the Texas Louisiana border, bringing the less dangerous left hand side of the storm onto northeast Texas and the more dangerous right hand side onto western Louisiana and the southern part of the Mississippi delta. Last report indicated that New Orieans should see 35 knot winds and upwards of 3 to 5 inches of rainfall, which has everyone the most concerned. We suspect the greatest need for our assistance will be back in New Orieans and the surrounding area, but we have planned for just about every possible contingency. It was reported today that Rita achieved the distinction of the 3rd most intensive and powerful system in Atlantic history before weakening slightly to a strong Category 4 hurricane. It is hoped that the cooler waters of the northern part of the Gulf of Mexico will further weaken Rita, but the storm remains powerful nonetheless. Our intention is to maintain our safe course dead into the winds and seas, heading southeast, and then when the sea state lessens, reverse course and head to the northwest towards the Mississippi delta and the anchorages off Gulfport and Biloxi, running with the seas and winds at a fast bell. We do not know nor are we able to predict with any degree of accuracy when that will be. Our hope is to be in a position eariy Saturday morning to render assistance soon after the storm makes landfall, but all that depends on Rita. When you think about it, in heavy seas, the most important person on the ship is not the Captain, but the 19 year-old seaman apprentice who stands the watch as helmsmen. With one incorrect twist of the rudder and the ship can pitch or roll, sometimes violently, sending people tumbling throughout. We have been watching the rudder angle indicator very closely for the past 24 hours. It was a quiet day on the ship. About a hundred Sailors and Marines, out of the 2,131 onboard, made the pilgrimage to Sick Bay in the hope of finding some wonder drug to ease the sea sickness. I saw quite a few gray and tired looking faces throughout the day I consider myself blessed not to have ever gotten sea sick (Truthfully!) in over 26 years. I recommend saltines In Trail of Rita Friday, 23 September- After about 36 hours of heavy seas, IWO JIMA reversed course at about 0800 this morning and headed to the west northwest in trail of Hurricane Rita. As the storm curved to the northwest yesterday, it was actually drawing nearer to the ship. We got as close as 258 miles before we started to open up. By eariy this morning we had pulled away sufficiently and elected to safely turn the ship in behind the storm. The seas are confused in the wake of the hurricane. The constantly shifting but powerful winds from this cyclonic system churned the seas up in many directions with long rolling swells coming from one direction and strong wind-swept waves coming from another. After conducting a rendezvous with sister ships SHREVEPORT and TORTUGA, and the replenishment ship PATUXENT we transferred 30 to 40 pallets of supplies among the ships by vertical replenishment using IWO JIMA ' s embarked H-60 aircraft. At about noontime, we pulled away from the group, put the swells and winds off our port quarter, and headed through the seas at 20 knots to the vicinity of the Mississippi delta. With the storm still tracking at about 9 knots, we were able to gain a hundred miles every 8 to 9 hours on Rita. Al Carver, as usual, asked the salient question, When you think about it, chasing a hurricane is like a dog chasing a car. What do you do when you catch it? A good portion of the day was spent doing contingency planning : devising branch plans and courses of action for any number of missions or contingencies that might come our way. The many staffs from Carrier Strike Group TEN, Amphibious Squadron FOUR, Naval Beach Group TWO, and Marine Forces RITA and the ship worked through numerous courses of action. In the meantime, Air Department was able to bring aircraft up from the Hangar, spot them on the flight deck, and conduct 6 hours of flight operations to move cargo and personnel, but also to prepare for potential search and rescue missions eariy tomorrow morning. We hope to be approximately 50 miles south of the Entrance to the Mississippi at first light, ready to for flight quarters, if the weather permits and the mission require it. We won ' t know until the morning. It is ; surprisingly quiet this evening, following in the wake of Hurricane Rita

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The Onset of Rita Wednesday, 21 September- This was not how it was suppose to end. As we head eastward in the Gulf of Mexico, running north of Hurricane Rita. New Orleans and the Katrina relief efforts have faded in memory, supplanted by the anxieties and battle plans for the new threat, IWO JIMA got undenway from New Orleans at 0800 this morning in calm winds, hazy sunshine, and typical summer heal and humidity. I suspect New Orleans did not pay much attention to our departure as foll s went about their business and the City and all its supporters and volunteers prepared for the onset of rain and winds from Rita. Getting undenway went relatively smoothly. Those of us who sail in and out of the piers at Naval Station Norfolk are spoiled by having the finest pilots and tug masters in the world. The River Pilot nearly slammed IWO ' s stern back into the pier as we pulled away and chastised me for throwing on a left full rudder to kick my stern out. We cleared the dock with about 10 foot separation - more than enough. The rest of the 7 hour trip down the Mississippi was uneventful. Good ship TORTUGA had given us a heads up on some of the navigation issues and everything went smoothly. The Mississippi is a different river than it was over 2 weeks ago when we sailed up You could see definite changes - all for the better. There was heavy vehicle traffic going across the 1-90 bridge behind our berth with a large convoy of military and construction vehicles heading in both directions. The RivenA alk Plaza looked neat and ready for tourists - just as we left it - with the fountain in full operation, and the American flag now closed up on the flag pole - thanks to Airman DaSilva. There was considerable traffic on the River. The pilot thought it was up to about 80 percent capacity. We saw at least two dozen grain earners at anchor waiting their turn to go up river to load. The pilot indicated that they usually stay there a day to get a customs inspection, so these ships were not waiting long. And the grain harvest is reported to be the best in several years. There were dozens and dozens of work boats, tugs, barrages, dredges, floating cranes, LNG carriers, and ferries all along the nver. While there were still a lot of barges high and dry on the levees (and the trees had all sprouted up around them making it look like they were surrounded by a forest), there were steam shovels and bull dozers scouring the earth around them so they could be pulled back into the river. Judging by the number of recently cleared areas, a number of barges had already been reclaimed. There was considerable movement along the shore line. The coaling stations, refineries, liquified natural gas stations, and industrial docks were up and operating despite considerable damage to them by the storm. Some of the neighborhoods along the Mississippi, especially north of the delta, showed signs of coming back to life. The levees had been drained of flood waters, the brown mud replaced by cleared roads and green grass, debris had been moved from yards and streets, and people were out and about repainng their homes and neighborhoods. About 40 miles south of New Orieans on our 1 00 mile transit to the Mouth of the Mississippi, you could see areas still flooded. The waters had receded from most of the inhabited areas, but there were wetlands and lowlands still underwater. Further south you still see smashed neighborhoods, but as everywhere else there were signs of activity and progress. By around 1 1 00, we came across a steady stream of merchant traffic heading up nver as we headed down bound, another sign of recovery. By eariy afternoon, the winds began to pick up, and as we exited the Mississippi, making that tight, challenging turn to the south, they increased out of the northeast to about 20 knots. You could see large bands of white fluffy clouds streaming across the sky at great speed, the leading edge of Ritas massive storm system. By late afternoon, Rita was upgraded to a Category 5 Hurricane, the fifth most powerful Hurricane in the Atlantic region in U. S. history. However, there is an expectation that as the High over the southern United States moves eastward, the Hurricane will start moving to the west northwest into the slightly cooler waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico which may take some energy out of the system before it approaches land. By eariy evening we had turned to the east northeast - dead into the winds and heavy seas - easing towards the Florida panhandle and in the opposite direction of the westward moving Rita. We expect the eye of the storm to pass to the south of us around 0200 at approximately 300 miles. But even at that great range, we can feel the effects of the storm. But, the ship is secured for sea: All heavy equipment was brought down to the lowest point of the ship. Our air wing of nine helicopters is secured in the Hangar and everything else is tied down and inspected twice. We expect the winds to start veering to the east then the south east as the storm passes to the south of us in which case we will follow in behind and be ready to answer the call. The ship is riding comfortably, but we expect there will be some rocking and rolling. Already there are some green faces among the crew and Marines. It IS a shame the Ship ' s Store is out of smoked oysters

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Running with the winds and seas, there is very little rocking and rolling. With the exception of one extremely ominous rain squall, the skies have been cloudy but clear, the visual horizon seemingly unlimited but absent of any surface traffic. We saw only one or two brave merchantmen today, one heading away from the storm towards the Straits of Florida and one intrepid merchantman heading to the vicinity of the Entrance to the tvlississippi, some enterprising mariner perhaps, hoping to be the first up the river after it is reopened. While Rita remains a dangerous storm, there is cause for some hope here. The weakening of the system from an intensive Category 5 down to a Category 3 storm is a good sign. It is hoped the system decays rapidly after it goes ashore and doesn ' t linger dumping many inches of rain in the already hit areas. We received word this evening from our shipmates at the Oklahoma National Guard still in New Orleans, Contrary to a news report that they had evacuated the city, they are all still at their posts. There have been two breaches in the Industrial Canal levee and the 17th Street levee, bringing flood waters into recently flooded, but evacuated, areas The Army Corps of Engineers had worked so desperately hard to repair the previous breaches, strengthen the levee walls, and dram all the neighborhoods and parishes of the residual flood waters is disheartening to see their work reversed. But I believe the worst has passed for New Orieans (and not a repeat of Katrina) and in approximately 3 hours, Rita will make landfall in Texas and Western Louisiana, And we ' ll see what missions await us.