Photo By Sgt. James Sims | Troopers from Joint Task Force Guantanamo pass by a fast-rescue boat mounted midship...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Troopers from Joint Task Force Guantanamo toured the U.S. Naval Ship Spearhead, a joint high-speed vessel, operated by the Military Sealift Command, Aug. 13. The USNS Spearhead will spend a week docked at GTMO to refuel and replenish before continuing their mission.
“Guantanamo Bay marks the midpoint of the deployment,” said Lt. Cmdr. Josh Perry part of the Naval Construction Group TWO (NCG 2), based in Gulfport, Mississippi, the chief staff officer aboard the USNS Spearhead. “The center of gravity of the mission is the adaptive force packages ashore, they are on the ground conducting training classes, executing construction projects and building goodwill with our partner nation’s military and local communities.”
USNS Spearhead is deployed in support of Southern Partnership Station-Joint High Speed Vessel 2015, a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored deployment focusing on enhancing cooperative partnerships with regional maritime services and improving operational readiness for all participating services. In addition, SPS-JHSV 15 provides the opportunity for U.S. and partner nation forces to operate in the multinational environment, refine coordination, improve interoperability and demonstrate flexibility.
“As a reservist from the Midwest, I don’t have many opportunities to get out and see ships of this magnitude and tour them, it’s very impressive,” said Navy Lt. Jason Burgess, a JTF Trooper.
Many service members have never seen a Navy ship, this was an opportune time for them.
“The tour was great. It gave my junior Sailors and Soldiers the opportunity to see what life would be like on board a ship,” said Chief Petty Officer Joseph Iarussi with JTF Joint Medical Group.
It was definitely different than what he expected, Iarussi said. With it being a relatively new ship, it was very clean and had all the bells and whistles. Another interesting aspect, Iarussi added, was that civilians ran the ship and there were very few Navy personnel on board.
During the tour of the vessel, Perry conveyed to the Troopers the capabilities of the USNS Spearhead, which was built to a modular design allows for its rapid refitting with various equipment within a 20,000 square-foot bay, depending on the mission at hand.
The USNS Spearhead is 338 feet long and 94 feet wide, and has a draft of 12.6 feet, this being the depth of water the ship needs to safely navigate. The ship has space for 41 crew members, though under normal conditions will sail with 22, as well as sleeping accommodations for up to 150 people and an additional 312 seats for troop transport. The four diesel engines allows for a maximum speed of 43 knots and a service speed of 35 knots. The ship also has a helicopter pad, which can carry one helicopter.
“This ship’s crew is made up of 24 civil service sailors, they are consummate professionals at the top of their game,” said Perry. “I can’t say enough good things about them.”
The MSC currently has five operational Spearhead-class joint high-speed vessels in their inventory with three more under construction and two on order.
“The versatility of this ship and the different trials that the crew takes her under has made my first time, after 22 years in the Navy, being afloat a very memorable experience and a great way to start my sea pay,” said Perry.
| Date Taken: | 08.13.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2016 14:15 |
| Story ID: | 190706 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 83 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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