Bringing a Ship to Life: Build and Sustain, Pt. 4 Coming Together

CA, UNITED STATES

12.15.2019

Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Peter Burghart 

USS Tripoli (LHA 7)

Story by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Peter Burghart

To bring the future USS Tripoli (LHA 7) to life, the ship needs its crew of roughly 1,200 Sailors and Marines to arrive in the same location. Shipyards typically build and repair more than one ship at a time and do not have the facilities to house such a large crew until the ship's delivery to the United States Navy.

As Tripoli nears completion, the time has come to transition Sailors to Pascagoula, Mississippi, in preparation for the crew's move aboard. But getting Team Tripoli there comes with its own set of challenges. Those challenges rest on the Marines of Tripoli's Combat Cargo department.

"Sailors who move to Mississippi are tied to a requirement," says Chief Warrant Officer 4 Ochan Nicholas, Tripoli's combat cargo officer. "The Combat Cargo department gathers input from the various departments to best and most effectively shape the ship's future milestones."

The first hurdle for Combat Cargo is moving Sailors from San Diego to Pascagoula. San Diego is the future homeport of Tripoli and its crew. The majority of the Tripoli team are temporarily stationed there at a detachment command until the crew takes ownership of the ship in Pascagoula.

"We understand that there are Sailors who are needed to conduct inspections, and stand antiterrorism force protection watches immediately upon acceptance of the ship," says Nicholas. "This is what we intend to get after via the department heads and departmental leading chief petty officers because we can't solve these issues by ourselves."

Once the command identifies the order in which Sailors are heading down to Pascagoula, they have to make arrangements for the big move. For some Sailors, they will be leaving things in the care of spouses, making special arrangements with their landlords, or packing their belongings and checking out of their barracks rooms.

"The hardest thing about leaving San Diego is splitting up a team after two years," says Yeoman 1st Class Kimberly Lockhart, Administration lead petty officer. "You see the full picture in Mississippi, and that's one thing I value about being here."

When the Sailors head out, their next obstacle requires them to gather before sunrise, load their belongings onto trucks, and make sure every person moving to Pascagoula is present and accounted for prior to the scheduled flight. Naval Air Station North Island's Navy Air Logistics Office (NALO) is responsible for the safe transportation of personnel and their belongings. Upon arrival, the process plays out in reverse under the direction of Combat Cargo.

"We, as logisticians, are familiar with the requirements and have the proficiency and experience to execute the transportation by leveraging the support of U.S. Transport Command and NALO," says Marine Master Sgt. Beau Grezik.

After the flight, a primary concern is ensuring that Sailors and their possessions arrive safely from the flight line to the barracks.
“A lot don’t see the logistics piece and how hard it can be, says Logistics Specialist 1st Class Michael Oshin.

The last hurdle is processing every new Sailor into temporary housing at the Lakeside Naval Support Facility in Pascagoula.

The challenges of moving Sailors from California to Mississippi are just a part of what makes being in a pre-commissioning command unique. However, gathering the crew together sets the ship up for the next step on the path of bringing Tripoli to life.

• Date Taken: 12.15.2019
• Date Posted: 12.17.2019 14:50
• Story ID: 356049
• Location: CA, US