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AFT Steering:
First Response to Regain Control
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Malcolm Kelley
USS Tripoli Public Affairs
On a warship, where the lives of Sailors are on the line, preparedness, efficiency and speed make the difference between a successful maneuver or a costly mistake.
Aboard amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), aft steering is essential to the ship’s safety. In a loss of steering casualty where the helm loses the ability to maneuver the vessel, manual steering is required to regain control.
“Aft steering is no place to lolly-gag,” said Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Marc Dechaine, steering operator for aft steering. “Aft steering is important because it provides the ability for the ship to steer, and is linked to navigation.”
Aft steering is the ship’s secondary steering mechanism with full steering controls and communication lines to the bridge and engineering. This arrangement is reminiscent of ships of old, which had steering wheels at the helm, towards the rear of the vessel.
The aft steering crew must remain prepared to steer the ship and follow procedures to ensure the ship’s safety.
“First things first, we always pull out our casualty control book, and we go line by line,” said Lt. j.g. Bryan Hammond, the ship’s aft steering safety officer. “That’s our parameters on how we have to operate at all times.”
Maintenance, such as rudder swing checks, is essential to the ship’s need to maneuver in tight waterways. While timely maintenance keeps the machinery well-oiled, aft steering drills keep all hands involved prepared to take control and ready to work together as a team.
“The loss of steering drill is what we conduct for aft steering,” said Dechaine. “The drill requires the work of a junior officer, a helmsman, a machinist’s mate and an electrician. Personnel who play different roles work to take control of the ship’s rudders.”
When loss of steering occurs, speed is critical for the aft steering crew. Their goal is to regain control of navigation as quickly as possible, which is the task of the helmsman.
“What goes through my head is to get back there as fast as I can,” said Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Aullora Olopez, an El Paso, Texas native, and helmsman for aft steering. “We’re the ones who steer the ship. Our job is to take control of the helm during loss of steering.”
The aft steering team plays a critical role in keeping the ship’s most valuable asset safe; the crew. An inherent level of trust is placed in their hands from the bridge all the way to the keel to take control and steer everyone out of harm’s way.
USS Tripoli is the Navy’s newest America-class amphibious assault ship homeported in San Diego. The ship is assigned to Amphibious Squadron 7.
For more information visit https://www.surfpac.navy.mil/lha7/.
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| Date Taken: | 12.26.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.26.2021 19:46 |
| Story ID: | 411905 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 571 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, AFT Steering: First Response to Regain Control, by PO2 Malcolm Kelley, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
