USS Emory S. Land Returns to Guam after Typhoon Mawar

GUAM

05.31.2023

Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Victoria Mejicanos 

USS Emory S. Land (AS-39)

TALOFOFO, Guam (May 29, 2023) -- The submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) returned to Naval Base Guam after a short underway due to the Super Typhoon Mawar, May 29.

The sortie lasted eight days, and the ship safely avoided the storm’s impacts.

“The whole point of a tender is to be mobile,” said Capt. Brent Spillner, the ship’s commanding officer. “When a storm approaches, we just move out the way, rather than risk damage that shore-based facilities might be unable to avoid. We can then return as soon as the harbor is reopened and contribute immediately to the recovery efforts.”

Sailors that stayed behind were tasked with preparing Polaris Point for the typhoon. Preparations included sand bagging, removing debris, removing hazardous materials from the waterfront, and ensuring the readiness of the Emergent Repair Facility.

After the storm passed safely, the stay-behind crew mobilized to assess the damage to Polaris Point, and assist with the cleanup and power restoration efforts in the area.

Once safely moored, Emory S. Land will be ready to have units moor alongside.

“We’re able to provide all of the power and other services the tended units might need until Guam’s utilities are fully restored. I’m also very proud of the way our shore contingent contributed their labor and expertise to fixing equipment and restoring vital services at installations across the island as part of the Task Force West recovery team. It’s really just a larger-scale version of what tender Sailors do on a daily basis, and they relished the opportunity to pitch in and use their skills for the benefit of the whole community. Most importantly, I am grateful that all of our personnel and families are safe and accounted for, and came together so quickly under difficult conditions to assess needs and help each other out,” said Spillner.

All personnel and their families should review their Navy Family Accountability and Assessment System (NFAAS) account (https://navyfamily.navy.mil) and review current readiness conditions.

Navy personnel and their families should visit the Ready Navy website at https://ready.navy.mil and follow Twitter (@ReadyNavy). Ready Navy provides information, tools and resources that empower the Navy family to more aptly prepare for, react and recover when faced with any emergency.

A Combined Joint Task Force led by U.S. Army Pacific and Task Force West are the DoD representatives supporting FEMA and the governments of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands as we continue recovery efforts in the wake of Typhoon Mawar. Commander Task Force West Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson, and all military installation commanding officers in Guam are diligently working to restore steady state to the bases, and dedicate resources to all FEMA mission assignments. Typhoon Mawar moved through the area as a Category 4 storm on May 24, bringing hurricane-force winds, heavy rain and high seas marking the strongest storm to affect the island since Typhoon Pongsona in 2002.

U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy's largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

For more information about USS Emory S. Land (AS 39), visit us at http://www.csp.navy.mil/emorysland/ or like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/EmorySLand.

For more news from USS Emory S. Land (AS 39), visit http://www.navy.mil/local/as39/

• Date Taken: 05.31.2023
• Date Posted: 06.08.2023 19:33
• Story ID: 446560
• Location: GU