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Imagine for a second, you’re fast asleep in bed dreaming pleasant dreams. Suddenly, a blaring alarm wakes you from your slumber. It’s morning. You groan and stretch your back as you mentally prepare to overcome the obstacles you will face today.
When you take a step out of bed, you’re met with something you weren’t as mentally prepared for. Your feet have squished into the cold. You scamper across it to get your morning footwear, which is already slightly damp, and discover the water is flowing into the space from the head. You walk inside, immediately noticing the overflowing toilet within.
Sadly, this is reality, and now you face your first obstacle of the day However, you don’t have to face this alone. There are a group of Sailors aboard specially trained and skilled in this matter, ready to help at a moment’s notice. Our very own Hull Maintenance Technicians (HT).
In the Navy, HTs are the repairmen of the Fleet. Their services include plumbing, ventilation, fabrication, sheet metal work, carpentry and deep level repairs within the ship’s structure.
“I would call us the repair-everything-on-a-ship rate,” said Hull Maintenance Technician 3rd Class August Friel, from Lansing, Tennessee, whose specialty is plumbing and piping issues aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).
For Senior Chief Hull Maintenance Technician Jonathon Fleshman, from Olympia, Washington, plumbing is a small percentage of being an HT.
“Plumbing is probably 30% [of our rate], if I had to break it down,” said Fleshman. “Plumbing is the spot most people see because that’s what most people give us jobs for, but that’s not what takes up most of our time.”
For Friel, he knows how important his job is to the command.
“We put up false bulkheads, and we make sure the piping system works,” said Friel. “If it doesn’t work, the reactors wouldn’t work. Nothing would work on this ship. I’m not saying we’re the backbone of this ship, but we have a big foot in it.”
Like with all jobs, HTs get their fair share of misconceptions.
“Sinks and scuttlebutts,” said Fleshman. “For some reason those are associated with HTs. I’m sure none of my Sailors would mind helping with that, but sinks are not our purview. We don’t really have any formal training on them.”
While Fleshman and his HTs may not commonly handle sink repairs, HTs are team player who help with whatever job is asked of them.
“My favorite part of the job is being able to solve peoples’ problems,” said Fleshman. “If somebody has a major issue with something or needs help, I have the tools and resources to solve some of those deeper issues. It’s always rewarding to build something, see it installed, and then years later, see that it’s still there doing what it was meant to do.”
For Friel, fixing heads has been rewarding in its own way.
“One day, after a long day of working, there was a head that was clogged that would just not unclog,” said Friel. “We were up there for hours, with people coming in using the showers, while we were on the other side of the bulkhead fixing the toilets. That night, late as heck, we started singing random songs. People on the other side heard us and were laughing like crazy. So that was pretty funny and definitely a memory I’ll keep forever.”
In honor of World Plumbing Day, on March 11, makes sure to thank an HT. Both HTs share a similar mindset in how they will celebrate it:
“What will I do to celebrate?” asked Friel, with a grin on his face. “Probably go do some plumbing!” Fleshman agreed, adding: “I think we’re going to get all our trouble calls done that day.”
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.21.2024 03:02 |
| Story ID: | 466718 |
| Location: | PHILIPPINE SEA |
| Web Views: | 30 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, It’s a Dirty Job... But Someone’s Gotta Do It, by PO3 John Miller, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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