Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Koons | USS Wasp Sailors belonging to the ship's Ground Support Equipment division inspect the...... read more read more
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NORFOLK, Va. – Whenever sailors or embarked air squadron personnel on USS Wasp need extra muscle in conducting repairs, bringing aboard supplies, or moving aircraft, they turn to the ship’s Ground Support Equipment division, which is in charge of maintaining the ship’s cranes, forklifts, tow trucks, and other vital tools.
“No major supplies come on or off the ship without the use of our equipment, particularly our forklifts,” said Chief Petty Officer Clyde Farmer III, GSE division’s leading chief petty officer.
“Without our gear, sailors would not be able to paint the side of the ship or move aircraft around on the flight deck. [In fact,] our assault aircraft crash crane, or ‘Tilley,’ is used to pull the ship’s ramp up or down and is kept running during flight operations in case of a mishap.”
For the group of 19 sailors who comprise GSE division, operating these vehicles is a task that ensures Wasp is always ready to complete its mission.
“Our forklifts are used to bring supplies aboard the ship for the food service attendants to break out,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Angel Garcia. “We also help the air squadrons bring their supplies aboard and train the entire crew as well as sailors from other commands on operating this type of equipment.”
Keeping these tools in top shape is a job that consumes many of GSE division’s sailors during a lengthy in-port period like the one Wasp is experiencing now.
“We send much of our equipment to Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth to be upgraded when we’re in port,” said Garcia. “Many of our sailors also go to Portsmouth and to the crane yards and other places on base in Norfolk to assist in the process.”
Once the ship’s support equipment is fully up to par, some of GSE division’s junior Sailors are looking forward to new challenges once their tools are back onboard.
“It’s good to know that the gear we are fixing will be used on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter once we start testing it on Wasp,” said Seaman Jacob Spaulding. “That is something that will definitely benefit the Navy once it gets going.”
For Farmer, the work his sailors put in to running the support equipment, both at sea and in port, is always of the highest caliber.
“Right now, we have people who are serving as individual augmentees, helping out on other ships, and who are at the maintenance sites in Norfolk and Portsmouth,” Farmer explained. “No matter what they are tasked with, they always get the job done.”
| Date Taken: | 09.29.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 10.04.2010 17:25 |
| Story ID: | 57492 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 6 |
This work, GSE Division Gives Wasp Sailors a 'Lift', by PO2 Christopher Koons, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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