#unrep

Pumping gas....

     .....way out to sea....

          .....on the far side of the planet from home....

EAST CHINA SEA (November 7, 2020) -- Cryptologic Technician (Technical) Seaman Jacob Fischer, USN, (top) and Fire Controlman 3rd Class Kyle Soriano, USN, heave a line aboard United States Navy guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67) during a replenishment-at-sea (UNREP) with Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10).

A complex evolution like a refueling/resupplying at sea requires an almost all-hands effort beyond just the deck crew. From necessary raw manpower, to stowing supplies below decks, to safety protocols....it takes a huge team effort.

                                         _____________________

>>Top two photos: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ryre Arciaga, USN

The two ships involved here:

                              USS Shiloh (CG 67)....needing fuel

Tricky maneuvering….

PHILIPPINE SEA (November 2, 2020) -- United States Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Alan Shepard (T-AKE 3) (left) sails a steady course and speed....as United States Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) moves into position 120-150 feet (35-45 meters) alongside for a refueling/resupplying (UNREP) operation.

Note the wave action against the side of the destroyer as it approaches the much larger ship. Wind, ocean waves, ship-generated waves and currents....as well of the physics of two large floating machines getting so close to each other....make this a tricky maneuver....no matter how many times you do it.

(I performed this maneuver at least 100 times -- and probably a whole lot more than that -- during my seagoing career in the Navy.)

                                         ________________________

>>CLICK the photo for a closer look....

Hey, there’s an aircraft carrier….

             ….right behind us!

PHILIPPINE SEA (September 22, 2020) -- United States Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) makes her approach to going close-alongside Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Tippecanoe (T-AO 199) in preparation for a refueling (especially for the carrier’s dozens of thirsty fighter jets)/resupply (UNREP) evolution.

By the third photo above, the supercarrier is settled alongside the oiler -- on identical courses and speeds, 150-200 feet (45-60 meters) apart -- for the next several hours, as twilight, and soon darkness of night, descends on the gentle tropical seas and skies.

                                   __________________________

>>CLICK the photos above for a more dramatic perspective....almost like you’re standing right there watching the whole thing....

>>Top photos: Christopher Bosch

>>The two ships involved in this UNREP:

                               USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76)

This is not a movie....

                             ....but it sure looks the part!

PHILIPPINE SEA (September 3, 2020) -- United States Navy amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18) (left) and amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) (right) conduct a dawn replenishment-at-sea (UNREP/VERTREP) with Military Sealift Command dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10)....

....with orbiting MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopters lifting cargo out to USS America (LHA 6).

USS America (LHA 6) is further away from the supply ship as she has already completed refueling alongside the oiler....and is now out at a more comfortable, yet nearby, distance for the vertical replenishment of supplies and cargo via shuttling helicopters.

The two warships -- the amphibious vessels -- are on a routine transit through the region....

....and rendezvoused with the oiler by pre-planned time and location....for a fill-up of gas, as such....and other supplies, mail and cargo and, sometimes, people -- coming and going. 

                                  The Philippine Sea (center)

As the three American ships sail into another dramatic mid-ocean tropical sunrise....thousands of miles from home....

....the evolution takes on the look of a scene from a great movie....

....dramatic....beautiful....sweeping in scope....somehow serene from afar.

Yet, real-world, part of a vast, complex logistics routine for the over 1,000 Navy & Marine Corps men and women expertly operating these front-line warships on missions in support of American and allied foreign policy. (Not to mention the thousands of military and civilian support personnel ashore making it all happen.)

Yeah....like something out of a movie.

                                    ________________________

>>CLICK the top photo for a larger image....makes a great movie scene....

>>Top & bottom photos: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Taylor DiMartino, USN

                                        *          *          *          *

The ships in the top photo, from left to right:

                                   USS New Orleans (LPD 18)

                               USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10)

USS America (LHA 6)....note the helicopters shuttling pallets of supplies....as the VERTREP operation continued well past the spectacular sunrise....and into the steamy, tropical mid-ocean mid-morning....over, by the way, some of the deepest ocean on the planet -- more than five miles deep in locations.

Full-service station….

PHILIPPINE SEA (September 14, 2020) -- United States Navy amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) (left) conducts a replenishment-at-sea (UNREP & VERTREP) with Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE 11).

Fuel is coursing through the hose spanning the roughly 150-foot (45-meter) gap between the two ships (the UNREP part of the evolution)....as they steam together for several hours, tethered, on precisely parallel courses and speeds (usually 12 knots -- 14 mph / 22 kph).

Concurrently, two SH-60 Seahawk helicopters (the VERTREP part) ferry pallets of supplies, food, mail, spare parts, and anything else needed, from the supply ship to the warship.

This is a routine scene across the Navy Fleet....every day....around the globe. It’s a complex logistics miracle pulled-off with exceptional professionalism, expertise and efficiency.

Consider this like your own long road trip stop at a rest area --  for a fill-up, a meal, perhaps a little quick preventive maintenance on your vehicle, and some shopping....many thousands of miles from home.

                                            _______________________

>>CLICK the top photo for a closer look at this complex operation for a superb perspective....

>>Top photo: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Taylor DiMartino, USN

>>The two ships from another angle....

                                          USS America (LHA 6)

Touched….

PHILIPPINE SEA (August 16, 2020) -- Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Murasame-class destroyer JS Ikazuchi (DD 107) (left)....Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS John Ericsson (T-AO 194)....and United States Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) conduct a refueling/resupplying operation (UNREP)....

....as the warships are touched by a double rainbow while passing through gentle tropical rain showers along the way....

....conducting routine patrol and training operations in the far Western Pacific Ocean.

                                         JS Ikazuchi (DD 107)

                                  USNS John Ericsson (T-AO 194)

                                  USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76)

                                      ______________________

>>CLICK the photos for a closer look....