#vertrep

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)

Pacific pit stop....

PACIFIC OCEAN (February 4, 2020) -- A helicopter carries ordnance between the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7) (right) and United States Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) during a  replenishment-at-sea (both UNREP and VERTREP).

                                 USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7)

The carrier is not only re-arming via the helicopter (VERTREP), but also receiving jet and diesel fuels (UNREP), routine supplies, food (for 6,000 crew members), parts, mail, and, sometimes, even people.

Of particular note in the images at the top of this post (each a closer zoom of the same photo) are the three lines strung between the two ships:

     -- the apparent “top” line (the one with little visible bumps) is the phone & distance line, providing a visual measure of the distance between the two ships and containing an old-fashioned hard-wired telephone line for discreet bridge-to-bridge communications....

     -- the other two lines (appearing as clusters of lines) will guide and support large fuel hoses pumping fuels (mostly for the dozens of aircraft onboard) into the carrier.

                                 USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) is in the first month of a seven-month deployment to the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

                                     ____________________________

>>Photo: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nicholas V. Huynh, USN (aboard guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52)....sailing just astern of the whole evolution)

You’ve got mail!

                                     And a whole lot else!

ARABIAN SEA (May 1, 2020) -- An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter moves supplies during a replenishment-at-sea (VERTREP) with United States Navy amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5).

The vast U.S. Navy logistics chain extends a direct link from home in the United States to the warships....often located in the far reaches of the world....bringing them everything from fuel, food, spare parts, mail, personnel, and whatever else is needed to sustain the crew and ship. (There are nearly 3,000 Sailors and U.S. Marines aboard this ship.)

                                            _____________________

Busy gas station....

                                      (....in a tough neighborhood)

ARABIAN SEA (March 6, 2020) -- An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter (hovering over the carrier with a pallet of supplies) delivers cargo to United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) (left)....from Military Sealift Command fast combat support ship USNS Supply (T- AOE 6)....as Navy guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) makes its approach for a refueling (UNREP).

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is close alongside the oiler to receive jet fuel for its very thirsty air wing of dozens of fighter, attack, surveillance and logistics aircraft....as well as getting the helo-lifted supplies (VERTREP). Cruiser Normandy will very shortly begin receiving fuel from the other side of the oiler.

All three warships are deployed to the turbulent Middle East region....with returns back home to the United States coming in the next few months. (The operation pictured up top took place just off the coast of Oman.)

Another fine Navy day on the high seas. The U.S. Navy and Military Sealift Command do this every day, all over the world, to keep the Fleet at full readiness.

Just like when your car’s fuel tank begins to get low, you feel that strong pull to get to a gas station soon....even a busy one will suffice!

                       USS Normandy (CG 60) -- ready for a fill-up

                                        _______________________

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

Delivery!

ATLANTIC OCEAN (December 31, 2019) -- An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter  delivers cargo to United States Navy amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD5) during a vertical replenishment (VERTREP) with Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12).

Note the dozens of pre-staged pallets of supplies on the flight deck of the delivery ship....all destined to be airlifted to USS Bataan over the next couple of hours....while the two ships steam close alongside each other on identical courses and speeds.

This is a routine and efficient evolution for making deliveries of large amounts of supplies to U.S. Navy warships at sea....often away from port for very long periods of time.

                                        ________________________

>>Note: CLICK the top photo for a closer look at this complex New Year’s Eve (!) operation....

>>Top photo: Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Kathryn E. Macdonald, USN

>>A better look at the two ships pictured above:

                                         USS Bataan (LHD 5)

By air and by hose….

PHILIPPINE SEA (August 13, 2019) -- An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter transfers cargo between United States Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS John Ericsson (T-AO 194) during a replenishment-at-sea.

The evolution pictured above is a combination UNREP (underway replenishment) and VERTREP (vertical replenishment).

The “UNREP” part is the refueling (jet and diesel fuel) being conducted via hoses strung between the two ships as they sail alongside each other on parallel courses and speeds about 150-200 feet (45-60 meters) apart.

                                              MH-60S Sea Hawk

The helicopter is the “VERTREP” part. Everything from food and supplies, to mail, to spare parts, to, sometimes, personnel are being transferred back and forth.

After several hours, and the evolution is complete, both ships will head off on their next assigned missions.

                                        ________________________

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

Power pit stop....

ARABIAN SEA (August 30, 2019) -- United States Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) approaches Military Sealift Command (MSC) fleet replenishment oiler USNS Tippecanoe (T-AO 199) (top right) and MSC dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14) (top left)....

....to receive fuels (especially jet fuel for thirsty fighter aircraft) by hoses from the oiler, while sailing close alongside for several hours....

....and simultaneously receiving everything from food to ammunition from the other ship -- likely accomplished via a helicopter (VERTREP) transfer with pallets (mostly) lifted from flight deck to flight deck....from about a mile (1 or 2 km) away.

                                USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)

Meanwhile, the carrier’s lethal complement of fighter jets, and several support aircraft and helicopters, sit on the flight deck -- at temporary rest and repair -- while the floating airbase, and the 6,000 men and women who man the ship and air wing, receive everything they need to continue their vital (and lengthy...at least seven months) mission....

....in one tough neighborhood....in the forever volatile Middle East....

....all in one power pit stop....

                                       USNS Tippecanoe (T-AO 199)

USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14) and MH-60S Seahawk VERTREP helo

MH-60S Seahawk VERTREP helo lifts a pallet of supplies from the supply ship....for the quick flight, and delivery, over to the aircraft carrier.

                                              *          *          *          *

This kind of exceedingly complex logistics support mission -- carried out on the other side of the planet from home -- routinely....is one of the many things that make me so proud of the United States Navy.

It’s one awesome operation....so vast, powerful and complex....that you have to be there to really appreciate it.

I was part of it for many years -- a career -- and I always swell with pride in my “retirement” as I see the next generation take over....and continue the tradition of ultimate pride and professionalism....operating -- and fighting -- these great warships....

....representing the United States of America....Oh, so well!

                                        _________________________

>>CLICK the top photo for a larger image....