Liberty and a History Lesson

CARR Families and Friends,

This week we didn’t see much action while at sea (weather may have effected the narcotics flow) and we conducted our first port visit.

Day 24 – Sunday, June 24th
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Today was Captain’s Cup event 3 – darts on the flight deck. Two Sailors from each division competed as a team in a modified Cricket tournament. Players alternated throwing three darts per turn in an attempt to hit either the number 20, 19, 18 or 17; the first team to hit three of each number won and advanced to the next bracket.

When the first round was complete, four teams were left in contention. The final four involved the Air Det (LT Josh Haggard and LT Nick Pietrzak) versus OT Division (CTT1 Billy Bernal and CTT2 Joseph Seal) and OI Division (OSC Chris Van and OS3 Jonas Flesher) versus Navigation/Admin Divisions (LCDR Neil Krueger and YN1 Anthony Contino). OT Division and OI Division came out victors and went on to compete for first place. It was a bitter battle to the end; however, OT came out victors. The Nav/Admin team took third place, squeaking by Air Det for the win.

After the third round, the Captain’s Cup standings are:

OT Division (10 pts)

CG Division (7 pts)

EM Division (7 pts)

EA Division (6 pts)

OI Division (6 pts)

ER Division (5 pts)

Nav/Admin   (5 pts)

LEDET (5 pts)

All others (3pts)

Day 25 – Monday, June 25th
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Great job to LTJG Philip Chayka for keeping a sharp lookout and spotting a suspicious looking float and transmitter antenna on the horizon. We immediately launched our Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat to investigate; however, it turned out to be deep water fishing gear. At least we had a little excitement after a few days of slow action.

Day 26 – Tuesday, June 26th
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We conducted a Pre-Action Calibration Fire (PACFIRE) of our Close In Weapons System (CIWS). The original CIWS (20mm Gatling gun) installed on CARR was designed to shoot down anti-ship cruise missiles; however, our 1B modification allows us to use it in the surface mode to shoot at small boats. Great job to FC1 Adam Lemons and FC2 Cliff Jenson who prepared our system and led their team through the evolution to make sure it was completed safely and effectively.

Day 27 – Wednesday, June 27th
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The seas began to build as a system moved through the central Caribbean. We are also preparing for our first deployment port visit by conducting port visit briefs and training to ensure everyone understands liberty expectations. Although it may sound odd, liberty is a mission. We reinforced to our crew that their performance on liberty reflects on how personnel view the United States; it only takes one bad instance to put a negative spin on our Navy and our nation. I am sure the secret service personnel  involved in the incident in Colombia did not fully understand the ramifications their personal conduct would have.

Day 28 – Thursday, June 28th (Santa Marta, Columbia)
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This morning we anchored in the Santa Marta Harbor a short distance from the point where the small boats will ferry our crew to liberty. Great job to the entire deck crew and bridge team – it has been quite some time since we anchored in a congested harbor. Special thanks to BMSN Michael Dimick, BM2 Matthew Mudderman, SN Chris Himes and SN Shawn Smith whose efforts were critical to the safe anchoring evolution.

A little bit of history about Santa Marta, Colombia:

The area of present day Santa Marta, Colombia was inhabited by Amerindians from the Tairona culture. On July 29, 1525 the Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas, accompanied by two hundred of his men, arrived and named the city Santa Marta. With this base of operation, the Spanish colonization began conquering of lands in this region. The Spanish also set up a port facility and constructed defenses to prevent pirate raids. During Colonial times the city began to lose its regional importance to Cartagena.

During the 20th century the city served as a port for the export of bananas and coal. On 6 December, 1928 a massacre occurred when workers at the United Fruit Company, fore-runner of today’s Chiquita Brands International, were killed by the Colombian Army after a month long strike organized by the workers’ union. The U.S. government had threatened to invade with the U.S. Marine Corps if the Colombian government did not act immediately to protect United Fruit’s interests. The workers were striking in an attempt to secure better working conditions.

In recent years, Santa Marta attracted large numbers of people displaced by the paramilitary groups operating in the area. The warm climate and opportunities for work in the tourist industry have also resulted in an increase in the city’s population.

Santa Marta is the birthplace of Colombia’s famous soccer players:

Carlos Valderrama, Radamel Falcao, and Johan Vonlanthen and the place where Simón Bolívar died (more on that below).

Day 29 – Friday, June 29th (Santa Marta, Columbia)
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Today we conducted our first in port refueling of deployment. Up to now we have been fortunate to have the services of USNS SACAGAWEA to conduct refuelings at sea. While refueling in port we must take additional precautions to ensure we don’t spill a drop and potentially impact local beaches and fishing areas. Super job to CWO2 Dilson Ramirez and GSM3 Robert Kirkman who ensured the fuel system was properly aligned and controlled the evolution. We received 40,000 gallons of diesel fuel marine from a barge that moored alongside us while we were at anchor.

We also received our first shipment of repair parts since departing for deployment. LS2 Lawrence Stubblefield and LSSN Augustine Otwori coordinated with our husbanding agent to bring 1000 lbs of parts onboard. We also received several pallets of fresh milk, eggs, fruits, and vegetables. After about 14 days at sea, we run out of these items.

Day 30 – Saturday, June 30th (Santa Marta, Columbia)
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Many of our Sailors took the opportunity to relax and enjoy the mid-80 degree day before we head back to sea tomorrow to continue our countering transnational terrorism mission. The most popular liberty destination was the beach at Rodadero, only a 15 minute bus ride away. Restaurants and souvenir shops were plentiful, but most Sailors just wanted to relax in an internet café to connect with friends and family back home.

Several of our Sailors took the opportunity to walk about town and see the historic sites and monuments to Santa Marta’s past. The most significant monument is in memory of Simón Bolívar who died in Santa Marta on December 17, 1830. He was a Venezuelan military and political leader who played a key role in the struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire.

Following triumph over the Spanish Monarchy, Bolívar participated in the foundation of the first union of independent nations in Hispanic-America, a republic named Gran Colombia. Bolívar is considered by many to be a Hispanic-America hero, visionary, revolutionary, and liberator. During his lifetime, he led Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia to independence and helped lay the foundations for democratic ideology in much of Latin America.

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Jessica Meissner           OMBUDSMAN
April Linton               Co-OMBUDSMAN
Jackie Lease               FRG President

Please join CARR along with our OMBUDSMAN and Family Readiness Group:
CARR
https://www.facebook.com/FFG52
OMBUDSMAN
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ombudsman/219688138070847?sk=wall
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Sailors Name
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USS CARR (FFG 52)
FPO AE 09566-1506

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Until next Sunday, stay safe CARR Family and Friends!

CDR Patrick Kulakowski
Commanding Officer
USS CARR (FFG 52)
“Courage, Will, Determination”