USS CARR Families and Friends –
Today we took a moment to remember September 11th – laying a wreathe from the fantail to remember those killed at the World Trade Towers, Pentagon, Pennsylvania, and abroad in the ongoing War on Terrorism. Chief Select Ravi Tobierre and Orlando Munoz then recounted for our crew the timeline of events surrounding 9/11; DCC Justin Jones then shared the story of the firefighters in NYC and Washington D.C, also recounting his interaction with fellow firemen from NYC; BM1 Toney London then offered his personal story of how his family was affected.
This upcoming Wednesday is OMBUDSMAN Appreciation Day – I would like to thank our OMBUDSMAN Jessica Meissner for all she does. The OMBUDSMAN is a vital link between commands and their families, which allow our Sailors to focus on their mission. OMBUDSMAN keep the chain of command informed on issues facing our Sailors; from pay, to child care issues, to housing. Additionally, they play a major role in crisis response and disaster preparedness.
Day 83 – Sunday, September 4th (Murmansk, Russia)
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Today we continued our Theater Security Cooperation visit to Murmansk. Today we had the opportunity to tour Russian Sailors from RFS Olengegorskiy Gorniak (a Russian Amphibious vessel) as well as had our Sailors tour their ship. In addition we continued our sports competition, this time a swim competition against our Russian Host Ship. Our four man swim team consisted of QMC Jori ‘Barracuda’ Mason, OS2 Thomas ‘The Fish’ Becker, BM3 Matthew ‘Mud’ Mudderman, and SN Cory ‘Aqua Lung’ Lesage. Despite not having the opportunity to practice their skills, they took second place of four teams competing in a swimming relay race. In addition there were individual events, BM3 Matthew Mudderman took first place in the 50m freestyle and SN Corey Lesage took first place in the underwater distance swim with a distance of 37.5 M underwater. Great job to our team!
Day 84 – Monday, September 5th (Depart Murmansk, Russia)
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Today we departed Murmansk and started our journey back across the Atlantic. During this visit we found out that Carr has more visits to Russia than any other ship in our Navy – and we did them all within 3 months of each other. Great job to everyone on board for making these visits a success – I thank them for zero liberty incidents throughout our port visits.
Congrats to OS3 Walker and his wife Crystal – their son George Josiah Walker III was born on 05 Sep, weighing in at 7lbs and measuring 21 inches. Mom and baby are both doing well.
Great job to HT1 Joshua Linton, EN3 Joshua Young, and ENFA Ryan Dahl who worked day and night to conduct repairs to number two start air compressor. The start air compressor is powered by the diesel engine, providing the necessary air to start a gas turbine engine. As usual, the Enginemen worked tirelessly to get the job done and restore the entire system to full operation.
Day 85 – Tuesday, September 6th (Arrive Tromsø, Norway)
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Another long sea and anchor detail into Tromsø, Norway; however, at least this time the weather was good. Last time in we could barely see in the fog and rain – this time we could take some time to observe the beauty of Norway. This far up north there are still year round permanent glaciers. Great job to LT Chuck Birchfield who conned us into port and brought us safely pierside. The focus of our visit was to get fuel and supplies to support our trip back home. Although we didn’t grant liberty, Sailors enjoyed beer and hot dogs on the pier, along with tossing the football and fishing.
Day 86– Wednesday, September 7th (Depart Tromsø, Norway)
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Back underway and headed South – as a result of the remnants of hurricanes moving between Iceland and Great Britain, we are not going home via Iceland. After looking at the forecast of 24 ft seas, we talked to our boss and agreed on a different route…although not one free of weather as well.
Day 87 – Thursday, September 8th
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It may seem like I am fixated on weather, but when you live high up in the ship it gets your attention. Today was a bit rough, with 6 ft seas and 30kt winds. As we head South we are focused on the weather in the Atlantic, and right now it only looks a little better than the Iceland route. We are pushing south, but are considering stopping in Portsmouth, England to seek shelter. As we continue our trip we will keep an eye on the weather; hoping the seas predictions will drop to around 12-14 feet.
This morning the focus was the E-5 advancement exam. PSC Melvin Perry and ENS Maria Decristoforo proctored the exam and ensured everyone who was eligible was provided an exam. Advancement exams are given twice a year (March and September). Our next exam will be for E-4 next week. Good luck to those who took the exam today!
Today I received a Bravo Zulu (congrats) message: “Congratulations on the three successful ship visits by USS CARR to the Russian Federation. You should feel justifiably proud in the outstanding performance of your crew and the extremely high standards that every Sailor embarked in USS CARR exhibited during all three port calls. The long hours of preparation and effort that you committed paid off in well-appointed shipboard receptions enjoyed by numerous local dignitaries, community relations events with orphanages and schools that drew consistently favorable local press, and thoughtful tributes to military veterans and to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in time of war. You and your crew excelled as direct representatives of the United States in a country that has a long history of mistrust for our Nation. The sheer good will that you generated during your visits will have a lasting and positive impact on our military and diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation.” – RDML Doug Venlet
Our crew also received accolades from The Honorable Sheila Gwaltney (Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Moscow), Admiral Nora Tyson (Commander, Carrier Strike Group Two), Admiral Landolt (OPNAV N3/5), and Commodore Wolstenholme (Commander, Destroyer Squadron Twenty Two). You should all be proud of your Sailors.
Day 88 – Friday, September 9th
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Congratulations to GMSN John Hodges, who earned his qualifications as a Damage Control Petty Officer today – he will be taking the reigns from GM2 Jacob Scyoc as Damage Control Petty Officer. Our Damage Control Petty Officers are responsible for maintaining an enormous amount of damage control equipment, to include watertight doors, fire stations, CO2 extinguishers, pumps, and fittings. When an accident happens, our survival depends on how well people like GMSN John Hodges have done their job.
Thanks to GM2 Ethan Krug and YN2 Ed Williams who volunteered to spend three of their off duty hours cleaning out the MWR locker to make room for our Sailors. The amount of items bought by the crew during this deployment is staggering – so much so that we had to find more space.
Day 89 – Saturday, September 10th
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Today we were told not to divert to Portsmouth, England and push through to the Atlantic. We have altered our course slightly to minimize the seas; however, it looks like we will still see some gale force winds and 12-14 foot seas. Today we spent time getting loose gear off the main deck and internal items stowed. Doc has also given out sea sick medicine to those who have a propensity to get ill in high seas. Looks like 3-4 days of heavy weather – although we are hoping the forecast is more dramatic than the actual weather. Carr is made to take seas much higher than these; but definitely not a joy to be bouncing around.
Our plans for return to Norfolk are still in flux – big question is whether or not we will be doing an inspection enroute Norfolk. If there are no inspections, I would like to do a Tiger Cruise from Mayport to Norfolk. More to follow on this – but I hope it works out.
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Please join us on Facebook:
CARR Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FFG52
Jessica Meissner OMBUDSMAN http://www.facebook.com/pages/USS-CARR-Ombudsman/219688138070847?sk=wall
Melissa Lemons CARR Family
Readiness Group http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_137767426300026&ap=1;
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Until next week, stay safe Carr Family and Friends!
CDR Patrick Kulakowski
Commanding Officer
USS CARR (FFG 52)
“Courage, Will, Determination
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