Welcome Aboard The CGC Morgenthau
February 19, 2006
Greetings from USCGC MORGENTHAU! This is the fifth report of our current deployment. We hope to keep you well informed of the great accomplishments and happenings of the Coast Guard Pacific Area’s ship of choice – the United States Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau.
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The Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau, homeported in Alameda, Ca.
Photo by Tony Gillilan.
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From The Bridge:
Captain M. E. Sullivan
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Greetings once again. Today we found ourselves making a brief
stop in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
to disembark Ecuadorian migrants
who had been rescued from their
fishing boat found adrift off the
coast of El Salvador. This has been
an interesting week, with 2.5 tons
of contraband in the hold and 77
migrants on deck. The versatility
and resourcefulness of all crew
members is reflected in their
ability to handle the plethora of missions that the Coast Guard
is so frequently involved with. They handled themselves as
extremely professional law enforcement officers when
necessary and showed their humanitarian side when called
upon. Today is a special day for those of you who are
counting: it's Hump Day - the halfway point of our
deployment. We're looking forward to several days off next
week and the opportunity to talk to family and friends when
we reach shore. Our thanks again for your continued support.
Best Regards - Captain M.E. Sullivan
The Week in Review…
Monday: flew several surveillance flights… held College of
Alameda classes for
Introduction to Business
and Introduction to
Computer Information
Systems. A local
fisherman flagged us
down and threw over a
couple of fine looking
fish for our crew.
Tuesday: we rendezvoused with another Coast Guard cutter
and transferred all our contraband and detainees (from last
week’s cocaine seizure). Flew a couple of flight sorties to
check vessels in the area. Started steaming east toward Manta,
Ecuador for fuel and food.
Wednesday: moored for most of the day in Manta and
onloaded sorely-needed fuel and stores, and also received
some supplies shipped to us. LTjg Ryan Waters expertly
conned the ship into Manta, which has very little maneuvering
room to reach our assigned pier. BM1 Jeff Hamilton got us
underway in the late afternoon.
Thursday: two flights in
the morning. College
classes in the afternoon.
In the evening, we were
diverted for the
Ecuadorian migrant case
that the Captain
mentioned above. The
migrants were from a
fishing vessel found
adrift in the ocean by a passing merchant ship, which rescued
them and later transferred them to a U.S. Navy ship in the
area.
Friday: preparations for receiving 77 guests onboard…and a
late-night rendezvous with the Navy ship. We safely
transferred all 77 migrants onboard in a very late night
evolution. Our deck force, led by CWO2 James Bigbie and
BMCS Darren Davis, did excellent work rigging our
accommodation ladder for the embarkation. LTjg Elizabeth
Gillis directed embarkation efforts at the water’s edge.
Saturday: as we were steaming toward Guatemala for
disembarkation, seas picked up significantly, requiring us to
slow and to move all our guests up to the flight deck for their
comfort and safety. Underway Holiday Routine for the crew
since seas were so rough. They did calm down by midafternoon
though, enough for us to celebrate our weekly
Morale night with the Operations Department cooking a fine
spread of pizzas, chicken wings and mozzarella sticks. The
Morale Committee hosted Bingo on the messdeck, with SK2
Mike Simonetti winning the top blackout prize of a free
night’s stay at a hotel at an upcoming port of call.
Sunday: moored in
Puerto Quetzal,
Guatemala to disembark
the migrants to local
authorities. ENS Pam
Wade did a fine job
mooring us up with
significant local media
awaiting our arrival. We
also took on fuel while
we were here. Late this afternoon we departed Puerto Quetzal
to continue our narcotics enforcement patrol; LTjg Mike
Hjerstedt did the driving on the way out and did an incredible
job—for an engineer.
The Coast Guard press release for this case is impressive:
SN Daniel Brown leads the deck force in hoisting
up the accommodation ladder during migrant transfer
operations
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77 ECUADORIAN MIGRANTS TAKEN TO SAFETY
COAST GUARD ISLAND, ALAMEDA, CALIF. – The
Coast Guard transferred 77 Eduadorian migrants to safety in
Guatemala today to await repatriation to Ecuador, after the
group spent more than two weeks aboard a dilapidated 40-foot
fishing vessel. The British-flagged
Merchant Vessel Greenwich Maersk,
working under the direction of the U.S.
Coast Guard’s Rescue Coordination
Center here, as part of the voluntary
AMVER Rescue System, spotted the
migrants aboard their vessel Feb. 15 off
the coast of El Salvador. The fishing
vessel was missing a plank in its wooden
hull, a rudder, and the migrants were seen
bailing water from the boat. Fearing for
their
health and safety, the Greenwich
Maersk’s master took the migrants
aboard
BM2 Nate Fraze flies the shaka during small
boat training this week
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his ship. They all appeared to be
dehydrated and exhausted, but otherwise
in fair condition. The Greenwich Maersk
turned the migrants over Feb 16 to a U.S.
Navy ship that was in the area, which was
followed by a transfer to the Alamedabased
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter
Morgenthau Feb 17. Migrants typically
pay thousands of dollars for conveyance
by sea from Ecuador to a Central
American country, where they attempt to
enter the United States by land. Coast
Guard records from previous cases show
that migrants are often found suffering in
poor conditions aboard overcrowded and
unseaworthy vessels. The Coast Guard has rescued and
repatriated more than 5,900 Ecuadorian migrants in the eastern
Pacific since Fiscal Year 2001.
Division in the Spotlight… By ENS Pam Wade
Department: Operations Division: Radio
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Deep in the heart of CGC MORGENTHAU lays a secret
room, hidden behind an ominous black door, to which only a
select few members know the combination. No sunlight enters
here and nary deckie nor fireman dare tread cross the hallowed
ground which lies beyond the threshold of… Radio.
The Telecommunications (Radio) Division is one of four
within the Operations Department. Our division is led by our
Communications Officer ENS Pamela Wade (COMMO) and
our Division Chief, OSC Ken Torquato. OS1 Stephen Aragon
and OS1 Wendy Perdue are the leading petty officers in
charge of eight watch standers: OS2 Tyler
Bacon, OS2 Brandon Clarke, OS2 Kim
Hawkins, OS2 Tom Proctor, OS3 Kelly
Case, OS3 Brandon Debetham, and OS3
Chris Lopez.
The sensitive nature of the material
processed by our division mandates that
our work and watches be conducted
behind the locked black door of Radio
Central. Consequently, much of our duties
go unnoticed by our shipmates. Behind
the door our Operations Specialists are
busy establishing and maintaining vital
communications circuits, including voice
and data satellite communications as well
as traditional voice line of sight and over
the horizon circuits. The radio division
also ensures these circuits are properly
encrypted to protect sensitive information
regarding our mission and personnel. This
is a job that requires patience and
technical expertise as our state of the 70’s
equipment is merged with state of the art
technology.
Additionally, our division is charged with
duties such as processing incoming and
outgoing mail, processing message traffic and Personnel
Security Clearances, distributing the “Daily Shot” (a military
newspaper), and preparing the daily weather briefing. Always
concerned about being well rounded and continually
improving ourselves, we also have half of our division
involved taking college courses onboard, working on
Boarding Team Member qualifications, standing detainee
watches and serving as Berthing area Master at Arms
(responsible for berthing area cleanliness and order).
When all circuits are up and running smoothly Radio goes
unnoticed for their efforts, but the unsung heroes of the
communications world battle on against old equipment and
lack of fresh air and vitamin D. So be sure to send them an
email from back at home and let them know how much they
are appreciated!
From the Command Master Chief…
Things have been going pretty
well this trip from the CMC
perspective. In other words, "the
kids are behaving". Moms and
Dads, you should pat yourselves
on the back, for "ou did good".
CDR Ridgeway, Mrs. Malinski,
about Jesse and Chuck: if you
have any good stories and/or pictures on these two I would
love them.
What has been keeping me busy is keeping on top of the new
personnel initiatives, programs like The First 72 Hours and
Individual Development Plans. These are new programs
designed to acclimate our newest members to the Coast Guard
way of life and life aboard ship. The programs also help
them
understand their
Sunset of the Week
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role in the organization and give them choices
to make and to help them plan their careers. By providing the
opportunity to set down with their seniors and supervisors and
talk about their goals and what they want to achieve during
their time with
us, they
develop a plan
that will allow
them to realize
those goals and
position
themselves for
success.
Being the
CMC is a 24/7
commitment to
the Command
and my fellow shipmates, but it is a collateral duty, which
means I do have other obligations to the ship. My primary role
is a watchstander in the Engineering Department, and
currently I am the acting Division Chief for both the
Electrician Mates (EM) and Damage Controlmen (DC) while
their Chiefs are away. This will probably be my last trip
aboard Morgenthau, as my family and I have my orders to
move on. But I would like to take this time to thank you out
there for supporting your children, friends, and spouses from
the bottom of my heart. This is not an easy job but your love
and support make it just a little better. Thank You!
From the Chief Master-At-Arms…
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From the CMAA Locker: Clean
ups around the ship are looking
good. We have our weekly "Best
Berthing area" competitions every
Saturday after a "field day" (that is
when everyone deep cleans their
spaces) and this week’s winner
was our Port Engineering berthing
area. The Master at Arms for that berthing area is MK3 Bret
Steinle. Keep up the great work. I couldn’t do my job without
the support of a strong ship’s Master at Arms, YN1 Dave
Blackwell, who is my right hand man. I rely on him to ensure
that tasks such as trash separation (that’s a fun one), and other
tasks get taken care of. Every successful operation involves
team work so with YN1 Blackwell and with the assistance of
my other berthing area Masters at Arms (they are in charge of
each berthing area onboard), we will keep MORGENTH AU
cleaned, smelling good and we will continue to be the premier
cutter in the Pacific area.
Law Enforcement Teams… By LTJG Elizabeth Gillis
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Who are the coolest kids on deck? That’s right! It’s the Law
Enforcement (LE) Team: an entirely voluntary force that
spends their free time training for MORGENTHAU’s most
visible missions. These stalwart individuals are hardy enough
for missions any time of the day or night; crazy enough to get
pepper sprayed (may I remind you, voluntarily); and devoted
enough to participate in at least two trainings a week… in
addition to their normal jobs onboard. We have individuals
from every department qualified as Boarding Officers and
Boarding Team Members with additional members who
provide support in specialized areas such as Space
Accountability, Rescue and Assistance (especially lately with
the trend of suspect vessels trying to sink themselves), and
Intel Collection.
It’s not all fun and glory, though. Boardings can commonly
take 7-8 hours. For each boat with cocaine on board, the LE
team boards three or four other boats with negative results.
There is a lot of crawling though sludge, moving rotting fish
and food, computing volumetrics (size of spaces), and testing
tanks. But nothing beats the adrenaline rush of knowing you
completed perfect execution on a boarding or the elation when
all of the countless hours of training and effort pay off in a
huge bust.
The LE team is not limited to boarding fishing vessels. We
also train for high speed chases involving go-fast boats. These
require even more training and weapons qualifications because
the team is responsible for stopping the vessel and then
boarding it.
The LE team is the public face of the MORGENTHAU, the
Coast Guard, and the United States. We are frequently
involved in boardings that are politically sensitive. Therefore,
we choose personnel based not only on their skill and
enthusiasm but on their professionalism.
So, the next time we get a huge bust after spending hours on a
leaky, rotting fish boat, hug an LE team member (preferably
after they have had a shower).
Electrons in Morgenthau…
Moving Toward a Paperless Cutter By LTJG Piero Pecora
Our “Morg.net” Intranet site
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As we all get older we seem to pack on a
little extra weight. A ship is no different.
While ours may have to do more with the
vending machine by the water cooler or
that extra helping of dessert, a ship adds
her weight on in a different way. Let’s put
a new antenna here, maybe a bigger gun
there, add a hanger to the flight deck, a
satellite for email, a new davit for the
small boat, and countless other additions
or replacements over the last thirty seven
years and it adds up to hundreds of tons.
One thing that most of us never think
about though is the paper. There are
numerous daily activities that generate
paper records onboard any ship. Onboard
MORGENTHAU the printers and copiers
run almost continuously. All of these
records add tons of weight over the years
and costs the Coast Guard a great deal of
money. Over the last two years though, we
have taken many steps to move to a
paperless workplace.
Many of our friends and family have been
to MORGENTHAU’s internet website.
We try to pack that forum with useful
information about the ship for the public
and newly reporting crewmembers. What
you haven’t seen is the ship’s Intranet site.
If you looked at it two years ago you
might not have found it so impressive, but
now it is the end of the road for nearly all
the information our crew needs. Daily
information is listed, such as the plan of
the day, the ship’s menu, and movie
listings. Links to all of the ship’s inport
and underway watch schedules are found
there. Over half a dozen electronic forms
have been created and included in the site.
This is a vast improvement over the older
versions. Before, if you wanted to route a
special request chit for leave, liberty, or
formal schools a form had to be printed out and route up a
crew member’s entire chain of command. For junior members
that meant hand-routing a form through five or more
superiors. Besides the effort involved, this process could take
days. Our new forms allow the member to generate the request
in Microsoft Office Outlook® and email it up for approval. The
wait for approval is now hours as opposed to days.
Crewmembers relax in Deck/Ops lounge watching
Morg News Network
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Our Intranet site, Morg.net, is also a forum for upcoming news
and announcements. Included is a section entitled Morg News,
a listing of ship specific news and information. Everything is
there, from information about a new procedure for filling out
Enlisted Performance Reviews to a reminder not to flush paper
towels down the toilet. Also included are our Morg Web
pages. Every department, division, committee, organization,
and program onboard now has, or is in the process of creating
a webpage. The Law Enforcement
Program, for example has a page.
Members of the program can find their
roster, training schedule, qualification
materials, references, and previous case
information. Finally, our external links
page allows quick access to all Coast
Guard and military websites. Our crew
has come to find that if you need it, you
can probably find it on Morg.net. If its not
there then we make sure that we add it.
Another program we have used is shared
electronic calendars for scheduling. We
now have the ability to plan out our entire
patrol before we leave homeport. Program
leaders can quickly schedule blocks
weeks in advance and when operations
change the schedule, rescheduling events
and shuffling activities is much more
easily managed.
Yes, EM2 Tim Ieronimo is actually on the ship this patrol. Here he’s
manning IC/Gyro during Special Sea Detail this week.
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The purchase of a multifunction PDF
scanner for the crew a year ago has
allowed for the shift away from paper
records. Many programs are required to
keep records for three years or more. By
scanning these records, many programs
are able to greatly reduce the amount of
paper needing to be stored onboard.
One of our more grueling changes has
been our Cutter Organizational Manual
(COM). For any cutter, this is the most
frustrating manual onboard. The COM is
a manual that promulgates the
responsibilities and procedures for
EVERYTHING onboard. The old version
was printed out and kept in binders
throughout the ship. Other than the paper
that was wasted, the major downside was
the difficulty in updating it. We have
separated each article into a separate
document and placed them online. When we find it necessary
to update a section, the new article is generated and the old
one is replaced. Thus far we have generated over 80 updates
and look to break one hundred before the end of the patrol.
We recently completed a two month dry dock period in San
Francisco. Dry dock periods are very complicated and difficult
to manage. In the past these projects generated a large paper
system to track progress towards completion. This year
Engineering Department went paperless. Using a website
linked to Morg.net, the entire dry-dock package was tracked
online. Everything from schedules, to assignments, Gant
charts, meeting minutes, inspection reports, pictures, and
references were included online. Our ship will not be
scheduled to return to another dry dock for three years but
with this system in place, everything will still be set up for the
next crew.
Our newest initiative is the Morg News Network (MNN). You
could think of this as the love child of a more interactive
version of Morg.net and a public service announcement. MNN
allows different programs to place brief power point slides on
the ships TV that are continuously cycled while music plays.
Every television onboard keeps the channel tuned in during
the work day so MNN provides a great tool to pass
information to the crew. We have had great participation form
the crew. Each day approximately 30 slides run with
information about the daily schedule, information about
upcoming events and announcements to the crew.
Crew Recognition This Week… Compiled by ENS Ernie Saponara
• FN James Adams advanced to Fireman (E3) and certified
engineering generator watchstander.
• EM3 Drake Douglas certified engineering generator
watchstander.
• SN Adam Durham celebrated a birthday on 17 February
• ENS George Hall certified engineering throttleman watch.
• OS2 Kim Hawkins certified as a radio watchstander.
• FN Byron Knepp advanced to Fireman (E3) and certified
engineering generator watchstander.
• ENS Erin Pigors certified engineering throttleman watch.
Blast from the Past
Can our plankowners or former crewmembers place this
photograph, when and where?
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We’ll See You All Soon…
We’ll be safe out here on the high seas – you be safe too at home, and thank you for your support, e-mails and care packages! We’re thinking of you all the time.
Best regards,
The Officers, Chiefs and Crew of
USCGC MORGENTHAU (WHEC 722)
“Decus Pacifici – Pride of the Pacific”
Send care packages to:
USCGC MORGENTHAU (WHEC 722)
FPO AP 96672-3916
Visit us at: http://www.uscg.mil/pacarea/MORGENTHAU
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