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Welcome Aboard The CGC Morgenthau

February 26, 2006

Greetings from USCGC MORGENTHAU! This is the sixth 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.

The Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau, homeported in Alameda, Ca. Photo by Tony Gillilan.

From The Bridge:

Captain M. E. Sullivan

Greetings from Panama! As I write this we're holding fast to the pier at the Rodman Naval Station in Panama City, waiting for a our Canal pilot to arrive and lend his expert advise on navigating this tricky part of the world. We've had a very busy week, and a welcome respite from the sea with three days in Panama. I saw a lot of the crew in town and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. We're every familiar with Panama after our extended stay here last year, and many of our returning vets were happy to spend a few days back here. We'll be back out in the hunting grounds soon, and we're all looking forward to pushing ahead with our patrol. Warm Regards - Captain M. E. Sullivan

The Week in Review…

Operationally, this was a short week for us with our Panama City, Panama port visit from Thursday to Sunday. Monday we celebrated President’s Day with some well-deserved holiday routine, particularly appreciated since we disembarked the 77 Ecuadorian migrants the day prior in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. Monday was rough though with strong winds to 40 knots and

seas that picked up to 12 feet. CAPT Sullivan still held his Introduction to Business class though. Tuesday was simply amazing. The wind and seas died down to create an eerie, glass-like ocean surface, as though we were sailing on a pond. Tuesday was a regular workday though with an all-hands fire drill in the afternoon. The drill we ran was perhaps the most important that we run: the engine room fire drill. We couldn’t pass up the great sea conditions…so we all went for a swim. There are some great pictures this week of some of our daredevil shipmates diving from the flight deck. Sunset of the Week

Wednesday was a blur as we wrapped up ship’s business and prepared to enter port. In the afternoon we held Law Enforcement Train-ing, conducted engineering training and drills (Basic Engineering Casualty Control Exercises), held advanced team Damage Control training, and held both College of Alameda classes (the other one is Introduction to Computer Information Systems). The ship gets quite crusty with salt as the weeks go by, so Wednesday afternoon all hands broke out brushes, soap and swabs and conducted a freshwater washdown. That evening we held the standard navigation brief for entering the southern entrance to the Panama Canal, and anchored at the mouth of the entrance for an early morn-ing arrival the next day. The ship moored at the former Rodman Navy Base that morning, and after stores were loaded, refueling was complete, trash was offloaded and other logistics were in place, the crew took off on some well-deserved liberty—our first liberty on solid ground in over a month.

Panama City, Panama Report… by LTJG Piero Pecora

I’m not sure if it was the mess deck Wednesday night, as we all sat at anchor within view of the lights of Panama City. Amidst the dozens of commercial vessels waiting to go through the Canal, everyone sat up all night talking about their plans for the weekend. Maybe it was the image of everyone waiting at the brow for liberty like the starting gate at opening day of Golden Gate Fields. Whichever it was, you could make a pretty good bet that it was going to be an exciting port call.

BMCS Darren Davis in action this week

Since Panama’s Carnivale (their annual national celebration) coincided this time with our mid patrol break, the city was packed. Most of us were here for MORGENTHAU’s extended port call last patrol so all of the hot spots were already scoped out. For most of us the first stop was the casino, while many took advantage of some great sightseeing tours of Panama. For a small fee you can take a tour of the Mira Flora Locks. As the largest lock of the canal, it is well worth the trip. Others took advantage of the many guided tours of the city and the rainforest. Most everyone found some time to try out all of the shopping ven-ues. There are numerous malls and

LTjg Brandon Horne, also in action this week during swim
shopping centers that offer a little taste of home. For those looking for something a little more exotic, the old YMCA has an enormous craft ba-zaar that offers traditional Panamanian crafts and textiles as well as the tacky T-shirts and hats that some family members may find themselves receiving soon.

After recovering from the first night’s festivities, our wardroom visited the famous Manolo Caracol restaurant in Old town Panama. They enjoyed a twelve course, family style meal. Most of the crew headed out to enjoy another night of street concerts and parties. Friday night it really picked up. The ship’s van schedule ground to a halt as all

EM3 Drake Douglas and FN Kareem Orio find
that resistance, when measured in ohms, is futile.
the streets in the banking district closed down. It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that most of the crew even showed back up at the ship.

Last night was our final push. Some crewmembers enjoyed the festivities until the wee hours of the morning, but everyone for sure really enjoyed these last three days. After nearly a month without a port call we were all quite ready for a break on solid ground. We’re now all ready to get back to our mission and hurry home to our loved ones.

Panama Report… by ENS Pam Wade

Our Morale Committee asked some of our crew what they enjoyed about our three-day Pa-nama City, Panama port visit: • “The engineers worked most of the inport to ensure the boat will be ready for its mission.” CWO2 Pat Barron, Cottonport, LA • “I had a really great time. Two days ago I had the best day of any port call ever.” HSC Rebecca Vinlove, McLouth, KS
• “I had a great time hanging out with SN Clare and AMT2 Moreno!!” DC2 David Mar-tin, Houston, TX

• “That we’re leaving, so I can go home and see my beautiful wife.” FS1 Mike Simpson, Spirit Lake, IA
• “The casinos.” OS2 Brandon Clarke, Staten Island, NY
• “The meal that I had in the Macarena.” FS3 Alejandro Alonso, Miami, FL
• “The Spa.” ENS Kyra Van Echo, Columbia, MD
• “Aaagh!!” BMC Rob Walper, Washington D.C.
• “The Turkish coffee and getting to talk to my wife” SN Jonathan Clare, Winchestertonfieldville, ID
• “That’s just three days out of the way, until I get to go back to the Coliseum Swap Meet.” MK2 Chuck Malinski, Slippery Rock, PA
• “That the casinos treated me very well.” MK1 Kenneth Miller, Madera, CA
• “That I didn’t spend $690 like last time, and I got to kick back and relax.” SN Richard Spicer, Herndon, VA
• “The chance to eat some good food.” BM3 Jessica Young, Huntington Beach, CA
• “Sitting at the pool chillin’ with Pina Coladas.” LTjg Steve Arnwine, Glen Burnie, MD

SN Jon Clare in action this week
• “Liked trying my hand at the casinos.” FA Manuel Ontiveros, San Diego, CA
• “La playa.” FN Nicholas Alhouti, Alameda, CA
• “The Hard Rock.” SK3 Brynn Healey, Loganville, GA
• “The Marina and hotel were great.” FN Adam Gillespie, Huntington, WV
• “No one speaks Spanish underway, but everyone speaks Spanish when we pull in.” SK2 Mike Simonetti, Middletown, NY
• “The Greenhouse was excellent.” YNC Ann Ladd, Chicago, IL
• “The $1 packs of cigarettes.” FS3 Christopher Vick, San Ramon, CA
• “The casino that jumped out at me and took $150 from me.” ET3 Mark Edillon, Guam
• “Defueling and refueling.” FNMK Jason Costley, Houston, TX
• “Confetti and Carnaval.” BM3 Wendy Leiva, Miami, FL
• “That everyone’s so nice, they want to know if you want a massage.” OS2 Brian Soto, Redwood City, CA

Division in the Spotlight… by ENS Peter Hsu
Department: Engineering Division: Repair

DCC Russell Cox, DC2 Dave Martin, DC2 Andrea Cooper, DC2 John White

Every newly reported crewmember knows the Damage Controlmen (DC’s) from the nightly damage control personal qualifications stan-dards (DCPQS) sessions on the messdeck. These helpful sessions, which the DC’s and other crewmembers give out of their free time, assist personnel in earning their basic and advanced DCPQS certifi-cations. This is a ship-wide requirement; in the event of an emer-gency everybody must do their part to put out the fire or keep the ship afloat, so all hands must be certified in portions of damage control education and pitch in. There are no fire departments at sea!

BM1 Jeff Hamilton tries to get his point across
However, DC’s are more than just resident experts in the area of damage control. “The Repair Division provides a wide variety of ship services,” says division officer ENS George Hall. “DC’s do all the shipwide welding; all divisions come to us when they need help with fabrication, mounting or improvements.” As the division officer, ENS Hall spends his time ensuring worklists are complete, walking through spaces, admin work, and receiving work requests from other division officers. “When I receive a work request, I talk to my shop Chief and discuss how and when we can make the service happen.”

“I like building things,” says Petty Officer Dave Martin, a Second Class Damage Control-man. “Being able to fabricate a design that you create in your head is rewarding.” Chief Petty Officer Russell Cox says welding is the whole reason he joined the Coast Guard. “Be-ing from ‘Steel City’—Pittsburg—it was almost a certainty, and I found the welding part of the DC rating intriguing.”

Proud Papa: BMC Rob Walper shares that his wife safely
delivered their second this week, a beautiful daughter.
Congratulations!
Petty Officer Andrea Cooper adds, “There’s always something that needs to be welded. On an average day, I wake up, grab my coffee, check in with chief, then start on the worklist,” says DC2 Cooper. “We’re usually interrupted by a toilet breaking, suspicious water in a compartment, something that needs to be welded, or a TV bracket that needs to be welded right now. We try and respond as quickly as possible to emergencies.”

In addition to doing jobs for other divisions, the Repair Division is in charge of the fire-main, the vacuum lines on the sewage system, watertight doors and hatches, emergency pumps, taking care of the equipment in repair lockers, and other equipment scattered throughout the boat. “I get up, work all day, stand watch for four hours, then give training,” says DC2 Dave Martin. New crewmembers “always come to us for DCPQS because it’s what we get taught at ‘A’ school.”

Damage Controlmen also conduct space accountability measurements for boarding teams. This important but tedious task consists of measuring the dimensions of every compartment on a suspect vessel. “If the numbers don’t seem to add up and there is space missing, it may indicate a hidden compartment being used to smuggle drugs,” explains DC2 John White, who was sent on a recent boarding to determine space accountability.

Also connected to damage control operations is the Damage Control Assistant, LTjg Mike Hjerstedt. “In the event of an emergency, I assume control of all damage control opera-tions. I work directly for the Engineer Officer with respect to the damage control readiness of the ship.” This includes monitoring stability, ensuring proper training is conducted, fire fighting equipment maintenance, and managing CBR (chemical, biological, and radiologi-cal) defense.

Long work days, watches scattered throughout the night, and the heat of spaces without air conditioning help make the Repair Divi-sion a tight knit group. “We live with each other underway, and we work extremely well together,” explains DC2 Dave Martin. “I like the camaraderie on a boat, being out on the open ocean…everyone here is family,” said DC2 Andrea Cooper.

Crew Recognition This Week… Compiled by ENS Ernie Saponara

• LTJG Steve Arnwine received the Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation ribbon for the renovation of our ship’s gym
• OS2 Dusty Bingham was certified Boarding Team Member
• SN Julio Cardenas was certified Helmsman and Lookout

• DC2 Andrea Cooper received the Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation rib-bon for the renovation of our ship’s gym
• ET3 Scott Finstad received the Coast Guard Sea Service ribbon
• LT Michael Fisher received the Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation rib-bon for the renovation of our ship’s gym
• OS2 Kim Hawkins received the Coast Guard Sea Service ribbon
• ENS Pete Hsu was certified as an engineering Throttleman watchstander
• SA Tom Killacki was certified Helmsman and Lookout
• FN Byron Knepp was certified as an engineering Generator watchstander
• MK2 Chuck Malinski celebrated a birthday on 26 Feb 2006
• DC2 David Martin received the Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation rib-bon for the renovation of our ship’s gym
• SN Dan Moraga celebrated a birthday on 26 Feb 2006

SK3 Cliff Wolfe receiving the Team Commendation
• BM2.5 Caleb Paramo received the Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation ribbon for the renovation of our ship’s gym
• ENS Erin Pigors received the Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation ribbon for the renovation of our ship’s gym
• YN3 Laura Smith received the Coast Guard Sea Service ribbon
• YN3 Laura Smith celebrated a birthday on 26 Feb 2006
• HSC Rebecca Vinlove received the Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation ribbon for the renovation of our ship’s gym
• ENS Pam Wade received the Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation ribbon for the renovation of our ship’s gym
• SK3 Cliff Wolfe received the Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation ribbon for the renovation of our ship’s gym

Blast from the Past

Can our plankowners or former crewmembers place this
photograph, when, where and who?

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