It got cold this week. That's probably the biggest news around these parts. As one of the Kuwaiti harbor pilots lamented, Kuwait is the hottest country in the Arabian Gulf in the summer, and coldest in the winter.
Two weeks ago I was selected to be the OIC of one of our other missions. This week it was confirmed I would depart in the middle of January, so I spent the week trying to gain as much knowledge about Maritime Expeditionary Security as possible.
The watch I’m currently standing goes by many names:
- Joint Operations Center Watch Officer
- Force Security Watch Officer
- Harbor Defense Watch Officer
The watch officer is basically the direct representative of the Commodore. Assisted by a Watch Supervisor, usually a First Class or Chief Petty Officer (E6 or E7), and our Army brothers, we monitor all security operations, both seaward and landward, on our base.
Personally, I think both the Army and Navy/Coast Guard roles are fairly self-explanatory. The Army Security Forces (SECFOR) mans the gates and conducts the roving patrols, and reacts to any security incidents on land. They have a watch on each base that coordinates and directs this. The Army ‘Battle Captain’ in the JOC monitors these actions on the two bases. The only wild card on the landward side is the Coast Guard Security SECFOR. They went through landward security training and augment the Army. Since many of the Coast Guard reservists are police on the outside world, they are very good at this.
The Navy & Coast Guard side should be even more obvious. We have small boats and the sensors to help direct them in the protection of our assets in the harbor. Both the Navy and the Coast Guard contribute boats and boat crews. The boats operate out of a boat house in each harbor for maintenance, fueling, supply, and other administrative functions. Then we have our own command and control structure utilizing a variety of communications and culminating with the JOC watch.
So this past week I went out and got a lot more involved with the units whose actions we coordinate.
First I went and got some “stick time” with the boats. Since we are on the same base as one of the harbors, its relatively easy to just walk down to the boat house and stand watch with the boat watch officer. The first day day there I got on one of the boats for a check ride. They had to take the boat out and check one of the engines. On the way back in they let me drive. It’s a lot different than my old SeaRay. First of all its an enclosed cabin. Second of all, it’s a lot higher. You really have a commanding view of the water. Not to mention radar, secure communications, flashing blue lights, and plenty of guns if the need arises!
A couple other days I went up to the other port and went out on the tugs that are used to move the ships around. First of all, tug boats are cool. These things are like floating castles. The conning tower rises straight up from the deck on these commercial tugs. Above the tower are usually fire-fighting nozzles, radars, and lights. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I like boats with lots of accessories!
Finally, I went out on two different ships this past week. Both we car carriers, the ships we use to transport military equipment to and from the Middle East. That’s why we are here, to protect these ships, make sure they get in a out of port safely. And of course protect them while they are in port.
I’d seen my share of these ships while underway on Shiloh and Stennis during my active duty days. They always looked goofy to me, very tall and square shaped. But they are extremely impressive on the inside. Basically a floating 12-story car garage. They have both stern and side ramps for driving the vehicles on and off. We walked on the ladder one time, and on the stern ramp another. Both times we took an elevator to the pilot house, or at least the deck that had the pilot house. Then we walked the quarter mile forward to the pilot house.
The view of the port from up there is impressive. After looking at overhead pictures and outlines on computer screens, it really puts things in perspective to see it with your own eyes.
Our role on the ships is to provide communications with our boats on the way in or out of the harbor. We basically go with the pilot. After we’re out of the harbor, the pilot and ourselves go down and board the pilot vessel via a Jacob’s ladder, the most dangerous part of the whole ordeal. Then come back in to the harbor.
That’s all I have time for this week. Hopefully these pictures paint the picture pretty well. Next week I’m going on a gun shoot and out with the Army SECFOR guys. Hopefully get to ride in a Humvee for the first time!
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