Pomeroy joins Maritime Prepositioning Squadron 3

Pomeroy joins Maritime Prepositioning Squadron 3

By Capt. Mike Finnigan

The large medium-speed roll-on/roll-off vessel USNS Pomeroy recently began its new deployment with Maritime Prepositioning Squadron Three (MPSRON 3) in the Guam-Saipan area of operation for Military Sealift Command.

At the start of its deployment, the Pomeroy completed a load-out in Charleston, S.C., and had the opportunity to make stops in Busan and Gwangyang, Republic of Korea, in addition to Sasebo, Japan. The Pomeroy then completed one lift of opportunity for MSC and the U.S. Marine Corps, re-positioning cargo from Gwangyang to Okinawa White Beach, Japan.

We are the "new kids on the block" and are looking forward to joining the rest of the MPSRON 3, who have been on station for many years. The squadron is made up of 10 vessels. They are the M/V PFC James Anderson Jr., M/V 1st Lt. Alex Bonnyman, M/V Maj. Bernard Fisher, M/V CPL Louis J. Hauge Jr., S/S Cape Jacob, USNS 1st Lt. Jack Lummus, USNS 1st Lt. Harry L. Martin, S/S Maj. Stephen W. Pless, VADM K.R. Wheeler and USNS Ralph E. Pomeroy.

Six of the ten ships in MPSRON 3 are manned in all licensed positions by American Maritime Officers. The Anderson, Bonnyman, Hauge and Pomeroy are operated by Maersk Line Limited. The Fisher is operated by Sealift Inc. The Lummus is operated by American Overseas Marine Corp.

The crew of the USNS Pomeroy had the chance to meet the commodore of MPSRON 3, Capt. Ulysses O. Zalamea, and his staff while in Korea. This was a great opportunity for the commodore to observe operations and meet the crew of the Pomeroy on a routine workday.

I'd like to thank the crew for the amount of hard work getting the vessel ready for its new deployment. The vessel also received its U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection and completed ABS annual inspections while in Korea. The AMO officers and the SIU sailors and the MPSRON 3 staff take pride in their jobs each and every day. They make sure the vessel is "mission ready"--the AMO Officers and the SIU crew onboard now, and all of the sailors home on vacation.

One visible result of all the training the officers attend at RTM Star Center, and the crew at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, is the condition of the vessel. I would like to relay to all the training instructors that all of their hard work and efforts do pay off, and the crew shares many of the skills they learned each day.

The vessel also works with a strong safety culture, which is instilled in each crew member onboard. Maersk Line's Safety Boot Camp program gives the crew a chance to talk directly with senior management of Maersk Line Limited and to understand their goals of maintaining safe operating procedures for the crew and the environment. The AMO and SIU crew, and the office staff at Maersk, are the backbone of the program's lost-time-accident "DRIVE TO ZERO" goal.

Chief Mate William McClusky, First Assistant Engineer Kevin Murphy, Bosun Adrian Jones, Storekeeper Chris Maye and Chief Steward Milton Sivells, along with their departments, stepped up to help out with the cargo lift. With the additional 30 cargo supervisors aboard, the crew stayed busy with a total compliment of 73 personnel. The ability of the vessel to support Military Sealift Command on a short-notice cargo lift shows the determination of the crew to keep the vessel mission ready at all times. The USNS Pomeroy was on a Persian Gulf run to Ashyuba Kuwait for the last few years and MSC knows that the vessel can be called upon or called forward at any time.

We aboard the Pomeroy enjoyed our stay in Korea. There is a large amount of history between the USNS Pomeroy and the Korean Peninsula.

Ralph Pomeroy is a Medal of Honor recipient of the Korean War. His Medal Of Honor Citation is included here and can also be found at www.msc.navy.mil. The USNS Pomeroy keeps information onboard the ship about the Korean War, a copy of the last letter Ralph Pomeroy sent to his family, dated Oct. 14, 1952, the day before he was killed in action, as well as various pictures.

Mr. Xavier Monroy from Military Sealift Command's office in Pusan, ROK, Mr. Kim Pyong Kun from the United Seamen's Service and the MPSRON 3 Staff were always available to support the vessel. The USNS Pomeroy is ready to support our prepo cargo mission and the new friends we have made here.

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