thedrifter
04-28-07, 06:56 AM
Fleet Week to get under way
Several thousand sailors, Marines due ashore for fun
By Robert Nolin
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted April 28 2007
Six U.S. Navy warships, ominously gray and bristling with guns and missiles, are plotting a course for Fort Lauderdale.
The vessels could make up an Expeditionary Strike Group, a specialized flotilla complete with landing craft, choppers and missiles, capable of depositing thousands of Marines on shore. But they're not coming to storm Fort Lauderdale beach or send guided missiles arcing inland.
They come in peace. Or more precisely, they come in for fun.
Though they don't officially deploy together, the ships will steam into Port Everglades on Monday morning from roughly 7 to 11 at the start of Fleet Week, the Navy's annual visit which provides a glimpse of military might for locals and an eagerly awaited shore leave for more than 3,000 sailors.
Among those sailors will be Herbert Coleman, 27, originally from Delray Beach. A ship's barber on the USS San Jacinto, Coleman looks forward to seeing his wife, Antoinette, of Lake Worth, who is 20 weeks pregnant. His plan: "Take her out and have a good time, dinner and a movie."
Coleman said he has reserved a "nice big hug" for his mother, Betty, and three brothers and three sisters. Sightseeing is on the agenda, as well as shopping for South Florida souvenirs. Other sailors will be visiting schools and hospitals, playing in sports tournaments and building houses for the poor.
Fleet Week is the annual run-up to the McDonald's Air & Sea Show, a roaring exposition of military aircraft and civilian aerobatics on Fort Lauderdale beach next weekend, May 5 and 6. The vessels that make up this year's contingent are designed for amphibious battle. The Kearsarge, Ponce and Gunston Hall transport troops to shore. "These ships can carry 2,600 Marines," Navy spokesman Paul Taylor said. "They can put them on the beach anywhere in the world."
The other three ships are the destroyer Forest Sherman, cruiser San Jacinto and a fast attack submarine. The destroyer and cruiser can lob missiles onshore to soften up enemy defenses, or provide firepower for attacking troops.
"You've got a really powerful war fighting force," Taylor said. "It's the perfect example of the Navy and Marine Corps teams working together."
But such strike groups aren't limited to fighting. With the capability to swiftly land troops anywhere, they can save lives as well. "These Expeditionary Strike Groups are extremely well suited for humanitarian missions," Taylor said.
Similar strike groups assisted after the December 2004 tsunami that struck Sumatra and a dozen other Indian Ocean nations, as well as the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005. "Instead of going ashore with guns, they went ashore with humanitarian relief," Taylor said.
Four U.S. Coast Guard cutters from West Palm Beach will join the ships. At Port Everglades, workers are preparing for the military influx by hanging welcome banners, setting up extra phone lines and juggling cruise line schedules.
"We've stepped up security," said port spokeswoman Ellen Kennedy. During Fleet Week, visitors who once were able to drive right up to the docks to view the Navy ships are no longer be allowed near. Checkpoints and car searches await those who enter the port.
But Kennedy said port commerce will continue, despite the Navy's presence. "It doesn't affect operations," she said. "All the Navy ships are kept in one area and they set up their own checkpoints."
Robert Nolin can be reached at rnolin@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4525.
Ellie
Several thousand sailors, Marines due ashore for fun
By Robert Nolin
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted April 28 2007
Six U.S. Navy warships, ominously gray and bristling with guns and missiles, are plotting a course for Fort Lauderdale.
The vessels could make up an Expeditionary Strike Group, a specialized flotilla complete with landing craft, choppers and missiles, capable of depositing thousands of Marines on shore. But they're not coming to storm Fort Lauderdale beach or send guided missiles arcing inland.
They come in peace. Or more precisely, they come in for fun.
Though they don't officially deploy together, the ships will steam into Port Everglades on Monday morning from roughly 7 to 11 at the start of Fleet Week, the Navy's annual visit which provides a glimpse of military might for locals and an eagerly awaited shore leave for more than 3,000 sailors.
Among those sailors will be Herbert Coleman, 27, originally from Delray Beach. A ship's barber on the USS San Jacinto, Coleman looks forward to seeing his wife, Antoinette, of Lake Worth, who is 20 weeks pregnant. His plan: "Take her out and have a good time, dinner and a movie."
Coleman said he has reserved a "nice big hug" for his mother, Betty, and three brothers and three sisters. Sightseeing is on the agenda, as well as shopping for South Florida souvenirs. Other sailors will be visiting schools and hospitals, playing in sports tournaments and building houses for the poor.
Fleet Week is the annual run-up to the McDonald's Air & Sea Show, a roaring exposition of military aircraft and civilian aerobatics on Fort Lauderdale beach next weekend, May 5 and 6. The vessels that make up this year's contingent are designed for amphibious battle. The Kearsarge, Ponce and Gunston Hall transport troops to shore. "These ships can carry 2,600 Marines," Navy spokesman Paul Taylor said. "They can put them on the beach anywhere in the world."
The other three ships are the destroyer Forest Sherman, cruiser San Jacinto and a fast attack submarine. The destroyer and cruiser can lob missiles onshore to soften up enemy defenses, or provide firepower for attacking troops.
"You've got a really powerful war fighting force," Taylor said. "It's the perfect example of the Navy and Marine Corps teams working together."
But such strike groups aren't limited to fighting. With the capability to swiftly land troops anywhere, they can save lives as well. "These Expeditionary Strike Groups are extremely well suited for humanitarian missions," Taylor said.
Similar strike groups assisted after the December 2004 tsunami that struck Sumatra and a dozen other Indian Ocean nations, as well as the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005. "Instead of going ashore with guns, they went ashore with humanitarian relief," Taylor said.
Four U.S. Coast Guard cutters from West Palm Beach will join the ships. At Port Everglades, workers are preparing for the military influx by hanging welcome banners, setting up extra phone lines and juggling cruise line schedules.
"We've stepped up security," said port spokeswoman Ellen Kennedy. During Fleet Week, visitors who once were able to drive right up to the docks to view the Navy ships are no longer be allowed near. Checkpoints and car searches await those who enter the port.
But Kennedy said port commerce will continue, despite the Navy's presence. "It doesn't affect operations," she said. "All the Navy ships are kept in one area and they set up their own checkpoints."
Robert Nolin can be reached at rnolin@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4525.
Ellie