thedrifter
06-21-07, 10:28 AM
USS Wasp assault ship can do it all
JENNIFER TAPLIN
The Daily News
It's a sweet ride this country wouldn't mind having.
The USS Wasp, which arrived in port yesterday, is an amphibious assault ship: it looks like a small aircraft carrier but it can get closer to the action. For a while now, Canada has been considering adding an amphibious assault ship to the fleet.
The Wasp can carry 2,000 marines and send them into combat with all their gear, tanks and anything else they need to launch an assault. But for the upcoming exercise and the visit to Halifax, there are only a handful of marines on board and no aircraft.
"The ship was basically built during the Cold War and it was made to put marines ashore where you needed them," Lt.-Cmdr. Mike McCarthy said.
But the hospital on board also makes it a prime candidate to respond to humanitarian crises like hurricanes and tsunamis.
Although army, Lt.-Col. Pat McAdam, has a strong appreciation for what the Wasp can do.
He's serving with the American Second Fleet in a three-year program, and caught a ride to Halifax on the Wasp.
"There's the flexibility in this ship that's the most interesting. This ship can do a multitude of tasks in a variety of conditions, be it combat or non-combat," he said.
"They can take on 2,000 people if need be as in the case of (Hurricane) Katrina. So the flexibility of an amphib. is hard to beat."
jtaplin@hfxnews.ca
Ellie
JENNIFER TAPLIN
The Daily News
It's a sweet ride this country wouldn't mind having.
The USS Wasp, which arrived in port yesterday, is an amphibious assault ship: it looks like a small aircraft carrier but it can get closer to the action. For a while now, Canada has been considering adding an amphibious assault ship to the fleet.
The Wasp can carry 2,000 marines and send them into combat with all their gear, tanks and anything else they need to launch an assault. But for the upcoming exercise and the visit to Halifax, there are only a handful of marines on board and no aircraft.
"The ship was basically built during the Cold War and it was made to put marines ashore where you needed them," Lt.-Cmdr. Mike McCarthy said.
But the hospital on board also makes it a prime candidate to respond to humanitarian crises like hurricanes and tsunamis.
Although army, Lt.-Col. Pat McAdam, has a strong appreciation for what the Wasp can do.
He's serving with the American Second Fleet in a three-year program, and caught a ride to Halifax on the Wasp.
"There's the flexibility in this ship that's the most interesting. This ship can do a multitude of tasks in a variety of conditions, be it combat or non-combat," he said.
"They can take on 2,000 people if need be as in the case of (Hurricane) Katrina. So the flexibility of an amphib. is hard to beat."
jtaplin@hfxnews.ca
Ellie