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thedrifter
02-28-08, 01:36 PM
Lummus shines at supply
Crew ensures Key Resolve/Foal Eagle stocked for success
By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, February 29, 2008



CHINHAE NAVAL BASE, South Korea — Think of the USNS 1st Lt. Jack Lummus as a floating Home Depot for the Marine Corps.

Aisle One might include an assortment of Humvees and seven-ton trucks. For firepower, the next row over has some light armored vehicles and Abrams tanks.

The 673-foot-long, 105-foot-wide Military Sealift Command ship doesn’t need a pier to offload cargo; its “roll-on, roll-off” system sends tonnage on propelled barges to shore.

But once the Lummus’ crew of civilians and sailors sends all those components ashore, the Marines of Combat Logistics Regiment 35 must ensure they are distributed “mission-ready” throughout the Korean peninsula for about a month of Key Resolve/Foal Eagle exercise operations.

On Tuesday, the Marines got their first dose of Korean freezing rain, said Chief Warrant Officer 3 James Lee.

About two-thirds of the 87 Marines are from Okinawa, but others came from Camp Pendleton and Twentynine Palms in California; Iwakuni, Japan; Hawaii; others are Florida reservists.

“We’re not used to this type of weather, but I think all of us have adapted pretty well,” said Gunnery Sgt. Robert Tate.

The rain dictates that some maintenance be done on one of Lummus’ seven parking garagelike decks of equipment, while other work is done under tents on shore.

The pouring rain could potentially contaminate engines or other parts that require oil and fluids, said Staff Sgt. Jason Hatfield.

There are contingencies for the times when bullets are flying, Tate said. But for now, they’re taking the “common sense approach” by emphasizing precision, he said.

While Tate and his Marines worked ashore, the Lummus stood ready to assist U.S. operations at Chinhae Naval Base on Tuesday.

The Lummus rumbles along at 18 knots and can make it from its home port in the Northern Mariana Islands to South Korea in about four days.

It is one of 16 ships comprising the MCS’ “pre-positioning force,” which started in the mid-1980s. The ships carry arms, food, fuel and anything else required for combat landings or quick-response humanitarian missions.

The Lummus is Navy-owned, but run by contractor American Overseas Marine Corp. with a complement of 29 civilians and eight servicemembers from the Navy and Marine Corps.

Ellie