Navy sends USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN to Keys
Mick sends us a link from Fox News which reports that the carrier USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN is steaming towards the Florida Keys along with USS IWO JIMA and USS NEW YORK to help with recovery operations there;
Statewide, an estimated 13 million people, or two-thirds of Florida’s population, remained without power. That’s more than the population of New York and Los Angeles combined. Officials warned it could take weeks for electricity to be restored to everyone.
More than 180,000 people huddled in shelters in the Sunshine State.
I guess the sailors have their work cut out for them.
Category: Navy
I guess this means my reservations will be cancelled for the Sigsbee RV park on base next week? (/sarc…I KNOW they are cancelled…Mayport too)
Aren’t the carriers rigged to act as power generating stations for emergencies such as this?
USS Lexington (CV-2) provided power to the city of Tacoma for a month in during a blackout 1929.
That’s the only documented case of it happening.
It was considered after Hurricane Iniki in 1992, but never happened. Several electrical interlocks would have to be defeated.
Can they supply power? Yes.
Are they designed to? No.
And in any event, the TG’s limits are a lot lower than you’d think, so it’s not like they’d power up the entire state. Maybe a few critical loads on base or nearby, but certainly not enough to replace what was lost.
The issue right now isn’t generation, it’s all the transmission and distribution lines that are down, all the underground vaults that are flooded, etc.
Steel beach picnic!
…gonna be a spike in the birthrate 9 months from now in da Keys baybee!
Not likely to be very many Women around so I’m sure there will be plenty of stained walls!
women are created via abiogenesis whenever a carrier pulls in…it’s a fact
Such consistency….
Some of the main things that these ships will bring to help support recovery efforts in areas where local infrastructure is damaged/rendered unusable and local services aren’t functioning are:
– Large quantities of JP-5 aviation fuel
– Large, FOD-free flight decks to support sustained helicopter operations
– Local Air Traffic Control services
– Command and Control staff and facilities
– Medical support facilities, to include surgical capability
– Well decks on the LHD and LPD can support LCU and/or LCAC operations for surface ship-to-shore movement
The bottom line here is that the Navy is bringing a large amount of disaster response support capability to bear on this problem by sending these ships into the affected area(s).
Well done, Navy.
Lots of Water making also.
Gotta be way careful about that, do ending on how much silt/sand they suck up.
That’s a lot of very handy stuff to have in an emergency, plus the manpower coming with them. Hell, how many emergency meals can the galley whip up in a day to be flown ashore? I’m guessing a lot. “Global force for good” may be a recruiting slogan, but damn if they ain’t living up to it!
Not to mention SAR, all kinds of trained personnel to supervise and man the rescue shelters, military police for law enforcement guards against rampant looting that seems to be taking place down there. Yep, good job Navy.
Oh, and good job for President Trump to think of the solution in the first place, we can’t let the Coast Guard hog all the rescue limelight !!!
Kiddin friends, just kidding.
Good job on all concerned.
How many people occupy the Keys? Isn’t a carrier a bit much for the neighborhood?
A good chunk of southwest Florida is also in range of those ships.
Plenty for them to do there, and I am sure the Navy will move them around if needed.
All sorts of non-Navy helicopters can use those decks.