'USS Abraham Lincoln' enjoys Aceh humanitarian mission<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, On board the 'USS Abraham Lincoln'
\noff Banda Aceh Coast<\/p>\n
The ship's alarm sounded at 5:40 a.m., prompting Lt. Eric
\nDanielsen, a helicopter pilot, to quickly rise from his bed in
\nhis small cabin in the aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln.
\n He took a shower and rushed to the morning briefing, which was
\nattended by other crew members and pilots of helicopters deployed
\nfor humanitarian purposes to Aceh.<\/p>\n
After the briefing, Danielsen and his colleagues had breakfast
\nin the ship's public dining room. At about 8.30 a.m, the young
\nlieutenant and about 10 other pilots left for Banda Aceh, flying
\nSeahawk choppers.<\/p>\n
Upon their arrival at the Iskandar Muda Air Force Base in
\nBanda Aceh, they were briefed by Indonesian Military officers as
\nto where they should drop food and medicine supplies and pick up
\ninjured survivors of the Dec. 26 massive quake and ensuing
\ntsunamis.<\/p>\n
Each chopper makes three to four short trips a day, as far as
\nthe worst-hit Meulaboh area, West Aceh, which takes an hour from
\nthe air base. They return to the USS Abraham Lincoln in the
\nevening.<\/p>\n
Danielsen and other crew members and pilots have kept up this
\nbusy routine since Saturday, the first day the ship commenced its
\nAceh mission. \"We work from early in the morning until the sun
\nsets,\" Danielsen said on Monday night.<\/p>\n
The work is exhausting, but he said he was glad to join the
\nmission.<\/p>\n
\"Aceh has been devastated and the Acehnese people deserve
\nhelp,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Abraham Lincoln -- named after the U.S.'s 16th president
\n-- is part of the U.S. Asia Pacific Command deployed to Aceh for
\nthe humanitarian mission. Besides the aircraft carrier, three
\nother U.S. ships are stationed off the Aceh coast to provide
\nsupport for domestic and international relief operations in the
\nwake of the tsunami catastrophe, which killed over 94,000 people
\nin this country, mostly in Aceh.<\/p>\n
The USS Abraham Lincoln, the U.S.'s fifth Nimitz-class
\naircraft carrier, contributes about 9 to 11 helicopters a day.<\/p>\n
\"Basically, the main duties of the U.S. choppers are to
\nconduct surveys of locate tsunami survivors and refugees, drop
\nfood and medicine supplies, and, after off-loading the goods,
\ntake sick people from devastated areas to medical facilities in
\nBanda Aceh for treatment,\" said Capt. Kendall L. Card, the ship's
\ncommanding officer.<\/p>\n
\"The Indonesian government has control over our operations. We
\nreceive the plan and execute the day-to-day functions,\" he
\nexplained.<\/p>\n
According to Kendall, the aircraft carrier will stay off the
\ncoast of Aceh \"until our services are no longer needed.\"<\/p>\n
The presence of the helicopters means that food and medicinal
\naid can be dropped everywhere, particularly in remote areas where
\nland transportation has been impossible after roads and bridges
\nwere destroyed by the tsunami.<\/p>\n
This is not the first humanitarian mission for the
\nnuclear-powered mother ship. In October 1983, the Abraham Lincoln
\nwas ordered to the coast of Somalia to assist U.N. humanitarian
\noperations. The carrier spent four weeks flying patrols over the
\ncity of Mogadishu and surrounding areas, backing American ground
\ntroops during Operation Restore Hope.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the ship supported evacuation operations following
\nthe eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991. In the
\noperation named Fiery Vigil, the mother ship led a 23-ship armada
\nthat sea-lifted 20,000 evacuees. The armada relocated
\napproximately 45,000 people from Subic Bay Naval Station, making
\nit the largest peacetime evacuation of active duty military
\npersonnel and family members in history.<\/p>\n
Other crew members of the USS Abraham Lincoln said, while
\nthey had participated in other such missions, they had been
\nstunned by the destruction in Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"In my 17 years in service, I never saw devastation of this
\nmagnitude,\" said Sr. Chief. Jesse Cash, who joined the
\nhumanitarian mission against famine in Liberia back in 1990.<\/p>\n
\"This was an act of God. We are here and happy to help,\" said
\nhelicopter ground crew member Kevin Ferguson.<\/p>\n
Table<\/p>\n
==================
\nBrief data about the ship<\/p>\n
General Characteristics<\/p>\n
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding Co, Va.<\/p>\n
Commissioned: Nov. 11, 1989
\nPower Plant: Two nuclear reactors, four shafts<\/p>\n
Length, overall: 332.85 meters<\/p>\n
Flight Deck Width: 76.8 meters<\/p>\n
Beam: 40.84 meters<\/p>\n
Displacement: Approx. 97,000 tons full load<\/p>\n
Speed: 30+ knots<\/p>\n
Aircraft: 85<\/p>\n
Cost: about $4.5 billion<\/p>\n
Crew: Ship's Company: 3,200<\/p>\n
Air Wing: 2,480<\/p>\n
Service Life: 50 years<\/p>\n
Interesting Figures<\/p>\n
Dirty laundry washed each day: 5,550 pounds (about 2,523 kg)<\/p>\n
Loaves of bread baked each day: 800<\/p>\n
Milk consumed each day: 660 gallons<\/p>\n
Number of eggs consumed each day: 180 dozen<\/p>\n
Fresh vegetables consumed each day: 800 pounds (about 364 kg)
\nSome soldiers say it takes at least two or three months in order
\nto never get lost again inside the huge ship<\/p>\n
Accidents<\/p>\n
An F-18 Hornet jet fighter crashed into the sea in the Persian
\nGulf on August 24, 1999 after it catapulted off the deck. The
\npilot was ejected and rescued afterward.<\/p>\n
Lt. Kera S. Hultgreen, the first woman to fully qualify as an
\nF-14 Tomcat jet fighter pilot, was killed in a training accident
\nwhile attempting to land on board of the USS Abraham Lincoln on
\nOct. 25, 1994 in the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n
Source: Release by Abraham Lincoln Public Affairs Office and
\nwww.navysite.de\/cvn\/cvn72.html<\/p>",
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