Left: Master-at-Arms Seaman Lauren McCarty scans the area looking for potential threats. Above: NNSY security boats patrol their area of operation. Right: Master-at-Arms Second Class Brandon Spears and Master-at-Arms Third Class Evan Shankle works together as a team as they maneuver a security boat.
NORFOLK NAVAL SHIPYARD’S HARBOR PATROL UNITS KEEP THE WATERWAYS SAFE
STORY AND PHOTOS BY TROY MILLER • PUBLIC AFFAIRS SPECIALIST
12 • SERVICE TO THE FLEET • AUGUST 2021
On October 12, 2000, suicide terrorists exploded a small boat alongside the USS Cole (DDG 67) as it was refueling in the Yemeni port of Aden. The blast ripped a 40-foot-wide hole on Cole, killing 17 Sailors and injuring many more. Steps have been taken since then to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again both overseas and in the United States, including America’s Shipyard. “Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s (NNSY) Harbor Patrol Unit (HPU) stands watch 24/7 365 days of the year to keep all of NNSY’s assets, including employees, safe from potential threats,” said HPU’s (Code 800) Master-at-Arms Seaman Lauren McCarty. Between recreational and commercial vessels, there are well over 100,000 movements annually on the Elizabeth River which runs along NNSY. Some boaters transiting the Intercoastal Waterway are not familiar with the naval restricted areas along the southern branch of the Elizabeth River and tend to come into HPU’s area of operation. “We are the first line of defense on the waterfront,” said Masterat-Arms Third Class David Lanfranco. “Therefore we have to be confident not only in ourselves, but also with the people we work with.”
