OCTOBER 2015
CAPTAIN’S CORNER
Steaming Up History Crusing the East Caroline Basin, hundreds of miles across a big, ballooned water tank called the Pacific Ocean, there is a grey, flat-bottomed, satellite and antenna donned flagship that is cutting the glass blown sheet of flat, equatorial ocean water into waves like a fresh flung bed sheet. It was on this ship that the last Republic of Vietnam president set foot in an act of
Commanding Officer Kyle P. Higgins co@lcc19.navy.mil
Executive Officer
CHAPLAIN’S MESSAGE
BLUE RIDGE IN REVIEW
Story by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kevin A. Flinn
diplomacy during the Vietnam War, where South Vietnamese (SVN) Marines slept on the flight deck under a sky of bungled, burning stars. It was here during Operation Frequent Wind that one could look up as Saigon was being evacuated and see a sky full of SVN helicopters looking for a crash pad, where five of those helos would barrel down onto the flight deck, one of them crashing, spraying the ship and its crew with debris. Here, Vietnamese refugees who were caught in boats, drifting the vast nowhere of oceanic middle ground, were rescued for years after the war. It was on this ship that limelight could be seen during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, where relief supplies were transported past earthen parapets, in the aftermath of the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami in an effort to clasp hands with those empty-palmed masses.
of the U.S. Navy’s oldest operational warship, engineers live an unwritten story on the underbelly of history. “We have the oldest running steam plant in the Navy, still being assessed and setting the Navy’s standard,” said Lt. Seth Hall, Blue Ridge’s Main Propulsion Assistant. “It just goes to show that not only our current crew, but the crews before us did an excellent job in keeping the ship up. They took pride in her. Blue Ridge has a great history of professional engineers steaming her plant.” Hall is in charge of all the main propulsion boilers, main engine reduction gear, evaporators, and all associated equipment for the propulsion plant.
Under the massive pages and inkwells of history, one “Our Sailors take great pride in the plant,” collective propelled this ship for over 46 years – the lone, said Hall. “We showed it in this year’s light-off single propulsion plant of the ship. assessment. Engineering Assessment Pacific (EAP) Inspection Team came aboard and during our For the past few years, U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS inspection, took pictures. Because they were so Blue Ridge (LCC 19) has undergone many engineering impressed by the plant and the condition of it, they upgrades, stamping its individuality that no other naval believe it sets the standard for the Pacific fleet now. vessal can parallel. So, they took the pictures back to show people what the standard should be across the fleet based on Down the ladderwells. into the hot, tinkering steam Blue Ridge’s propulsion plant.” plant
Nathan Fugate xo@lcc19.navy.mil
BLR Ombudsman Shanette Abney
shanette.abney@lcc19.navy.mil
BLR Ombudman
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Samantha Knepper
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samantha.knepper@lcc19.navy.mil
Blue Ridge Family and Friends,
I hope this message finds you and your family well. Though we have been home for a little over a month and the maintenance work is in full swing, I trust everything has settled in and you are enjoying the reunions with your loved ones. I know many of you were looking forward to much deserved down time, but we need to accomplish critical upgrades for the ship. Our maintenance is moving along with many challenges, but we will successfully get back to sea on time. It is very important this particular maintenance period goes as scheduled if we are to meet our operational requirements next
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year. Your Sailors are dedicated to the continued support of promoting the safety and security within this region. I sincerely appreciate their efforts and the hard work they are providing on a daily basis, from the depths of the engine room to the tip of the mast. Your Sailors are the reason USS Blue Ridge has the highest respect and preserves a sterling reputation on the waterfront. I am well aware you provide them the support they need to perform at their very best. Thank you for your sacrifice! Last month, we had the distinct pleasure of participating with five of our Sailors as they became naturalized citizens. These Sailors, after already committing to the service of our great nation, were granted the ability to enjoy all the benefits of what it is to be an American. It was a pleasure to partake in the ceremony and it is my hope they shared with you what it meant to them. We are very proud.
The next few months will be demanding, but we will make it through and be back to sea. During the change of command ceremony some months ago, I said something along the line of, ‘there is no limit to what we can accomplish, if we are not concerned with who gets the credit’. That rings as true now as it did then. We are succeeding as a team and getting the job done, all of us, Sailors, Family and Friends. Thank you again for unending support. Take Care, Capt. Kyle P. Higgins
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the CAPTAIN’S CAPTAIN’S corner
Happy 240th Birthday! Every October 13th, we celebrate the “birth” of our great Navy. I look forward to meeting some of you during our Navy Ball this year.
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BLUE RIDGE NEWSLETTER | “FINEST IN THE FLEET”