"Just the duty crew". Something for every watchstander to remember. Emergencies, by definition, are unexpected. We can train for them and plan for them, but they come when they come.
From PadreSteve.com, on the Pearl Harbor attack - "The destroyer USS Blue got underway under the command of Ensign Nathan Asher, who had just three other ensigns with him as that ship got underway. She was joined by Monaghan, Dale, Henley, Phelps, Farragut, MacDonough, Worden, Patterson, Jarvis and Aylwin also under command of a junior officer, Ensign Stanley Caplan. Henley left without her commander under the command of Lieutenant Francis Fleck Jr. Others too got underway, The USS Mugford was the duty destroyer and got underway quickly, as did Cummings. The Ralph Talbot was underway by 0900. Conyngham got underway in the early afternoon. Perhaps the most interesting story was the USS Selfridge which got underway manned by a composite crew of 7 different ships."
Back in ancient hisory, when as a member of a pre-comm crew I took the OOD Basic course as a refresher, the CO of the school had been an Ensign aboard a hospital ship during the Korean War. One day they were in port at anchor and there was to be a big party that night. Everyone that was anyone wanted to go to the party, so the Duty Fill-in-the-Blank personnel found substitutes however they could.....all the way down to a certain Ensign (the school CO) becoming the CDO. He and a Warrant engineer were all the officers left onboard. A really bad storm came up, of course. The CO, ashore, could not return to the ship due to the waves and wind. The anchor dragged. The ship went from steaming auxiliary to steaming for maneuvering. The CO watched as the lights shifted from at-anchor to underway, saw his ship recover the anchor, make a circle, drop and set the anchor, and the lights shift from underway to at-anchor. Duty crews matter.
I wasn’t sure which ship that really was, so I didn’t want to include that reference. Figured Hollywood was using that ship as indicative of those that did emergency sortie.
here's a story that's better than I remembered: (wki)
"Aft of Arizona during the attack, Nevada was not moored alongside another battleship off Ford Island, and therefore was able to maneuver, unlike the other seven battleships present.[h][1] Commanding officer Francis W. Scanland (4 June 1941 – 15 December 1941),[35] was ashore when the attack began. The Officer of the Deck, Ensign Joe Taussig (son of the admiral of the same name), had earlier that morning ordered a second boiler lit off, planning to switch the power load from one boiler to the other around 0800. As Nevada's gunners opened fire and her engineers started to raise steam, a single 18 in (460 mm) Type 91 Mod 2[10] torpedo exploded against Frame 41 about 14 ft (4.3 m) above the keel at 0810.
Her damage control crew corrected the list by counter-flooding and Nevada got underway at 0840,[61] her gunners already having shot down four planes.[62] Ensign Taussig's efficiency paid off, likely saving his ship, but he lost a leg in the attack. As bomb damage became evident, Nevada was ordered to proceed to the west side of Ford Island to prevent her from sinking in deeper water. Instead, she was grounded off Hospital Point at 10:30
It was my privilege to serve on a task force that was put together after the Falkland Islands to overhaul our surface ship damage control practices. Joe Taussig was made a special Asst SecNav in charge of the team.
Rescue swimmers, pararescue (PJs), firemen / EMTs, combat medics are the first ones who are digging thru the rubble of disasters (natural and manmade). They are THE tip of spear in dealing with those disasters...the initial link in a vital chain of people and equipment that triage the survivors in the "golden hour". "That others may live", Semper Paratus, "Whatever it takes". This is why units and people like this are "high demand, low density". You don't need them till you need them. He's the poster child of the moment, but I'm sure there will be many, many other stories coming out of this terrible natural disaster. He, and those others are "Fullbore" indeed...
Corpsmen? Absolutely. Had a good friend, tours as a Corpsman with the Marines in Vietnam. Retired an HMCM/PA CWO3. Died shortly thereafter from liver cancer owing to Hep C from a needle stick while on active duty. Wonderful man, great dad to his kids, husband to his wife and hero to his nation. So many "just" doing their duty. Scroll down 80%: https://www.fapaonline.org/general/custom.asp?page=memoriam The naval clinic at CID Corry Station is named after him.
Thank GOD for this Young Man and All that Serve! Something I posted the other day about Leaders popping up when it’s least expected comes to mind! I have no doubt that he’ll be spending an afternoon in the White House too! A true example of the Finest Tradition of the Coast Guard! Semper Paratus Coasties! Thanks! A Proud Grandpa of a Paratrooper (4th straight generation to Serve). ….Rick! REDHORSE!!!
A Coast Guard rescue-swimmer who saved three people from a floundering sailboat became a victim himself Tuesday when a helicopter hoist cable unraveled, stranding him in the stormy Atlantic for nearly five hours.
Petty Officer 1st Class Mike Odom, 30, assigned to the Coast Guard Air Station at Elizabeth City, N.C., was rescued about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday by another helicopter crew. He was flown to the Norfolk-based guided missile cruiser Ticonderoga, 100 miles away, and treated for exhaustion and hypothermia.
In an unrelated case blamed on the same storm, a Canadian navy ship rescued three people from their sinking fishing vessel Tuesday afternoon about 65 miles east of the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, the Coast Guard said.
The crew members, who were all reported unharmed, were from Lowland, N.C. They were to be transferred to the Coast Guard cutter Point Huron and returned to shore.
Odom, an aviation survivalman from Houston, remains aboard the Ticonderoga in good condition. He was scheduled to be flown ashore, possibly today.
Never in Coast Guard history has a helicopter-rescue swimmer been left to fend on his own for so long, Coast Guard officials said. A dozen times before, rescue-swimmers were left behind, but rarely for more than an hour and usually because of weight limits in the aircraft, said Lt. Dan Taylor, a spokesman for the Elizabeth City air station.
Odom was left in the open ocean off Georgia with only a survival raft and a radio-signaling device. He was wearing an exposure suit designed for cold weather operations. The water temperature was not immediately known but it was cold enough to drop his body temperature to 92.5 degrees. Normal temperature is 98.6.
``I think you'll see a mob of Coast Guard folks welcoming him back,'' said Coast Guard spokesman Joe Dye of the 5th District in Portsmouth.
One of the two remaining passengers aboard the 42-foot sailboat Mirage also was rescued early Tuesday and flown to Wilmington, N.C.
But the vessel's master, identified as Allen Brugger, 42, of the U.S. Virgin Islands, refused to leave and continues to sail the vessel alone. The Mirage is a charter boat that left St. Augustine, Fla., bound for St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.
``He said he had 25 years of sailing experience and wants to stay with the boat,'' Taylor said, ``so I guess he is currently out still sailing.''
The dramatic rescue took place during severe weather that produced high seas off the Atlantic coast, according to Coast Guard officials in Miami and Portsmouth.
A ``Mayday'' call from the Mirage was received by the Coast Guard about 9 p.m. Monday, indicating that the sailboat was taking on water in high seas about 360 miles off the coast of Savannah, Ga.
The Coast Guard dispatched a C-130 aircraft from Elizabeth City. The plane found the boat about 10:30 p.m. in 20-foot seas and 35-knot winds.
The crew of the Mirage reported that the flooding had slowed but that they still wanted to abandon the vessel, the Coast Guard said.
The closest helicopter that could reach the distant scene, a Coast Guard HH-60 from Elizabeth City, was sent to rescue the crew shortly after 10 p.m. but didn't arrive until nearly 2 a.m. Because of the long distance, it had to fly to Wilmington first and refuel.
As the rescue began, Odom jumped into the water with a six-man raft. He used the raft to get the passengers into a rescue basket that had been lowered from the helicopter by cable. Three of the five passengers were safely aboard the helicopter when the hoist cable unraveled, stranding Odom and the other passengers.
Running low on fuel, the helicopter crew headed to shore.
A second helicopter from Elizabeth City was launched at 3:30 a.m. to continue the rescue, but it, too, had a long trip, requiring refueling at Wilmington.
At the same time, two other C-130 aircraft were dispatched - one from Elizabeth City and the other from Clearwater, Fla. They circled overhead throughout the night, keeping track of the Mirage.
The second rescue helicopter arrived about 6:30 a.m. and hoisted Odom aboard. It then flew 100 miles to the Ticonderoga, refueled and returned to the Mirage to pick up the fourth crew member.
The Coast Guard identified the first three crew members as Mark Cole, 38, and Thomas Steier, 37, both of Richmond, Ky., and Dave Denman, 41, of Columbus, Ohio. They spent Tuesday at a Wilmington motel and reportedly flew to their homes. The fourth crew member was not immediately identified.
Well done. When I was a boy, I watched a show on rescue swimmers. A USCG swimmer said they did the same things as the Air Force and Navy rescue units, except they would be rescuing ordinary people. Mom and dad was the phrase, but in this case, kid sisters.
It was noted he was a finance guy before going Coast Guard. I’m not surprised. The drive and focus goes some where, and I knew a finance bro who was going for a high-speed low-drag role as a blueshirt in the Navy when I was at Great Lakes. Good on him.
Semper Paratus!
We are so fortunate as a Nation to still have men like this serving our country!
Just. Awesome.
Humble guy. Clearly great upbringing
You can just do things, personified.
sportn the stache too. o7
CDR Salamander, thank you for this background update of Hero Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Petty Officer Scott.
I’ll pass the word to my son, USAF Captain, age 27, living off-base in one of our great Southern States.
FYI, two career Coasties, look after our USAF “Comfort Cainine:Rascal”.
Semper Fie!
Me, Nurse Jane, twice qualified back seat F-4 and… two (2) tours with USMC FSSG.
"Just the duty crew". Something for every watchstander to remember. Emergencies, by definition, are unexpected. We can train for them and plan for them, but they come when they come.
From PadreSteve.com, on the Pearl Harbor attack - "The destroyer USS Blue got underway under the command of Ensign Nathan Asher, who had just three other ensigns with him as that ship got underway. She was joined by Monaghan, Dale, Henley, Phelps, Farragut, MacDonough, Worden, Patterson, Jarvis and Aylwin also under command of a junior officer, Ensign Stanley Caplan. Henley left without her commander under the command of Lieutenant Francis Fleck Jr. Others too got underway, The USS Mugford was the duty destroyer and got underway quickly, as did Cummings. The Ralph Talbot was underway by 0900. Conyngham got underway in the early afternoon. Perhaps the most interesting story was the USS Selfridge which got underway manned by a composite crew of 7 different ships."
Back in ancient hisory, when as a member of a pre-comm crew I took the OOD Basic course as a refresher, the CO of the school had been an Ensign aboard a hospital ship during the Korean War. One day they were in port at anchor and there was to be a big party that night. Everyone that was anyone wanted to go to the party, so the Duty Fill-in-the-Blank personnel found substitutes however they could.....all the way down to a certain Ensign (the school CO) becoming the CDO. He and a Warrant engineer were all the officers left onboard. A really bad storm came up, of course. The CO, ashore, could not return to the ship due to the waves and wind. The anchor dragged. The ship went from steaming auxiliary to steaming for maneuvering. The CO watched as the lights shifted from at-anchor to underway, saw his ship recover the anchor, make a circle, drop and set the anchor, and the lights shift from underway to at-anchor. Duty crews matter.
An early scene from "In Harm's Way" version 1.0 has Tom Tryon take command and move out
I wasn’t sure which ship that really was, so I didn’t want to include that reference. Figured Hollywood was using that ship as indicative of those that did emergency sortie.
here's a story that's better than I remembered: (wki)
"Aft of Arizona during the attack, Nevada was not moored alongside another battleship off Ford Island, and therefore was able to maneuver, unlike the other seven battleships present.[h][1] Commanding officer Francis W. Scanland (4 June 1941 – 15 December 1941),[35] was ashore when the attack began. The Officer of the Deck, Ensign Joe Taussig (son of the admiral of the same name), had earlier that morning ordered a second boiler lit off, planning to switch the power load from one boiler to the other around 0800. As Nevada's gunners opened fire and her engineers started to raise steam, a single 18 in (460 mm) Type 91 Mod 2[10] torpedo exploded against Frame 41 about 14 ft (4.3 m) above the keel at 0810.
Her damage control crew corrected the list by counter-flooding and Nevada got underway at 0840,[61] her gunners already having shot down four planes.[62] Ensign Taussig's efficiency paid off, likely saving his ship, but he lost a leg in the attack. As bomb damage became evident, Nevada was ordered to proceed to the west side of Ford Island to prevent her from sinking in deeper water. Instead, she was grounded off Hospital Point at 10:30
"He ended up having his leg amputated, then returned to duty three days later" -Wikipedia
Three days!
It was my privilege to serve on a task force that was put together after the Falkland Islands to overhaul our surface ship damage control practices. Joe Taussig was made a special Asst SecNav in charge of the team.
AMEN!
Rescue swimmers, pararescue (PJs), firemen / EMTs, combat medics are the first ones who are digging thru the rubble of disasters (natural and manmade). They are THE tip of spear in dealing with those disasters...the initial link in a vital chain of people and equipment that triage the survivors in the "golden hour". "That others may live", Semper Paratus, "Whatever it takes". This is why units and people like this are "high demand, low density". You don't need them till you need them. He's the poster child of the moment, but I'm sure there will be many, many other stories coming out of this terrible natural disaster. He, and those others are "Fullbore" indeed...
Would add Hospital Corpsman to the ranks as well, but do concur
Corpsmen? Absolutely. Had a good friend, tours as a Corpsman with the Marines in Vietnam. Retired an HMCM/PA CWO3. Died shortly thereafter from liver cancer owing to Hep C from a needle stick while on active duty. Wonderful man, great dad to his kids, husband to his wife and hero to his nation. So many "just" doing their duty. Scroll down 80%: https://www.fapaonline.org/general/custom.asp?page=memoriam The naval clinic at CID Corry Station is named after him.
Full bore indeed! BZ
Thank GOD for this Young Man and All that Serve! Something I posted the other day about Leaders popping up when it’s least expected comes to mind! I have no doubt that he’ll be spending an afternoon in the White House too! A true example of the Finest Tradition of the Coast Guard! Semper Paratus Coasties! Thanks! A Proud Grandpa of a Paratrooper (4th straight generation to Serve). ….Rick! REDHORSE!!!
Contrast and compare!!!
A Coast Guard rescue-swimmer who saved three people from a floundering sailboat became a victim himself Tuesday when a helicopter hoist cable unraveled, stranding him in the stormy Atlantic for nearly five hours.
Petty Officer 1st Class Mike Odom, 30, assigned to the Coast Guard Air Station at Elizabeth City, N.C., was rescued about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday by another helicopter crew. He was flown to the Norfolk-based guided missile cruiser Ticonderoga, 100 miles away, and treated for exhaustion and hypothermia.
In an unrelated case blamed on the same storm, a Canadian navy ship rescued three people from their sinking fishing vessel Tuesday afternoon about 65 miles east of the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, the Coast Guard said.
The crew members, who were all reported unharmed, were from Lowland, N.C. They were to be transferred to the Coast Guard cutter Point Huron and returned to shore.
Odom, an aviation survivalman from Houston, remains aboard the Ticonderoga in good condition. He was scheduled to be flown ashore, possibly today.
Never in Coast Guard history has a helicopter-rescue swimmer been left to fend on his own for so long, Coast Guard officials said. A dozen times before, rescue-swimmers were left behind, but rarely for more than an hour and usually because of weight limits in the aircraft, said Lt. Dan Taylor, a spokesman for the Elizabeth City air station.
Odom was left in the open ocean off Georgia with only a survival raft and a radio-signaling device. He was wearing an exposure suit designed for cold weather operations. The water temperature was not immediately known but it was cold enough to drop his body temperature to 92.5 degrees. Normal temperature is 98.6.
``I think you'll see a mob of Coast Guard folks welcoming him back,'' said Coast Guard spokesman Joe Dye of the 5th District in Portsmouth.
One of the two remaining passengers aboard the 42-foot sailboat Mirage also was rescued early Tuesday and flown to Wilmington, N.C.
But the vessel's master, identified as Allen Brugger, 42, of the U.S. Virgin Islands, refused to leave and continues to sail the vessel alone. The Mirage is a charter boat that left St. Augustine, Fla., bound for St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.
``He said he had 25 years of sailing experience and wants to stay with the boat,'' Taylor said, ``so I guess he is currently out still sailing.''
The dramatic rescue took place during severe weather that produced high seas off the Atlantic coast, according to Coast Guard officials in Miami and Portsmouth.
A ``Mayday'' call from the Mirage was received by the Coast Guard about 9 p.m. Monday, indicating that the sailboat was taking on water in high seas about 360 miles off the coast of Savannah, Ga.
The Coast Guard dispatched a C-130 aircraft from Elizabeth City. The plane found the boat about 10:30 p.m. in 20-foot seas and 35-knot winds.
The crew of the Mirage reported that the flooding had slowed but that they still wanted to abandon the vessel, the Coast Guard said.
The closest helicopter that could reach the distant scene, a Coast Guard HH-60 from Elizabeth City, was sent to rescue the crew shortly after 10 p.m. but didn't arrive until nearly 2 a.m. Because of the long distance, it had to fly to Wilmington first and refuel.
As the rescue began, Odom jumped into the water with a six-man raft. He used the raft to get the passengers into a rescue basket that had been lowered from the helicopter by cable. Three of the five passengers were safely aboard the helicopter when the hoist cable unraveled, stranding Odom and the other passengers.
Running low on fuel, the helicopter crew headed to shore.
A second helicopter from Elizabeth City was launched at 3:30 a.m. to continue the rescue, but it, too, had a long trip, requiring refueling at Wilmington.
At the same time, two other C-130 aircraft were dispatched - one from Elizabeth City and the other from Clearwater, Fla. They circled overhead throughout the night, keeping track of the Mirage.
The second rescue helicopter arrived about 6:30 a.m. and hoisted Odom aboard. It then flew 100 miles to the Ticonderoga, refueled and returned to the Mirage to pick up the fourth crew member.
The Coast Guard identified the first three crew members as Mark Cole, 38, and Thomas Steier, 37, both of Richmond, Ky., and Dave Denman, 41, of Columbus, Ohio. They spent Tuesday at a Wilmington motel and reportedly flew to their homes. The fourth crew member was not immediately identified.
the best of us!
Incredible bravery and 100% humble after his deeds.
Well done. When I was a boy, I watched a show on rescue swimmers. A USCG swimmer said they did the same things as the Air Force and Navy rescue units, except they would be rescuing ordinary people. Mom and dad was the phrase, but in this case, kid sisters.
It was noted he was a finance guy before going Coast Guard. I’m not surprised. The drive and focus goes some where, and I knew a finance bro who was going for a high-speed low-drag role as a blueshirt in the Navy when I was at Great Lakes. Good on him.