By Chief Mass Communication
Specialist (SW/AW) Terry L. Rhedin, Northwest Region Fleet
Public Affairs Center
USS CLEVELAND, At Sea (NNS) -- USS Cleveland (LPD 7)
responded to a distress call from an injured fisherman while
en route to Seattle SeaFair July 30.
Cleveland's Commanding Officer, Capt. Frank McCulloch
overheard the distress call from the Seattle fishing boat to
the U.S. Coast Guard, and ordered the ship to divert to the
boat's location. Cleveland was within 15 miles of the
fishing boat.
It was an easy decision to make, said McCulloch, from
Mulberry, Tenn. We wanted to render any assistance we
could.
Cleveland called the Coast Guard and advised them that they
were on the way. Cleveland arrived at the fishing boat
before a Coast Guard helicopter.
Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (SW) Norman Delacruz and
Lt.
Mercury Lin, Cleveland's medical officer, went over to the
fishing boat via a rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB).
On the way over there, I was running through my
checklist, said Delacruz, an Oceanside, Calif., native. My
first thoughts were of the safety of the boat crew and of my
patient.;
The propeller wash from the helicopter prevented winching
the patient aboard, so the Cleveland team was asked to board
the craft and assist.
After Delacruz and the medical officer assessed the patient,
he was then placed in a search and rescue stretcher, carried
aboard the RHIB, and transported to Cleveland. Once the RHIB
was recovered, the patient was brought onto the ship to
await the landing of the U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, which
would transport him to a local hospital for further care.
Landing on any ship at sea is stressful,said Lt. Cmdr.
Matt Koerber, Cleveland's air boss. Even though the Coast
Guard is not used to operations like this, it was a very
safe evolution.
Koerber, from Sellersburg, Ind., added that the ship's air
and medical departments coordinate drills for just this type
of situation.
Training is a never-ending cycle, said Chief Hospital
Corpsman (SW/SS/FMF) Patrick Casey from Hubert, N.C. The
stretcher bearers were flawless, like a well-oiled
machine.
The patient is going to be fine, said
Lin,
a San Marino,
Calif., native. Once he got to a hospital with an ICU,
they can monitor him to make sure he'll be all right.;
Cleveland is on its way to Seattle to participate in they
city's SeaFair. As an annual fleet week celebrated for 56
years, SeaFair showcases Seattle's commitment to the
military. SeaFair honors our sea services and recognizes the
sacrifices and contributions, past and present, made by our
Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen.
Cleveland is an amphibious transport dock. Her mission is to
transport and land Marines, their equipment and supplies by
embarked air cushion or conventional landing craft or
amphibious vehicles, augmented by helicopters or vertical
take off and landing aircraft in amphibious assaults,
special operations, or expeditionary warfare missions.
For more news from around the fleet, visit
www.navy.mil.
