Toughing it Out

The days go by and Bataan keeps dishing out the help. After another successful underway replenishment, the ship became full of aid supplies and is continually transporting it to shore as I type this. This mission has allowed Bataan to reach some milestones, including the transport of 600 pallets of supplies. (A big RAS usually only has about 200 pallets). The supplies include MREs, medicine, food, equipment, and bottled water. The included picture shows one of our LCACs delivering aid to the shore. Our helos and LCACs have been critical to our efforts getting aid where it needs to get, and transporting critcal patients to recieve medical treatment.

As I posted before, our ship just finished a seven month deployment and was scheduled a trip into the yards. We go into the yards to conduct matinence on worn out equipment. In the engine room, Bataan has two huge water evaporators, which provide the ship with thousands of gallons of fresh water daily. This potable water supplies the ship's boilers and other steam powered systems, and also provides for crew consumption. Yesterday, one evap broke down, and today the second followed suit. Our fresh water supply is at a critical level. That means Sailor Harry must stink while he writes this. Thank God my shipmates left me some body spray before they left. Lets just say its a good thing you get to read whats it like being here next to me, and not actually aboard the ship with all the other sailors and marines.

We're trudging through and the plan is to fix the problems and continue our support in Operation: Unified Response. Now if you excuse me, its been another long day, and my rack is calling me.