[MilCom] Fwd: [ScanMarine] Storm affects US Fleet

[AllanStern at aol.com]

_US Fleet Forces  Sets Sortie Condition Alpha, Ships Getting Underway_ 
(http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=70372) 


NNS121026-13. US Fleet Forces Sets Sortie Condition Alpha,  Ships Getting 
Underway

>From U.S. Fleet Forces Command Public  Affairs

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces (USFF) ordered  all U.S. 
Navy ships in the Hampton Roads, Va., area to set Sortie Condition  Alpha 
Oct. 26 in preparation for an upcoming sortie as Hurricane Sandy travels  up 
the East Coast. 

Adm. Bill Gortney, USFF commander, has directed ships  to sortie between 
this afternoon and early tomorrow morning.

USS Ashland  (LSD 48) and USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) will sortie from Joint 
Expeditionary Base  Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Va. 

The following ships will  sortie from Naval Station Norfolk: USS Harry S. 
Truman (CVN 75), USS Bataan (LHD  5), USS San Antonio (LPD 17), USS Mesa 
Verde (LPD 19), USS Ashland (LSD 48), USS  Carter Hall (LSD 50), USS Leyte Gulf 
(CG 55), USS Monterey (CG 61), USS Anzio  (CG 68), USS Barry (DDG 52), USS 
Gonzales (DDG 66), USS Mahan (DDG 72), USS  Bulkeley (DDG 84), USS Mason (DDG 
87), USS Bainbridge (DDG 96), USS Gravely (DDG  107), USS Ross (DDG 71), 
USS Nicholas (FFG 47), USNS Patuxent (T-AO 201), USNS  Medgar Evers (T-AKE 
13), USNS William McClean (T-AKE 12). 

USS Wasp (LHD  1), USS Taylor (FFG 50) and USNS Kanawha (T-AO 196) are 
already underway in the  USFF Area of Responsibility. 

"Based on the current track of the storm,  we made the decision to begin to 
sortie the fleet," said Gortney. "The current  timeline allows them enough 
time to transit safely out of the path of the  storm." 

The Navy orders a sortie during potentially extreme weather  conditions to 
reduce the risk of significant damage to ships and piers during  high winds 
and seas.

Some ships will not get underway, due to various  maintenance 
availabilities, and are taking extra precautions to avoid potential  damage. Commanding 
officers have a number of options when staying in port,  depending on the 
severity of the weather. Some of these options include adding  additional 
mooring and storm lines, dropping the anchor, and disconnecting shore  power 
cables. 

As a precautionary measure, Commander Navy Installations  Command ordered 
all installations in the Hampton Roads area to set Tropical  Cyclone 
Condition Three as Hurricane Sandy is forecast to bring high winds and  rain to the 
Mid-Atlantic coast. Tropical Cyclone Condition Three means  destructive 
winds of greater than 50 knots associated with a tropical system,  are expected 
within 48 hours. 

A variety of information is available in  support of family readiness 
during hurricane 
season including:

- Navy  Family Accountability and Assessment System, http://go.usa.gov/kQ4, 
which  provides a standardized method for the Navy to account, manage and 
monitor the  recovery process for personnel and their families affected 
and/or scattered by a  wide-spread catastrophic event. 

-U.S. Fleet Forces planning preparedness  Web site to help families with 
hurricane and destructive weather planning,  
http://www.public.navy.mil/usff/Pages/disaster_preparedness.aspx. 

-  State of Virginia Emergency Management,  
http://www.vaemergency.gov/readyvirginia, which has many resources for planning  and preparing emergency 
kits, developing evacuation plans and addressing  specific special needs for 
children, the elderly and others.

- Virginia  Department of Transportation Hurricane Evacuation Guide,  
http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/hurricane_defauLT.asp, which provides more  
detailed information for preparing for a hurricane, hurricane evacuation and  
public shelters in Virginia.

AL STERN  Satellite Beach  FL
AllanStern at aol.com
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