Shipping in and out

Everett frigate leaves on six-month deployment, while aircraft carrier returns from six months of maintenance

Susanna Ray

Herald Writer

EVERETT — Long deployments are nothing new to Everett’s sailors. But usually it’s the loved ones left behind who do most of the worrying, especially in times of war.

As the frigate USS Ford left Naval Station Everett on Thursday morning for a six-month deployment, however, the tables had turned a bit. The terrorist threats were at home instead of in the far-off countries the sailors are bound for.

The USS Ford The Everett-based USS Ford (FFG 54) is an Oliver Hazard Perry Class guided missile frigate with 225 sailors onboard. At 453 feet in length, the Ford is one of the Navy’s smaller warships. It escorts larger ships such as aircraft carriers, providing anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine protection. It carries multiple weapons, including surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, a 76mm rapid-fire gun, a close-in weapons system, anti-submarine torpedoes and a Seahawk helicopter. The Ford was commissioned in 1985 and has been based in Everett since 1994.

"The anxiety for the sailor is leaving the family behind without knowing what will happen," said the frigate’s command master chief, Robert. (For security purposes, the Navy has asked reporters not to use the last names of sailors or their families.) "The anxiety for the sailor is not the worry of taking this big ship out to sea. We’re probably safer out there than we would be here on shore."

The Ford’s deployment to the Persian Gulf region was scheduled two years in advance and is not related to the recent U.S. and British attacks on Afghanistan. The seven warships based in Everett are routinely deployed to the gulf to enforce United Nations sanctions against Iraq.

But the gulf is less than 1,000 miles from Afghanistan, and the current situation has made military service anything but routine. The ship’s captain, Dave, said he couldn’t discuss any aspect of his mission.

Many sailors interviewed Thursday said morale on the ship is high and the crew is anxious to do the job they’ve trained for.

"You really can’t prepare for the whole anthrax thing. You’ve just got to trust the local authorities," said Colin, a 22-year-old sonar technician who got married last month and is leaving his bride behind in Everett. "They’ll do their job keeping our families safe, and we’ll do our job over there keeping them safe."

About 40 percent of the 225 male sailors on the Ford are married, Dave said, and about a quarter of them have children.

Tiemeyer, a 20-year-old seaman from Texas, said he worried, but didn’t talk much about terrorism with his fiance, who is staying behind in Everett with the couple’s 1-month-old son.

"I didn’t want to get her too worked up," Tiemeyer said.

The Ford’s family support group hasn’t been openly dwelling on the special circumstances surrounding this deployment, either, said Amy, whose husband Brian is the Ford’s personnel officer.

"You just don’t want to think about it," Amy said. "You don’t want to talk about it until it’s time to say goodbye."

The group of about 90 wives plans to meet monthly for support while their husbands are deployed.

"We’ll make it as best we can," Amy said as Brian hugged their 3-year-old daughter. "I know he’s got to go out there and do what he’s got to do."

As with normal deployments, the pain of separation was mixed with the anticipation of adventure.

"This is what we joined for," said Dave, the skipper. "These guys are ready."

The Ford’s crew has done exceptionally well in its training, said Steve, chief of staff for the commander of the Pacific Northwest Naval Surface Group.

"The events of Sept. 11 didn’t really change their planning and training," Steve said.

But some never expected that training to be put to use.

"When I joined the Navy, I never thought I’d see this (war situation)," said George, a 23-year-old seaman from California who enlisted 16 months ago for the travel and training opportunities the Navy offered.

USS Ford sailors found a vivid way to display their pride and patriotism, wowing their well-wishers by raising an enormous ceremonial flag above the deck as the ship parted from the pier instead of the much smaller flag normally used.

Extra security measures were clearly evident on the pier Thursday. Before the ship could get under way, a Coast Guard boat had to tow away the new log boom security barrier. The boom, made up of logs stacked five high, was stretched around the two Navy piers over the weekend to make sure high-speed boats couldn’t ram the anchored warships. In addition, armed sailors stood at attention on the ship and the pier.

And the high security didn’t stop there.

The USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been in Bremerton for six months of maintenance, returned to Everett late Thursday afternoon without fanfare but under the watchful escort of an Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyer.

"But don’t blink," said Dan, the base commanding officer, hinting at future training missions for the aircraft carrier. "They won’t be here too long."

You can call Herald Writer Susanna Ray at 425-339-3439

or send e-mail to ray@heraldnet.com.