Pages: 1
No Relief in Sight for the Lincoln
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)
Posted by: schultzi
> > Soldiers For The Truth Article
> > A very interesting message from a crewmember of the U.S.S.
> > Lincoln. By
> the way for you non-Navy readers, the officers pay for their meals in
> the officers mess which is why the treasurer tried to collect from the free
> loaders. Ron
> > DefenseWatch "The Voice of the Grunt"
> > 01-20-2005
No Relief in Sight for the Lincoln
> > By Ed Stanton
> > It has been three weeks since my ship, the USS Abraham Lincoln,
> > arrived
> off the Sumatran coast to aid the hundreds of thousands of victims of
> the Dec. 26 tsunami that ravaged their coastline. I'd like to say that
> this has been a rewarding experience for us, but it has not: Instead,
> it has been a frustrating and needlessly dangerous exercise made even
> more difficult by the Indonesian government and a traveling circus of
> so-called aid workers who have invaded our spaces.
> > What really irritated me was a scene I witnessed in the Lincoln's
> wardroom a few days ago. I went in for breakfast as I usually do,
> expecting to see the usual crowd of ship's company officers in khakis
> and air wing aviators in flight suits, drinking coffee and exchanging
> rumors about when our ongoing humanitarian mission in Sumatra is going to end.
> > What I saw instead was a mob of civilians sitting around like they
> > owned
> the place. They wore various colored vests with logos on the back
> including Save The Children, World Health Organization and the dreaded
> baby blue vest of the United Nations. Mixed in with this crowd were a
> bunch of reporters, cameramen and Indonesian military officers in
> uniform. They all carried cameras, sunglasses and fanny packs like
> tourists on their way to Disneyland.
My warship had been transformed into a floating hotel for a bunch
> > of
> trifling do-gooders overnight.
> As I went through the breakfast line, I overheard one of the U.N.
> strap-hangers, a longhaired guy with a beard, make a sarcastic comment
> to one of our food servers. He said something along the lines of
> "Nice china, really makes me feel special," in reference to the fact
> that we were eating off of paper plates that day. It was all I could
> do to keep from jerking him off his feet and choking him, because I
> knew that the reason we were eating off paper plates was to save
> dishwashing water so that we would have more water to send ashore and
> save lives. That plus the fact that he had no business being there in the first place.
> > My attitude towards these unwanted no-loads grew steadily worse
> > that day
> as I learned more from one of our junior officers who was assigned to
> escort a group of them. It turns out that they had come to Indonesia
> to "assess the damage" from the Dec. 26 tsunami.
> > Well, they could have turned on any TV in the world and seen that
> > the
> damage was total devastation. When they got to Sumatra with no plan,
> no logistics support and no five-star hotels to stay in, they threw
> themselves on the mercy of the U.S. Navy, which, unfortunately, took
> them in. I guess our senior brass was hoping for some good PR since
> this was about the time that the U.N. was calling the United States
> "stingy" with our relief donations.
> > As a result of having to host these people, our severely
> > over-tasked
> SH-60 Seahawk helos, which were carrying tons of food and water every
> day to the most inaccessible places in and around Banda Aceh, are now
> used in great part to ferry these "relief workers" from place to place
> every day and bring them back to their guest bedrooms on the Lincoln
> at night. Despite their avowed dedication to helping the victims,
> these relief workers will not spend the night in-country, and have made us their guardians by default.
> > When our wardroom treasurer approached the leader of the relief
> > group
> and asked him who was paying the mess bill for all the meals they ate,
> the fellow replied, "We aren't paying, you can try to bill the U.N. if
> you want to."
> > In addition to the relief workers, we routinely get tasked with
> > hauling
> around reporters and various low-level "VIPs," which further wastes
> valuable helo lift that could be used to carry supplies. We had to
> dedicate two helos and a C-2 cargo plane for America-hater Dan Rather
> and his entourage of door holders and briefcase carriers from CBS
> News. Another camera crew was from MTV. I doubt if we'll get any good
> PR from them, since the cable channel is banned in Muslim countries.
> We also had to dedicate a helo and crew to fly around the vice mayor
> of Phoenix, Ariz., one day. Everyone wants in on the action.
> > As for the Indonesian officers, while their job is apparently to
> encourage our leaving as soon as possible, all they seem to do in the
> meantime is smoke cigarettes. They want our money and our help but
> they don't want their population to see that Americans are doing far
> more for them in two weeks than their own government has ever done or
> will ever do for them.
> > To add a kick in the face to the USA and the Lincoln, the
> > Indonesian
> government announced it would not allow us to use their airspace for
> routine training and flight proficiency operations while we are saving
> the lives of their people, some of whom are wearing Osama bin Ladin
> T-shirts as they grab at our food and water. The ship has to steam out
> into international waters to launch and recover jets, which makes our
> helos have to fly longer distances and burn more fuel.
> > What is even worse than trying to help people who totally reject
> everything we stand for is that our combat readiness has suffered for it.
> > An aircraft carrier is an instrument of national policy and the
> > big
> stick she carries is her air wing. An air wing has a set of very
> demanding skills and they are highly perishable. We train hard every
> day at sea to conduct actual air strikes, air defense, maritime
> surveillance, close air support and many other missions - not to
> mention taking off and landing on a ship at sea.
Our safety regulations state that if a pilot does not get a night
> carrier landing every seven days, he has to be re-qualified to land on
> the ship. Today we have pilots who have now been over 25 days without
> a trap due to being unable to use Indonesian airspace to train.
> Normally it is when we are at sea that our readiness is at its very
> peak. Thanks to the Indonesian government, we have to waive our own
> safety rules just to get our pilots off the deck.
> > In other words, the longer we stay here helping these people, the
> > more
> dangerous it gets for us to operate. We have already lost one
> helicopter, which crashed in Banda Aceh while taking sailors ashore to
> unload supplies from the C-130s. There were no relief workers on that one.
> > I'm all for helping the less fortunate, but it is time to give
> > this
> mission to somebody other than the U.S. Navy. Our ship was supposed to
> be home on Feb. 3 and now we have no idea how long we will be here.
> American taxpayers are spending millions per day to keep this ship at
> sea and getting no training value out of it. As a result, we will come
> home in a lower state of readiness than when we left due to the lack
> of flying while supporting the tsunami relief effort.
> > I hope we get some good PR in the Muslim world out of it. After
> > all,
> this is Americans saving the lives of Muslims. I have my doubts.
> > Ed Stanton is the pen name of a career U.S. Navy officer currently
> serving with the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group. Send
> Feedback responses to
> dwfeedbac**yahoo.com<http://by12fd.bay12.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compo
> se?mai
> lto=1&msg=MSG1106781007.27&start=3696687&len=23627&src=&type=x&to=dwfe
> edback
******.com&cc=&bcc=&subject=&body=&curmbox=F000000001&a=f0d56bd09823db
> 0a56f2
> 9d4b2f21bb73>.
Posted by: pickone
This post makes me think a number of things. I posted something that was probably inappropriate. Sorry.
Lord, in Jesus' Name, show us what to pray. Amen.
Posted by: Rachel R
Don't feel bad pickone, this makes me want to post something inappropriate, too.
Lord, please let wisdom flow through this situation.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Posted by: prayerwarrior8888888
Father I pray for this situattion and all others that may come close to it. I pray Your will in it. We have these ones who are wanting to do their best to help and things just seem to be blocking the way.
I speak to the spirit of Jezebel who would bring about hopelessness and cut off the blessings God has intended. I tell you to stop in Jesus name and leave the area where these men are trying to help these victims.
I thank them for their dedication and ask for Your blessings to be poured out on them
Psalms 9:8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
11 ¶ Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings. 
Posted by: prayyior
Lord, please intervene in this situation, and remove those who have no honor. Lord, let our Military do their job. Lord I pray in this situation that you will bring peace to the hearts of those who serve in the Navy. Lord, these are such horrible "political" situations they have to deal with. Father, stop it. Set them free to return to the work you have called them to do.
We are compassionate to the needs of those who suffer, and we ask you to help them. Thank you for the help you are providing through this channel. Lord, let those who have been called to provide relief, be kept safe and secure. Let them not suffer because of others who stand by and do nothing to assist. Lord, we dump this mess in your capable hands and ask you to do something with it quickly. Until you have it handled, please protect the lives and hearts of our servicemembers.....keep them safe and give them You peace which comes in the midst of chaos. Lord, it is in Jesus Name, I ask. AMEN