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USO Canteen FReeper Style ~ TRIBUTE TO THE USS TARAWA (LHA-1)& FReeper Brian Wells ~ January 20 2003
January 20, 2003 | snippy about it

Posted on 01/20/2003 5:03:05 AM PST by snippy_about_it

Our very own FReeper bkwells is deployed on the
USS TARAWA (LHA-1)


Tarawa's Mission
Global events continue to spotlight the requirement to successfully project power from the sea. Tarawa's capabilities make her the world's most formidable amphibious power projection platform. Her primary war fighting mission is to land and sustain United States Marines on any shore during hostilities. A "national asset," the Tarawa's location and readiness are briefed daily to the National Command Authority.

Characteristics,Tarawa Class (This information is derived from US NAVY Fact Files.)

USS Tarawa (LHA-1) Tarawa class, General Purpose Amphibious Warship
Description: Primary landing ships, resembling small aircraft carriers, designed to put troops on hostile shores.
Features: Modern U.S. Navy amphibious assault ships are called upon to perform as primary landing ships for assault operations of Marine expeditionary units. These ships use Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), conventional landing craft and helicopters to move Marine assault forces ashore. In a secondary role, using AV-8B Harrier aircraft and warfare helicopters, these ships perform sea control and limited power projection missions.
Background: Amphibious warships are uniquely designed to support assault from the sea against defended positions ashore. They must be able to sail in harm's way and provide a rapid built-up of combat power ashore in the face of opposition. The United States maintains the largest and most capable amphibious force in the world.

Specs
Builders: Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss.
Power Plant: Two boilers, two geared steam turbines, two shafts, 70,000 total shaft horsepower
Length: 820 feet (249.9 meters)
Beam: 106 feet (31.8 meters)
Displacement: 39,400 tons (40,032 metric tons) full load
Speed: 24 knots (27.6 miles per hour)
Ships:USS Tarawa (LHA 1), San Diego, Calif.
USS Saipan (LHA 2), Norfolk, Va.
USS Belleau Wood (LHA 3), Sasebo, Japan
USS Nassau (LHA 4), Norfolk, Va.
USS Peleliu (LHA 5), San Diego, Calif.
Crew: Ships Company: 82 officers, 882 enlisted an embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit of 1,900 plus
Armament: Two RAM launchers; two Phalanx 20 mm CIWS mount; four 25 mm Mk 38 machine guns; five .50 caliber guns;
Commisioned: May 29, 1976

Aircraft
(Actual mix depends upon mission)
Nine CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters -heavy lift aircraft
Twelve CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters -medium lift aircraft
Four AH-1W Cobra Helicopters -attack aircraft
Six AV-8B Harrier attack aircraft -close air attack and support aircraft
Two UH-1N Iriqouis helicopters -command and control aircraft

Landing Craft
1 LCAC (Landing Craft Air Cushion)-Air cushion craft for transporting, ship-to-shore and across the beach, personnel, weapons, equipment, and cargo of the assault elements of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force.
2 LCU (Landing Craft Utility)-Landing craft are used by amphibious forces to transport equipment and troops to the shore.

Tarawa mission Link



She's a beauty! Eagle of the Sea


A RAM missile being launched from the USS Tarawa



PhalanxClose-In Weapons System-----------Mark 38 ~ 25 mm machine gun system


Marines from 13MEU train for an amphibious assault on a beachhead



Four AV-8B Harriers await launch from the flight deck of the USS Tarawa.



An LCU leaves the welldeck of the Tarawa while two CH-53's commence flight operations off her port side



A CH-153 heavy lift helicopter takes off of the flight deck.



An AH-1W Cobra attack helicopter hovering by in the Persian Gulf.



well deck



USS Tarawa off the coast of Yemen


The Official USS Tarawa Ship's Photo



The Battle of Tarawa ~ History

The Central Pacific's Gilbert Islands were strategically important to the Allies in World War II. Tarawa, an atoll in those islands, was the scene of a major amphibious assault and on of the proudest testaments to valor in U.S. Marine Corps history.

Japan's Rear Admiral Shibasaki Meichi was quoted as saying before the assault that it would take the American forces "a million men and a hundred years" to capture the atoll. The Japanese had backed up this boast with an elite force of almost 5,000 men and heavily fortified the island of Betio in the southwestern corner of the atoll. Since capturing the islands three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese had spent two years positioning coastal defense guns, antiaircraft guns, anti-boat guns, light and heavy machine guns, and an airstrip they could use to strike at allied troops stationed in the area. The atoll was strategically vital to both sides, and the stage was set for one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific.

The Allies were faced with serious problems in capturing Tarawa. The big coastal guns would keep the Navy guns either under constant fire or at bay, and the Japanese had used sunken ships and other pieces of metal to create obstacles which blocked the avenues of approach from the sea. The approaching craft would have to slow down to maneuver, putting them in prearranged ambush sites where they would be subject to deadly, concentrated fire from fortified positions. The next line of obstacles included a double apron of barbed wire, log barriers, and concrete obstacles which surrounded the island. After breaching these defenses, the Marines would still be faced with the beach itself, where the Japanese had fortified heavy machine guns which created a series of interlocking fields of fire in addition to antipersonnel mines and anti-vehicle mines in the fringing reefs where the boats would have to land. With the added benefit of antiaircraft guns and planes of their own, the defenders were well prepared for any assault.

The Allies had to take Tarawa, however, and on November 19, 1943 the assault began. Faced with the near-impossible odds and hounded from all sides, the Marines made it to the beach; by the last day of battle the Japanese had been forced into the east end of the the three-mile long island. They had prepared a series of fortified positions to fall back on in their retreat, and had defended each one almost to the last man. Those three miles may be some of the longest in Marine Corps history, as they slowly advanced at a terrible price. Organized resistance on Tarawa ceased by 1:30 PM on the third day.

The Battle of Tarawa took 76 hours and cost the lives of 1,020 Marines. The list of Americans wounded was listed as high as 2,296. The cost was much higher for the Japanese defenders- of the 4,386 elite troops on Betio, only 146 were left alive.

Four Marines received the Medal of Honor for their heroism, three of them posthumously. The fourth, Colonel David M. Shoup, Commanding Officer of the 2nd Marines and Betio Island Assault forces, later became the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

USS Tarawa (LHA-1) website



Introducing FReeper Brian Wells (bkwells)

I am married with 2 kids, a boy age 8 and a girl age 4. We have lived in Las Vegas for almost 3 years now.

I am an Air Force brat and have moved around all my life. In fact, when I hit the 10th grade, that was my 8th different school! Graduated from Hirschi High School in Wichita Falls, TX in 1985 and joined the Navy in Feb 1986.

I have been stationed aboard the USS MT WHITNEY (LCC-20), NAS Kingsville TX (Where I met my wife!), the USS CONSTELLATION (CV-64), Guam, Brunswick Maine, and now the USS TARAWA (LHA-1).

I am a Senior Chief Petty Officer (E-8) and my field is Meteorology (AG rating in Navy lingo - Weather Guesser for slang Navy lingo).

My primary job is running the weather office but as with all Navy ships, I have other duties throughout the ship among them:

Operations Department Leading Chief Petty Officer (I'm the senior enlisted man within my department), I am in charge of a Repair Locker during Battle Stations - we fight fires, control flooding, run a denomination station in case of chemical,biological, or nuclear attack, etc.... and I run a duty section when we are inport.

It's more than enough to keep me busy!

Places I've been:

England, Belgium, Portugal, France, Copenhagen, Ft Lauderdale, St Thomas, Nassau, Curacao, Trinidad-Tobago, Acapulco, Vancouver, Hawaii, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, Australia (Perth, Sydney, and Darwin), Jebal Ali UAE, Bahrain, and Seychelles.

Sat off the coast of Kuwait Cit, and sat off the coast of Aden Yemen in support of Operation Determined Response after the terrorist bombing of the USS COLE.





TOPICS: Activism/Chapters; Announcements; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Free Republic; Front Page News; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: California; US: Nevada; Unclassified; Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: freepermilitary; marines; sailors; tarawa; troops
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To: conqueror
Thank you for your support! Enjoy that retirement!
261 posted on 01/20/2003 7:34:49 PM PST by bkwells (Deployed on USS TARAWA LHA-1)
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To: bkwells
Hey Brother!
Glad you are here with us tonight!
262 posted on 01/20/2003 7:35:23 PM PST by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub
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To: radu; Kathy in Alaska; bentfeather; southerngrit; Bethbg79; All
Hey Girlz! Here we are on Market Street! Lookie there! There are some genuine San Fransiscans, if my eyeballs arent deceiving me!


263 posted on 01/20/2003 7:35:43 PM PST by TEXOKIE
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To: LaDivaLoca
Hope you feel better!
264 posted on 01/20/2003 7:37:30 PM PST by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub
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To: TEXOKIE
Sick in bed with the doctor! I wish! LOL! I think I will settle for this cutie

I wouldn't mind going hunting with him for some Orcs!


265 posted on 01/20/2003 7:38:26 PM PST by LaDivaLoca
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To: radu
ROFL!! I LOVE that picture of our quartet, Radu!! *Giggle!*
266 posted on 01/20/2003 7:38:56 PM PST by TEXOKIE
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To: 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub
Hi Tonk! You're here! I'm sooooo lost as usual...LOL and haven't really figured out who is and who isn't.
Glad to hear you're feeling ok! :-))
I saw the earlier part of the thread this morning and look forward to seeing the rest!
267 posted on 01/20/2003 7:39:20 PM PST by radu
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To: MeeknMing
Oh boy, bbq chicken. Thanks, Meekie.
268 posted on 01/20/2003 7:39:55 PM PST by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless the USA and our Military who protect us all)
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To: All
G'night all. See ya'll manana...


269 posted on 01/20/2003 7:40:27 PM PST by MeekOneGOP (9 out of 10 Republicans agree: Bush IS a Genius !!)
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To: MeeknMing
Sniff! Thank you, MeeknMing. A nice warm fire is what I need and some brandy maybe? Ok, wait, I think that is good if you have a sore throat, right?
270 posted on 01/20/2003 7:40:44 PM PST by LaDivaLoca (grinning sheepishly)
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To: 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub
Hope you feel better!

Thanks, Tonk! I'm stubborn and refuse to give in so I try not to dwell on it.

271 posted on 01/20/2003 7:44:02 PM PST by LaDivaLoca (grinning sheepishly)
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To: LaDivaLoca
.... I can still function although now, I'm beginning to see double! LOL!

Gotta watch out for those krud meds! I think they put something "extra" in them to fool you into thinking you feel better. LOL!

Just take good care of yourself so you'll feel better soon and can come out on the Wild Rides with us. giggle!

272 posted on 01/20/2003 7:44:22 PM PST by radu
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To: bkwells; rwgal; snippy_about_it
LOL! Google is my friend. I stumbled over it by accident looking for more pics of the USS Tawara. Is that picture of you?
273 posted on 01/20/2003 7:46:19 PM PST by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless the USA and our Military who protect us all)
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To: TEXOKIE
I thought they looked "snappy". LOL!!! Just couldn't resist when I saw 'em.
274 posted on 01/20/2003 7:47:10 PM PST by radu
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To: MeeknMing
Good night, sleep tight and God bless you good.
275 posted on 01/20/2003 7:47:34 PM PST by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless the USA and our Military who protect us all)
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To: TEXOKIE
*TEX turns down the next track junction.*
276 posted on 01/20/2003 7:48:45 PM PST by TEXOKIE
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To: MeeknMing
Goodnight, MeeknMing. I think I will go to bed too.

Take care everyone and have a good evening. God bless you all.

Legolas! Let's go, my elf. LOL!


277 posted on 01/20/2003 7:49:08 PM PST by LaDivaLoca (Swoon! Sigh! THUD!)
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To: MeeknMing
Good night, MnM. Sleep well.
Think I'll go back and grab a cup of that coffee you've provided and see if I can wake up! LOL!!!
278 posted on 01/20/2003 7:51:07 PM PST by radu
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To: radu
Yo, radu, I love your "Bat" mobile.
279 posted on 01/20/2003 7:51:35 PM PST by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless the USA and our Military who protect us all)
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To: Kathy in Alaska
*giggle* Isn't that "Bat"mobile coooool? It was a gift from Snow Bunny.
It looks a little like our big black show car.
280 posted on 01/20/2003 7:55:18 PM PST by radu
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