Marines on Okinawa seek joint funding
for high-speed catamaran ferry
By Carlos Bongioanni,
Okinawa bureau
Carlos Bongioanni / Stars and Stripes
A 25-ton armored assault vehicle backs up a loading ramp to the Westpac Express, a
high-speed catamaran that transports Okinawa Marines and their equipment to and from
training areas. |
KIN — The Marines in Okinawa plan to continue using a high-speed ferry to
transport troops and equipment, and they hope to get joint funding for the project.
Okinawa’s 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force is scheduled to ask representatives of
the Transportation Command, the Military Sealift Command and the Pacific Command in
Honolulu for joint funding this week.
"We’ve had tremendous success moving Marines to and from exercises in this
theater," said Col. Michael Godfrey, the top logistics officer for 3rd MEF
headquarters at Camp Courtney, Okinawa.
"This ship offers us opportunities we didn’t have before," Godfrey said
of the Westpac Express, a 331-foot catamaran capable of carrying 750 tons of cargo.
As Godfrey spoke, a 25-ton armored assault vehicle backed up the ship’s ramp and
into its storage area. It was one of six AAVs the catamaran was to transport from the Kin
pier, where it was moored Wednesday, to Yokohama, Japan.
The 3rd MEF uses the Westpac to transport Okinawa Marines to off-island training sites,
but the command also is interested in possible use during wartime.
Officials will discuss that topic in Honolulu this week, Godfrey said.
Navy amphibious ships normally transport Marines and their equipment for deployments.
But naval vessels in the Pacific cannot handle all the transportation needs of the Marines
on Okinawa.
To avoid relying upon the Air Force for transportation, 3rd MEF logistics officials
leased the Westpac.
Over the past four months, the ship has transported 5,690 passengers and nearly 6.5
million pounds of cargo at a cost of $4.8 million.
Without the catamaran, the Marine Corps would have required 128 Air Force C-17 aircraft
for airlift, spending $5.4 million, Godfrey said.
The catamaran maintains speeds of 38 mph when fully loaded and 50 mph when empty. But
its ability to transport a battalion and its training equipment in one trip is its biggest
selling point, Godfrey said.
On a recent 42-hour trip to Guam, he said, the ship transported a 400-ton load that
included 370 Marines and their camp gear, five Cobra helicopters, two Huey helicopters and
aviation ground support equipment. On its initial test deployment in July, the Marines
moved 816 Marines, 60 ground vehicles and 30 storage containers from the Kin pier to
Yokohama in 30 hours.
Such movements traditionally take two to three weeks using airlift, said Godfrey. Air
Force transports cannot carry the amount of cargo a ship carries, therefore loadmasters
must spread the cargo and passengers over many aircraft, as they become available. Often,
though, planes don’t arrive when scheduled. When they break down or divert to other
areas, Marines find themselves stranded without a ride.
"It’s embarrassing when you’re sitting there in some Japanese or Korean
general’s office trying to explain why the U.S. Marine Corps can’t get its
people out on time," Godfrey said. "This platform locks that in, so you
don’t have to explain the reason why you’re still occupying the general’s
range is you lost your ride."
Using the catamaran improves quality of life as well, Godfrey said.
Carlos Bongioanni / Stars and
Stripes
Pfc. Alex Maupin looks out for "anything out of sorts" as the high speed
catamaran, the Westpac Express, pulls into the Kin pier. |
"Now a Marine can tell his wife, ‘Darling, I’m coming home soon.
I’m leaving this day, and I’ll be home at this time.’" Before, the
closest a Marine could estimate arriving home via airlift was within two weeks, he said.
The original contract for the high-speed vessel (HSV) focused on moving Marines for
training purposes only. It had no provisions to use the vessel to transport Marines to
hostile environments.
But the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have changed that, Godfrey said.
"We’ve had to rethink our plans. We’re now considering putting a clause
in the contract that would allow us to use the HSV for wartime scenarios."
While the Westpac Express does not have the range to carry Marines to hot spots in the
Persian Gulf or the Arabian Sea, it can transport Okinawa Marines to the Philippines.
That’s one of the places the Marines had planned for training exercises next year.
Since Sept. 11, U.S. national security interests in the Philippines have greatly increased
because Muslim rebel groups on the island nation are known to have ties to Osama bin
Laden’s al-Qaida organization.
Transporting Marines into hostile environments will cost quite a bit more, Godfrey
said, because insurance rates would increase considerably under such conditions.
That’s one reason 3rd MEF wants joint funding for its HSV program.
"Everything would have to be renegotiated and worked out. … You would have to
deal with the owner’s financial concerns related to the higher rates for hostile
environments."
If the Pacific Command signs off on the HSV concept, other commands could greatly
benefit from using the ship, Godfrey said.
While the Marine Corps has a heavy training schedule from September to December, there
is a slow period between March and June, he said. The ship sits in Okinawa’s Naha
port when not transporting Marines.
"There are a lot of opportunities out there for others to use this platform,"
he said.
While the catamaran has many advantages, it has its limitations, too, Godfrey
acknowledged.
Marines returning from a training exercise at Camp Fuji, Japan, Wednesday, moaned when
asked about the accommodations aboard the catamaran.
Part of their dissatisfaction stemsfrom boredom and from having to stay in
non-reclining, airline-style chairs. The advantage over an airplane, though, is they have
room to roam or recline on the floor.
Dan Lanier, the deployment support program manager for 3rd MEF’s Community Service
program, noted that troop morale is improving with each deployment. MCCS provides board
games, cards and other recreational items to help fight the boredom.
"We’re trying to keep them occupied, because there’s nothing else for
them to do on there," Lanier noted. MCCS also has been expanding its food service to
troops aboard the ship. It runs two kiosks where troops can buy hot dogs, pizzas and other
snacks.
When the high-speed ferry service began in July, officials said Marines would be
content to eat Meals, Ready to Eat (MRE) since transport times would be relatively short.
But ship fire safety regulations precluded the use of the chemical heaters that warm the
meals.
Cold MREs aren’t the most enjoyable thing, Godfrey said, so officials plan to
negotiate a new contract that will include hot meals.
"Right now, Marines sit in an airline’s seat. We don’t have
stewardesses, but we’re trying to upgrade the service to something you’d get on
an airline … something equivalent to an airline meal … a tray ration."
Although the catamaran may not offer the most comfortable ride with luxury
accommodations, the benefits of the service far outweigh the "minor sacrifices"
Marines must endure, Godfrey said.
Lance Cpl. Chris Behan, an armored assault vehicle mechanic for Okinawa’s 3rd
Combat Assault Battalion, said he saw the benefits.
"It’s going to be cool loading this thing on there," Behan said, as he
waited to drive one of the AAVs aboard.
Instead of having the unit’s equipment arriving at the exercise destination over
days or weeks, Behan knew all his unit’s gear would be ready when they landed in
mainland Japan.
That allows Marine commanders to maximize their training time since their units are not
waiting for their equipment, Godfrey said.
Using the catamaran also helps the good-neighbor program in Okinawa, Godfrey said.
Marine transport convoys don’t congest the roads from Marine bases in the northern
part of the island to Kadena Air Base or the Naha port in the south. Also, the ship’s
use reduces air traffic in and out of Kadena.
"I’m sure the mayor of Kadena and the other communities around the air base
are happy we eliminated those 128 C-17 flights," Godfrey said.
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