US Navy off the Coast of Japan

This post again features US Navy public domain pictures of the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan two weeks ago. If you visited this blog after the earthquake in Haiti last year, you’ll note a number of differences. There aren’t many on the ground pictures from Japan, or pictures of survivors and search and rescue or recover activities, compared to those we saw last year.

One thing I learned from these pictures that I haven’t seen mentioned elsewhere is that the  Department of Defense facilitated a voluntary departure of Department of Defense dependents. I’m not clear how many people were involved, but there are a number of pictures of families departing Japan and arriving at various US cities at the US Navy’s Eye on the Fleet website, the source of all these images and captions, suggesting that a lot of folks understandably have taken advantage of this program. The second picture here shows another scene peculiar to this disaster —  sailors scrubbing the decks of the ship in case of radiation contamination.

111803-N-BR887-007 YOKOSUKA, Japan (March 18, 2011) The child of a U.S. Navy Sailor waits for transportation out of Yokosuka. Navy families voluntarily returning to the United States spend the afternoon waiting in line to register for travel. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Juan Manuel Pinalez/Released)

110323-N-DM338-113 PACIFIC OCEAN (March 22, 2011) Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) conduct a countermeasure wash down on the flight deck. Sailors scrubbed the external surfaces on the flight deck and island superstructure to remove potential radiation contamination. Ronald Reagan is operating off the coast of Japan providing humanitarian assistance as directed in support of Operation Tomodachi. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Nicholas A. Groesch/Released)

US Navy Images of Devastation in Japan

Last year I found that the US Navy News Service: Eye on the Fleet was a good source for public domain images of the aftermath of Haiti’s earthquake. I returned to that site tonight; here are a few examples of the growing collection of images from Japan. Captions are copied from that site.

110313-N-SB672-164 PACIFIC OCEAN (March 13, 2011) A Japanese home is seen adrift in the Pacific Ocean. Ships and aircraft from the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group are searching for survivors in the coastal waters near Sendai, Japan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dylan McCord/Released)

110313-N-5503T-176 PACIFIC OCEAN (March 13, 2011) An aerial view of debris from an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck northern Japan. The debris was inspected by a helicopter-based search and rescue team from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). Ships and aircraft from the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group are searching for survivors in the coastal waters near Sendai, Japan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alexander Tidd/Released)

Burials at Sea

I was looking for BP oil spill photos on the Navy’s Eye on the Fleet pages when I came across these public domain images of burials at sea. I don’t know how they might be of use to anyone, but the procedures intrigued me, and they seem appropriate viewing for Memorial Day weekend.

Burials can involve either casketed or cremated remains. Note the special apparatus used for funneling the cremated remains away from the ship and into the sea — I suppose it is to prevent an ocean wind from blowing them back onto the deck.

If you are interested in the criteria for being buried at sea, this is the page to visit at navy.mil. Here is a brief news story describing the experience of participating in one of these ceremonies.

Number in brackets is the image’s ID for quick searching to download high resolution files. There are many more at the Eye on the Fleet site; searching “burial at sea” yields 287 images.

Honor guards stand at attention before removing the American flag and releasing the casket of one of 13 sailors and Marines interned in the Atlantic Ocean during a burial-at-sea ceremony aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) Feb. 23, 2008. U.S. Navy photos by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Mandy Hunsucker [080223-N-7987H-023, 080223-N-7987H-025, 080223-N-7987H-037]

One by One in Haiti: More Public Domain Images from the US Navy

 100131-N-6214F-015 PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Jan. 31, 2010) A soldier assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division based in from Fort Bragg, N.C., helps a woman carry a 55-pound bag of rice that she received from the World Health Organization at a food distribution site in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communications Specialist Robert J. Fluegel/Released)

Predictably, the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti is dropping out of the news. But on the US Navy image gallery Eye on the Fleet, the story continues to be documented. Surely of the military personnel in these Navy pictures never imagined that their duties would entail what they’ve spent the past weeks doing in Haiti. And yet what I see here is a great willingness to offer help where help is needed, to do what needs doing, brick by brick, box by box, person to person. If there is a grand scheme by which Haiti will be fixed it sure isn’t apparent. The pictures of the newborns and the children are especially poignant: does anyone really believe that these kids’ lives are likely to improve? It takes bravery to act as if there is hope.

Public Domain Haiti Relief Images from the US Navy

The US Navy’s Eye on the Fleet  library of public domain images continues to be updated with pictures of the relief efforts in Haiti. There are few new images of search and rescue efforts in Port-au-Prince, but more of medical evacuations and evaluations have been added.

In the past few days images of relief to rural areas of Haiti have been posted, and these show the means of getting supplies to coastal areas without harbors. A lot of pictures show the sheer volume of materials that have to be moved, somehow, from place to place. Since these are photos by  US Navy photographers, of course these are primarily of US efforts. But there are a few, like the one at the end of today’s post, that shows joint US and Mexican efforts.  

All captions are copied from the US Navy site.

100122-N-7508R-020 BAIE DE GRAND GOAVE, Haiti (Jan. 22, 2010). Haitians watch as a landing craft air cushion (LCAC) assigned to Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 4 offloads relief supplies from the multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) on a Haitian beach. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Julio Rivera/Released)

Public Domain Haiti Relief Photos

Here are some pictures of  Haitian relief effort, starting with these from the US Air Force:

 

Top: A C-17 Globemaster III delivers humanitarian aid into the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 18, 2010. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. James L. Harper Jr.)[100118-F-4177H-957.JPG]

More from Haiti

These images are in the public domain because they were taken by US military personnel to document relief efforts in Haiti. Captions are also taken from these sites; italics indicate that they are verbatim. Several are from the Coast Guard’s website; the others are from the Navy’s. These are just a tiny sampling of growing collections at both sites. 

Isn’t this amazing? Imagine being a rescue swimmer for the Coast Guard and finding yourself delivering a baby on a flight deck. Well done, guys. 

 PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – An Air Station Clearwater, Fla., helicopter crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma assisted in the delivery of a male Haitian newborn on the cutter Jan. 16, 2010. A pregnant Haitian citizen went into labor on the flight deck as the helicopter was refueling aboard the cutter. The rescue swimmer from Coast Guard HH-60 helicopter CG6024 then delivered the five-pound newborn. The mother and child were taken to a hospital in Cap Haitien, Haiti for further medical treatment and were in good condition. Tahoma was transferring Haitian citizens to Cap Haitien from Port-au-Prince for medical assistance when the woman went into labor. U.S. Coast Guard photo. [100116-G-0000X-001 (top); 100115-G-0000X-002]  

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

The images for this post are from US government websites that are in Haiti to offer aid following the earthquake that demolished Port-au-Prince on January 2010.

These aerial photos taken by Global Hawk unmanned aircraft on January 14, 2010 are from the US Air Force photo gallery. The first is of the National Cathedral; the next, the Presidential Palace.

Polar Bears and Blue Angels, Submarines and Ships of the US Navy

Polar bears attract my attention these days since I am a big fan of Iorek Byrnison, king of the armoured bears of Svalbard, and one of the few admirable adults in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials and Once Upon a Time in the North. Now, armoured bears aren’t polar bears — after all, they wear armour and talk, for starters — but in our world polar bears resemble them in a few ways: both are left-handed and both are formidable and intimidating, in or out of armour.

I was hastily scrolling through one of those Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: emails of unusual pictures, when I stopped at  an image of a polar bear and what was identified as a — submarine!

 

No link was given, but submarines were mentioned, so I quickly found my way to the source, a photo gallery at the US Navy website. On its “About this site” page, you’ll find:

The purpose of this website is to provide information and news about the United States Navy to the general public. All information on this site is considered public information and may be distributed or copied unless otherwise specified. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credits is requested.

I’ve collected credits at the bottom of the post.

The photos in the gallery are well-captioned. For example, this one is about the polar bears:

Arctic Circle (Oct. 2003) — Three Polar bears approach the starboard bow of the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Honolulu (SSN 718) while surfaced 280 miles from the North Pole. Sighted by a lookout from the bridge (sail) of the submarine, the bears investigated the boat for almost 2 hours before leaving. Commanded by Cmdr. Charles Harris, USS Honolulu while conducting otherwise classified operations in the Arctic, collected scientific data and water samples for U.S. and Canadian Universities as part of an agreement with the Artic Submarine Laboratory (ASL) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). USS Honolulu is the 24th Los Angeles-class submarine, and the first original design in her class to visit the North Pole region. Honolulu is as assigned to Commander Submarine Pacific, Submarine Squadron Three, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. U. S. Navy photo by Chief Yeoman Alphonso Braggs. (RELEASED)

And don’t you like too how the photographer is mentioned by name?

This incident wasn’t the first visit by polar bears to a submarine.

 

Near the North Pole (Apr. 27, 2003) — During Exercise ICEX 2003, the Seawolf-class attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22) surfaced and broke through the ice. This polar bear, attracted by the hole which can be used to find food, was seen through the sub’s periscope and these photos were captured as the image was projected on a flat-panel display. After investigating the Connecticut for approximately 40 minutes, the bear left the area, with no damage to the sub or to the bear. U.S. Navy photo by Mark Barnoff. (RELEASED)

While at the site I decided to have a look around. Here are some examples of what I found, although they are not truly representative. As you might guess, most are of Navy ships, helicopters, and other vessels. But there are hundreds of others among the several thousand public domain images.

Hornet strike fighters from precision formation Blue Angels squadron at a performance in Virginia Beach:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These three are part of a series of photographs documenting a rescue at sea:

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Nov. 12, 2008) Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 2nd Class Zachary Gillespie and Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 3rd Class Phillip Gonzales both assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28, Detachment 5 embarked aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), hoista Norwegian man from the ocean-going tug SVC Tanux II during a searchand rescue medical evacuation. Kearsarge launched a search-and-rescue aircraft in response toan emergency medical distress call. The victim was transported to Guyana for further medical evaluation. Kearsarge is supporting the Caribbean Phase of the humanitarian and civic assistance mission Continuing Promise 2008, an equal partnership mission between the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Brazil, Nicaragua, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Erik Barker/Released)

 

 

 

Finally, some ships:

Landing craft air cushion vehicle in Djibouti, April 2009; and the Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101), MS-60S Sea Hawk helicopter, and the Military Sealift Command fast combat support ship USNS Bridge in the Indian Ocean, 2008.

Credits — all US Navy

3 bears: 031000-N-XXXXB-001; standing bear: 031000N-XXXXB-003; b&w bear: 031000N-XXXXB-002. Photographer: Chief Yeoman Alphonso Braggs.

b&w standing bear: 030427-O-0000B-001.jpg, 030427-O-0000B-001.jpg. Photographer: Mark Barnoff.

Blue Angels: 080920-N-5345W-196. 080920-N-5345W-197.jpg Photographer: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kristopher S. Wilson.

Rescue: 081112-N-9620B-010, 081112-N-9620B-0112, 081112-N-9620B-013. Photographer: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Erik Barker.

Landing Craft: 090401-N-0506A 559. Photographer: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jesse B. Awalt.

Destroyer: 080823-N-1635S-002. Photographer: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Joshua Scott.