If I could convey one message to the general public about the USS Kearsarge’s mission, it would be this: Off the coast of Nicaragua 1500 Americans, Canadians, Dutch, and even a German are working 18+ hour per day, seven days a week, to provide health care and a better life to the residents of Puerto Cabezas. The Kearsarge is parked three miles off the coast of Puerto Cabezas. For the 100+ medical and humanitarian professions who go ashore each day, this means one hell of a commute. The following is a multimedia time line of an average day in the life of someone on board the USS Kearsarge, using all my own videos and photos:
06:00 – Revelle, get up, get dressed, pack a bag, go to the Wardroom / Mess and eat a full breakfast.
06:15 – Head down to the hanger deck for muster.
06:30 – Stand with your stick (group), get an MRE (Packaged Army Meal).
06:30 to 7:30 – Wait around on the main ramp to the flight deck (good time to get a nap).
07:30 – Walk onto the flight deck and board the CH-53E helicopter.
08:00 – Land in the FOB (Forward Operating Base) at the Puerto Cabezas airport.
08:15 – Board two finicky and old chartered buses and drive to the high school clinic site, escorted by the Nicaraguan army.
08:30 – Enter the school and setup all the different ‘departments’ (optometry, dental, general medicine, pharmacy, veterinarian, etc…)
08:30 to 2:30pm – Work in the clinic, averaging 200-250 patients per day. Eat an MRE lunch in the back room of the school’s auditorium.
2:45pm – Breakdown the clinic and muster in the school’s auditorium (to get a clear head count).
3:30pm – Board the chartered buses and drive 15 minutes to the beach.
3:30pm to 5:00pm – Wait for the LCM (landing craft), another good time for a nap.
5:00pm – Wade out into the surf to board the LCM
5:30pm to 7:00pm – Ride the open top, bobbing, and wet LCM out to the USS Kearsarge.
7:00pm to 9:00pm – Drag your butt to get some food, a shower, some laundry, a little exercise, and check email.
9:00pm to 10:00pm – Attend the MEDCAP (medical mission) briefing preparing for the next day’s operations.
10:00 to 11:00pm – Prepare for bed, and get some sleep. It is going to be another long day tomorrow.
Christopher Albon is a Ph.D. candidate specializing in armed conflict, public health, human security, and health diplomacy.
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{ 7 comments }
Chris,
Really fascinating stuff. Also, not sure if you knew it, but I think Dave Axe is on the Kearsarge as well:
http://warisboring.com/?p=1296
- Drew
Chris – Great post. Really good job.
Drew – trust me…..he knows, lol.
At least you did not have the mid-watch.
The Navy, not just an adventure, also the largest scale sleep deprivation experiment in the world…
Hi Drew,
Axe was my roommate for two weeks.
In fact the only blogger who wasn’t my roommates at one time or another is Maggie, who stuck herself down in crew berthing.
I presume there’s a good reason why you don’t just take a sleeping bag and a rollmat ashore and sleep in the school… sleep two hours later in the morning and still be able to work to 5, not 3 in the afternoon!
I think what you guys are doing for my people is absolutely terrific. You could not have chosen a more needy sector of Nicaragua. I am a Registered Nurse, who was trained in that area 30 yrs ago and I still get flashbacks of my Community Service rotation; the living conditions, (subhuman in some areas), endemic parasitism and high incidence of infant mortality, due to malnutrition. Being a native of the South side of the country and 18 yrs old at the time, I never imagined the things I witnessed there.
Therefore on behalf of myself and fellow citizens, I thank everyone on the ship for being there. May God richly bless you and yours.
Dear Sir–did you happen to meet Doctor Lou Cimorelli when you were aboard the USS Kearsarge recently? He is my son and his father and I are very proud of him. He’s a great guy with a super wife and children. Hope you got to meet him. We miss him an awful lot. Take care. Enjoyed your articles. Mrs Ann Cimorelli
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