By Lesroy W. Williams Observer Reporter
” lesroywilliams@thestkittsnevisobserver.com (Basseterre, St. Kitts)-The USNS GRASP (T-ARS-51) Military Sealift Command Rescue and Salvage Ship made a port of call on the Federation of St .Kitts-Nevis for the first time on July 23. The Military Sea Lift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on July 9, 1949, when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense’s transport needs. The MSTS was renamed the Military Sealift Command in 1970. The Ship, which is 255 ft long and 51 ft wide and built in the early 80’s, brought to the Federation 26 Civilian Mariners and 14 Navy Divers with the objective of doing joint training operations with the St. Kitts-Nevis Coast Guard.” The USNS GRASP is the lifeguard of the Navy and has to capacity to salvage 300 tons from the bottom of the ocean. It is particularly useful in pulling ship and plane wreckages from the bottom of the ocean, among other things.”” Lieutenant Mission Commander Robert Greene of San Diego, California, said that they have been deployed to the Caribbean Sea to conduct Navy Diver-Global Fleet Station (ND-GFS) from June to September 2008. Before coming to St. Kitts, the US Navy carried out a two-week basic operational training block with Regional Security System (RSS) Divers in Antigua with the Coast Guard from Antigua, St. Lucia and Dominica. The 14 specially- trained rescue and salvage divers from the Navy as well as the 26 civil service mariners from Military Sealift Command were assigned to conduct tailored diving and salvage operations with regional partner nations that will improve capabilities and interoperability for all participants. Captain Douglas Casavant said that their mission is to engage with partner defense forces, police departments and Coast Guards. According to Captain Casavant, the joint training operations deal with class room indoctrination including specialized operational dive planning, recompression chamber operations and diver equipment maintenance. Open water dive operations include environmental underwater wreck assessment, unexploded ordnance disposal and tailored ports security dive operations.” The operations of the USNS GRASP are part and parcel of the bigger picture of the United States working along with the region to improve maritime security by focusing on enhancing cooperative partnerships with regional maritime services. The concept is based on the premise that strong, open, multi-lateral partnerships enhance regional stability and security. The USNS GRASP (T-ARS-51) left the Federation on July 26 for Barbados where the 14 Navy Divers and 26 Civilian Mariners will conduct a two week basic and two week advanced operational training block with Regional Security System (RSS) Divers from Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. “The hospitality of the region has been fantastic,” Commander Greene said.
