TS Kennedy MMA HAITI HELP!!

MaritimeGirl11

10-Year Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2006
Messages
329
Dear members of the MMA Family,
One long standing tradition of the sea services is that you always go to the aid of those in peril on the seas. If you are in the vicinity - regardless of your mission - you go. The officers, cadets and crew of T.S. Kennedy have been watching with sorrow as the terrible drama of tragedy plays out in Haiti. Now, at the request of the U.S. State Department and the Maritime Administration, they have been formally asked to provide aid and assistance to the first responders who are helping the Haitian people. While the details are unclear at this time, I wanted all in the Massachusetts Maritime Family to know that the 2010 Sea Term will be terminated and we will likely off load the 4/c and 3/c cadets in Port Everglades, Florida for transport back to MMA via commercial air. The U.S. Maritime Administration will then load and provision the Kennedy with relief supplies. The 1/c and the few 2/c cadets aboard will be asked if they would volunteer to continue to sail Kennedy to Haiti and help the officers and crew of Kennedy staff the ship while it is used as a safe haven for first responders (fire fighters, medical personnel, police, Red Cross workers, search and rescue teams, etc.) to sleep, shower, eat and recover before going back to their respective duties ashore in Port-au- Prince. Because of the congested nature of the airport there, another mission for Kennedy may be to transport Americans from Haiti to a safe place for further repatriation to the United States.
Using a training ship in this fashion was proven very effective during hurricane Katrina when the training ships State of Maine, Empire State and Texas Clipper were used as safe havens by first responders going to assist those caught in the devastation on our own Gulf Coast. (Enterprise/Kennedy was undergoing major work to her boilers so she couldn’t assist in that effort.) In fact, the Federal Government has invested millions of dollars in the nation’s training ships for just such an eventuality. It is highly likely that all of the other maritime training ships will be directed to join Kennedy in the harbor.
MMA has a long tradition of helping out in emergencies and, after the emergency situation ends, we have always been able to successfully resolve the various issues regarding sea time, license exams, semester credit, academic schedule, etc. Faced with 50,000 dead, hundreds of thousands injured and millions without the basics of life, Sea Term 2010 is truly a minor issue. Going to aid those who are helping the injured and saving lives is the least we can do.
Please be patient as we sort through the details but trust that our priority in any emergency is to help but not put additional people at risk. The safety of our people is always paramount in our decisions. I will keep all informed as soon as details are available. In the meantime, please keep the people of Haiti in your thoughts and prayers.
Regards,
Rick Gurnon
 
Dear members of the MMA Family,
One long standing tradition of the sea services is that you always go to the aid of those in peril on the seas. If you are in the vicinity - regardless of your mission - you go. The officers, cadets and crew of T.S. Kennedy have been watching with sorrow as the terrible drama of tragedy plays out in Haiti. Now, at the request of the U.S. State Department and the Maritime Administration, they have been formally asked to provide aid and assistance to the first responders who are helping the Haitian people. While the details are unclear at this time, I wanted all in the Massachusetts Maritime Family to know that the 2010 Sea Term will be terminated and we will likely off load the 4/c and 3/c cadets in Port Everglades, Florida for transport back to MMA via commercial air. The U.S. Maritime Administration will then load and provision the Kennedy with relief supplies. The 1/c and the few 2/c cadets aboard will be asked if they would volunteer to continue to sail Kennedy to Haiti and help the officers and crew of Kennedy staff the ship while it is used as a safe haven for first responders (fire fighters, medical personnel, police, Red Cross workers, search and rescue teams, etc.) to sleep, shower, eat and recover before going back to their respective duties ashore in Port-au- Prince. Because of the congested nature of the airport there, another mission for Kennedy may be to transport Americans from Haiti to a safe place for further repatriation to the United States.
Using a training ship in this fashion was proven very effective during hurricane Katrina when the training ships State of Maine, Empire State and Texas Clipper were used as safe havens by first responders going to assist those caught in the devastation on our own Gulf Coast. (Enterprise/Kennedy was undergoing major work to her boilers so she couldn’t assist in that effort.) In fact, the Federal Government has invested millions of dollars in the nation’s training ships for just such an eventuality. It is highly likely that all of the other maritime training ships will be directed to join Kennedy in the harbor.
MMA has a long tradition of helping out in emergencies and, after the emergency situation ends, we have always been able to successfully resolve the various issues regarding sea time, license exams, semester credit, academic schedule, etc. Faced with 50,000 dead, hundreds of thousands injured and millions without the basics of life, Sea Term 2010 is truly a minor issue. Going to aid those who are helping the injured and saving lives is the least we can do.
Please be patient as we sort through the details but trust that our priority in any emergency is to help but not put additional people at risk. The safety of our people is always paramount in our decisions. I will keep all informed as soon as details are available. In the meantime, please keep the people of Haiti in your thoughts and prayers.
Regards,
Rick Gurnon


Maritime Girl- thanks for posting this - while I feel bad for all those Cadets who expected to be at sea for this term -as Admiral Gurnon points out compared to the catastrophe at hand the disruption to the Sea Term is a minor issue. Good luck to al those 1st and 2d Class Cadets who will be staying aboard while the ship is in Port au Prince. :thumb:
 
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