WATERS SOUTH OF THE KOREAN PENINSULA - The U.S. Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) completed a three-day deep-water anchorage to participate in the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy Fleet Review, Oct. 24.
In honor of the 70th anniversary of the ROK Navy as a symbol of the enduring U.S. and ROK alliance, Ronald Reagan successfully anchored in a water depth of more than 165 feet after she paid out 11 shots of anchor chain equal to more than 15 fathoms.
According to Lt. Cmdr. Todd Kamins, 1st Lieutenant aboard Ronald Reagan, the anchorage conducted was unique because of the combination of water depth and length of time Ronald Reagan was anchored.
“This is an evolution that may come around once in a career,” said Kamins. “This is the deepest water I’ve anchored in, in almost 24 years,” said Kamins. “I don’t think there is anyone in our department who has done anything similar to this. We have hundreds of years of combined experience; however, nobody’s ever done this so this is something that’s totally new.”
Senior Chief Boatswain’s Mate John Pompey, Deck Department’s leading chief petty officer, added that there was one unique detail of the anchorage that stood out above the concern of anchoring in an unfamiliar area with unpredictable wind speeds and water currents.
“The reason why this was so special to the Navy was because of what we are doing with the 11 shots on deck,” said Pompey. “Eleven shots on deck is significant because we only have 12 shots total and to be at the warning shot for three days is unheard of. This is a milestone for me in my career.”
With all of the unfamiliar and unpredictable variants of the evolution, safety was Kamins’ priority.
“This is a departure from the normal way that we anchor,” said Kamins. “We developed a procedure that we believed was the absolute safest way that would give us the most control to perform this evolution. We paid out, under control, using the windlass. The anchor windlass is basically a hydraulic winch. Usually we let gravity take our 60,000 pound anchor and chain. Each link of anchor chain weighs 360 pounds. A shot, which is 90 feet of chain weighs 20,000 pounds. We usually let that weight speed us through dropping the anchor. Instead of using gravity, we used the windlass to walk it out, which gave us the greatest amount of control.”
Kamins explained Ronald Reagan first lowered the anchor and 4 shots, which was 450 feet of chain out. The ship then developed a horizontal pull on the chain, which allowed the flukes on the end of the anchor to dig in and bite into the muddy bottom, which set the anchor in place. Once the crew determined the anchor was holding, Ronald Reagan laid out an additional 7 shots to have 11 shots on deck, which equates to more than 900 feet of chain and 220,000 pounds without the anchor.
“This in everyone’s opinion was the safest way to perform this evolution,” said Kamins.
With anchor set and chain secured, Ronald Reagan used tugs to adjust her heading and participate in the ROK Navy’s Fleet Review.
“Right now we are actually seeing a first,” said Pompey. “It’s an evolution that’s never been done before to the extent where we performed precision anchorage and executed a port side review with the Republic of Korea Navy fleet. I probably would have never seen this in my career if I wasn’t here, at this point, on Ronald Reagan. I feel very lucky and blessed. This is something very new to the Navy and to a lot of good people, so to take part is very humbling.”
“This was a great opportunity for my department to demonstrate the excellence that they execute every single day,” said Kamins. “I wish I had the opportunity to do this as a BM3 [Boatswain’s mate petty officer third class]. This gave my Sailors, as their careers progress on the deckplate level, something in their tool box that they can reach back to and say ‘hey you know what, I did this when I was a BM3’. I just love any opportunity for my guys to demonstrate their excellence and this department’s ability to get missions accomplished regardless of how out of the ordinary or how unusual they are.”
Ronald Reagan and its embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, provide a combat-ready force that protects and defends the collective maritime interests of its allies and partners in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.