THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 18, 1996 TAG: 9603180036
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR BOSNIA
Reporter Jack Dorsey and photographer Martin Smith-Rodden traveled to
Bosnia to report on the drudgery, pain and occasional terror
confronting U.S. troops who are part of a NATO force helpong restore
peace after four years of fighting.
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ABOARD THE TORTUGA LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
The five-man crew piloting Herbie into the stern of this partially flooded, 600-foot-long ship makes bumper cars look frightening.
Hardly a nudge is felt as their 200-ton, air-cushioned landing craft, nicknamed Herbie but officially known as LCAC-15, noses through 4-foot seas into the Tortuga's well-deck, only occasionally touching the wooden fence that protects the ship's steel hull.
Chief Petty Officer Dean Serfass, Herbie's craftmaster, ``flies'' the 88-foot-long, 47-foot wide LCAC on a cushion of air, just 4 feet above the Adriatic Sea, in a demonstration of how these craft have revolutionized amphibious landings in 10 years.
For craftmasters such as Serfass, being in charge of a $22 million craft is a unique opportunity. It might be the most expensive equipment entrusted to a non-commissioned officer - more costly than a landing craft, tugboat or even an M-1 Abrams tank, which an LCAC can also carry.
Sitting in the starboard-side cockpit with Serfass is Petty Officer 1st Class Jon Sherbourne, the navigator who checks radar, charts and radio traffic as the craft aims for the Tortuga's open end.
With him is Petty Officer 1st Class J.K. Whitaker, who talks by intercom to the port-side cabin nearly 50 feet away. That's where Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Wayne Mills, the loadmaster, and Gas Turbine Mechanic 2nd Class Doug Ross, Herbie's deck mechanic, call off the dwindling clearance from his side before Herbie is in.
The operators of Herbie cannot see their counterparts on the other side because of water spray, cargo and other obstructions. They rely on radios to relay the problems.
The craft ``lands'' gently as the air escapes beneath its rubber skirt and Herbie reaches its seagoing home.
Herbie is one of four LCACs from Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base that have deployed with the amphibious ready group, currently steaming in the Mediterranean Sea.
In addition to the dock landing ship Tortuga, the amphibious group includes the assault ship Guam, dock landing ship Portland and amphibious transport dock Trenton. Except for the Guam, which is a helicopter and troop carrier, the LCACs can ride in any of the other three ships.
Together the amphibious ships carry 1,900 sailors and 2,000 Marines that have been nicknamed the ``911'' reserve force that would steam into Bosnia to aid NATO troops if called.
On Herbie's deck are a variety of trucks and armored personnel carriers the Marines would need ashore.
Herbie can get them there, claims Serfass, at 50 mph if needed, compared with a much slower 8 to 10 mph in older, conventional landing craft.
Splashy, loud and versatile, the LCACs' air-cushion capability also allows them to proceed inland to unload cargo on dry land.
Specially designed passenger-carrying pods can be erected quickly to turn the LCAC into a passenger ferry for 90 troops.
Assigned to Assault Craft Unit 4 at Little Creek, the LCAC community is growing almost daily as more of the craft are delivered.
So far, 37 LCACs are stationed at Little Creek, with two more expected by June and a total of 45 by 1999. A similar number is assigned to the Pacific Fleet in San Diego. The Navy plans to procure a total of 91.
Wearing olive green flight suits, crash helmets and aviator sunglasses, Herbie's crew works from behind a console that resembles that of a jetliner.
The four gas turbine engines, each providing 3,955 horsepower, get the LCAC airborne.
``We deserve flight pay,'' said Sherbourne, rather seriously. ``Why not? We do everything an aviator does. We fly. We hover. We land. We crash.''
``Yeah, but when an LCAC crashes it's only 4 feet to the water,'' a Tortuga sailor responded.
Besides, flight pay was originally designed as an incentive to keep trained pilots in the Navy. Judging from the LCAC crews, they'd do this without pay. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]
``Herbie,'' the LCAC-15 air-cushioned craft, is revolutionizing the
way the Navy gets troops and their assault equipment ashore.
LT. RON HILLS/U.S. Navy photos
The slower LCU - Landing Craft Utility - with front and stern
loading ramps, is till being used while the Navy's fleet of LCACs
grows.
KEYWORDS: BOSNIA by CNB