To the Minnesota Navy League and our sponsor, the honorable Jodi. J Greene, the crew of PCU Minneapolis St. Paul wishes you Happy Holidays!
The littoral combat ship Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS 21) successfully completed its Mobility Damage Control Warfare (MOB-D) assessment Nov. 13.
MOB-D is an assessment of a crew’s ability to respond quickly and efficiently to a variety of training situations where the ship has taken structural or engineering damage.
“Passing MOB-D and completing it successfully is just the first stepping stone for the crew,” said Lt.j.g. Pelan, electronic materials officer and repair locker officer aboard Minneapolis-Saint Paul. “The motivation seen during these drills, by all the Sailors, will carry us through all of our follow-on events.”
Minneapolis-Saint Paul’s MOB-D was divided two training stages and a culminating assessment. In the first stage, the COMLCSRON 2 training team providing classroom instruction on basic damage control fundamentals, such as fire hose handling, pipe patching and erecting structural damage supports.
During the second stage, the COMLCSRON 2 training team guided Minneapolis-Saint Paul’s Damage Control Training Team (DCTT) through a series of drills designed to test their ability to provide rapid response to simulated at-sea emergencies.
“Damage Control is the responsibility of all hands,” said Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Electrical) 2nd Class Dipalma, one of the DCTT leaders. “The Ship’s motto, ‘I will find a way or make one’, applies to damage control in every aspect because by learning how to fight the ship we gain the ability to keep the crew and the ship safe during the worst possible circumstances.”
Everything learned throughout MOB-D culminated in a final assessment where COMLCSRON 2 assessors observed the ship’s DCTT’s through 11 drills which tested their ability to combat fires, flooding, and structural damage.
Minneapolis-Saint Paul also successfully certified its Antiterrorism and Force Protection (AT/FP) program on Nov. 24. Over the course of two days, COMLCSRON 2’s Antiterrorism team assessed the ship’s ability to respond to various security threats.
The path to certification involved weeks of hands-on training sessions and administrative preparation led by senior Gunner’s Mates and Fire Controlmen. The Minneapolis-Saint Paul Sailors worked relentlessly to ensure that the crew was certified in weapons such as the 9mm pistol, M4 rifle, M500 shotgun and M240B machine gun. Now certified, those watchstanders are fully trained to work as a team to ensure the safety of the ship.
The certification event culminated in an 11 drill, two-day event, where two watchteams were assessed on their proficiency in countering waterborne, airborne, vehicular, and pedestrian threats which might arise on the pier, aboard the ship, or in the water.
“Every single Sailor came together and trusted each other with our lives because at the end of the day when we’re all downrange, we’re all each other is going to have out there,” said Gunner’s Mate (SW) 1st Class Aguilar, a leading member of the ship’s AT/FP team. “There’s no doubt this crew is very capable of finding a way or making one to exceed mission demands, regardless of the field!”
