Mom Follows the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
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OPM 'Adopts' Carrier, Crew and Families Monday, October 29, 2001; Page A15
Seeing pictures of the USS Theodore Roosevelt with its 5,500 sailors, Marines and fliers pulling out of Naval Station Norfolk last month, headed for regions of war, gave the same idea to several folks at the Office of Personnel Management in Washington, including director Kay Coles James.
Why not show their support by "adopting" the aircraft carrier and its crew? After all, OPM headquarters is in the Theodore Roosevelt Building at 1900 E St. NW.
So on Friday, with patriotic songs, a color guard, dignitaries, and lots of red, white and blue balloons, OPM kicked off its adoption. Last week they sent a banner signed by OPM employees, and James said a toy drive for the children left behind and a music CD drive are being planned.
Eileen O'Hanlon, wife of the Roosevelt's Capt. Richard J. O'Hanlon, spoke on behalf of the families and crew, and Assistant Secretary of the Navy William A. Navas Jr. represented the Navy.
Eileen O'Hanlon noted that the average age of a crew member is 19 and said, "For many this is not only their first deployment in the Navy, it's their first time away from home."
© 2001 The Washington Post Company
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 Tuesday October 30 5:24 PM ET U.S. Ship Celebrates Halloween By CHRIS TOMLINSON, Associated Press Writer
ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (AP) - The crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt celebrated Halloween with a door-decorating contest, improvised jack-o'-lanterns and the ship's mascot donning a ghost costume to trick-or-treat through the aircraft carrier's passage ways.
While the business of launching jets to attack Taliban and al-Qaida targets in Afghanistan continued, some of the ship's 5,500-person crew celebrated the holiday the best they could, and in remarkably ingenious ways.
Mechanics in the airframe department fashioned a three-foot jack-o'-lantern from fiberglass, welding rods, old rags, papier- mache and orange paint. Petty Officer 2nd Class Courtland of Big Piney, Mo., said the sailors in his section spent their free time over four days to build the pumpkin.
``I think its kind of a nice change of pace from working on airplanes,'' Courtland, 21, said. ``Something out of the ordinary.''
Members of the aircraft carrier's crew can decide to only be identified by their first names for security reasons.
Because they work the night shift, waking up at 6 p.m. and working until noon the next day, Halloween celebrations began late Tuesday.
In addition to making pumpkins, the morale, welfare and recreation department also organized a door-decorating contest. The airframe department decided to participate in that as well, hanging a painting of Dracula in a Transylvanian cemetery. One of the grave stones was for Osama bin Laden, leader of the al-Qaida organization and prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
In the air operations department, Petty Officer 3rd Class Michele Blymire, 21, and Airman Marlene Hernandez, 19, decorated their door with an inflatable Frankenstein and drawings of bats and pumpkins.
Hernandez said she would normally go trick-or-treating in her neighborhood in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. She said she may give it a try on the carrier, if work allows and ``if I get permission to put on makeup and stuff.''
``We're on a six-month cruise and holidays bring out the spirit in all of us. It's important to have holiday spirit,'' Blymire, of Seville, Fla., said. ``It also breaks the monotony.''
Breaking the routine of daily 12-hour or more shifts by celebrating holidays on ship, even during war time, is important for the crew's morale, agreed Kim Watkins, the Theodore Roosevelt's morale officer.
``It's like `Groundhog Day,' the movie where the same thing happens everyday,'' Watkins, a civilian from Louisville, Ky., said. ``We try to help people get away from the mundane.''
But the ship's mission always comes first, she added. ``We didn't plan a lot because of the operation.''
In honor of former President Theodore Roosevelt's Bull Moose party, the ship's mascot is a moose, a crewmember in a costume who wanders the ship's passageways like Mickey Mouse in Disneyland, playing practical jokes on bemused sailors.
For Halloween, the moose donned a ghost costume to go trick-or- treating through the ship.
``It helps keep things light,'' Watkins said. ``No one can walk past the moose and not smile.''
Most sailors on the Theodore Roosevelt expect to remain at sea, probably until the end of the carrier's deployment in March.
``We'll probably make ... a turkey for Thanksgiving,'' said Petty Officer 3rd Class Matt, of Vero Beach, Fla. ``For Christmas, we'll turn it into a snowman.''
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EDS NOTE: PICTURE MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--Sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt look on as a shipmate does a flip off the port hangar elevator during a swim call Thursday, Nov. 1, 2001, in the Arabia Sea. The crew of the Roosevelt took a day break from launching airstrikes at Taliban and al-Qaida targets in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
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EDS NOTE: PICTURE MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--Sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Rooseveltl take part in a flight deck picnic Thursday, Nov. 1, 2001, in the Arabia Sea. The crew of the Roosevelt took a day break from launching airstrikes at Taliban and al-Qaida targets in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
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Friday November 02 07:11 AM EST
Roosevelt crew enjoys 'steel beach picnic'
By Staff Writer, The Associated Press
ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT -- While the crew on this aircraft carrier took a day off from bombing Afghanistan, tossing footballs and grilling hamburgers on the flight deck, U.S. Marines flew from another warship Thursday as part of the anti-terrorism campaign.
Four helicopters packed with Marines lifted off the USS Peleliu in the Arabian Sea on what officials called a training and support mission.
Under U.S. Defense Department rules, reporters are barred from specifying the destination of troops being deployed from the Peleliu.
Capt. Jeff Mares said the Marines had been eager to do their part ever since Sept. 11, when hijacked planes crashed into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The United States is attacking the terrorism network of the prime suspect, Osama bin Laden, and the Taliban militia that is sheltering him in Afghanistan.
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EDS NOTE: PICTURE MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS-A U.S. Marine stands on "shark watch" during a swim call for the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt Thursday, Nov. 1, 2001, in the Arabia Sea. The crew of the Roosevelt took a day break from launching airstrikes at Taliban and al-Qaida targets in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
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EDS NOTE: PICTURE MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--Sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt play flight deck basketball Thursday, Nov. 1, 2001, in the Arabia Sea. The crew of the Roosevelt took a day break from launching airstrikes at Taliban and al-Qaida targets in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
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Roosevelt crew takes a break as Marines fly off Peleliu By CHRIS TOMLINSON, Associated Press © Nov. 2, 2001
ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT -- While the crew on this aircraft carrier took a day off from bombing Afghanistan, tossing footballs and grilling hamburgers on the flight deck, U.S. Marines flew from another warship on Thursday as part of the anti-terrorism campaign.
Four helicopters packed with Marines lifted off the USS Peleliu in the Arabian Sea on what officials called a training and support mission.
Under U.S. Defense Department rules, reporters are barred from specifying the destination of troops being deployed from the Peleliu.
Capt. Jeff Mares said the Marines had been eager to do their part ever since Sept. 11, when hijacked planes crashed into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The United States is attacking the terrorism network of the prime suspect, Osama bin Laden, and the Taliban militia that is sheltering him in Afghanistan.
``Everybody's emotions are high,'' said Mares, 34, from California. ``Everybody was devastated'' by the Sept. 11 attacks, he said.
The Peleliu is the flagship of a force of about 2,200 Marines in the Arabian Sea. Officials have said little about their operations, confirming only that they recovered a helicopter downed in Pakistan in late October.
While the main U.S. offensive has been from the air, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged Tuesday that American troops were on the ground in Afghanistan to improve coordination of the airstrikes. Opposition commanders had complained the American attacks were too weak to crack the Taliban.
On Oct. 19, a U.S. special forces team struck a Taliban-controlled airfield and a residence of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar.
Fighter planes from the USS Theodore Roosevelt, meanwhile, have been making bombing runs on Afghanistan since Oct. 17. After launching 900 missions in two weeks, the aircraft carrier's crew took a break Thursday and enjoyed a ``steel beach picnic'' on the ship's flight deck.
The sailors, many dressed in civilian gym clothes, set up grills, volleyball nets and a basketball court. They enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs and barbecued chicken, finished off by brownies.
Capt. Rich O'Hanlon said the 5,500-member crew of the Norfolk, Va.-based Theodore Roosevelt deserved a break. Most are under 21 and only see daylight from the ship's hangar doors for a few minutes a day.
But at the picnic, faces that were hardened by the work and stress of war were suddenly softened and youthful again. Young men threw footballs, women played volleyball and all danced to music broadcast over the ship's loudspeakers.
Thousands lined up for a chance to jump off the hangar deck for a swim in the sea.
Navy and Marine riflemen stood on the ship's catwalks to guard against sharks, while divers served as lifeguards in the water.
In small groups, the sailors summoned the courage to leap off the deck and plunge 36 feet into the ocean. Once in the water, the sailors swam to the back of the 1,000-foot carrier to climb back on.
``It's the coolest thing I've ever done, jumping off an aircraft carrier,'' said Petty Officer 3rd Class Heidi Thoma, a 21-year-old from Broomfield, Colo. ``I needed a good day off, or half day off. It makes you ready to go back in and work.''
Lt. Cmdr. Terry Chauncey, the ship's administrative officer, said the occasional recreation day is key to keeping the crew sharp for the dangerous business of flying bomb-laden jets off a ship at sea.
Yet the warplanes on the steel deck and the rotating radar antennas were constant reminders that this was no ordinary company picnic. Some mechanics still worked through the morning, trying to get planes ready for new airstrikes.
Come Friday, all of the toys were to be stowed away, barbecue grills would be replaced by bomb racks, and the young sailors would again don their helmets, goggles and life vests to launch warplanes into the night.
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EDS NOTE: PICTURE MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--Sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt take part in a flight deck picnic Thursday, Nov. 1, 2001, in the Arabia Sea. The crew of the Roosevelt took a day break from launching air strikes at Taliban and al-Qaida targets in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
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The front and back sides of a leaflet dropped over Afghanistan during the U.S.-led campaign bombing campaign are seen in this image released by the Department of Defense on Monday, Oct. 15, 2001. The leaflet, in the local languages of Pashtu and Dari, reads 'The partnership of nations is here to help,' front, and 'The partnership of nations is here to assist the people of Afghanistan,' back. See photo NY135 for English translation.(AP Photo/Dept. of Defense)
3rd photo: The design for one of the leaflets dropped over Afghanistan during the U.S.-led campaign bombing campaign is seen in this image released by the Department of Defense on Monday, Oct. 15, 2001. The leaflet depicts a radio transmitting tower and sketches of radios and tells times and radio stations to tune to for what it calls 'Information Radio.' The broadcasts started earlier, but leaflets telling people to listen were delayed because of windy conditions last week, a Pentagon official said. The front and back sides of the leaflet are identical.(AP Photo/Dept. of Defense)
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--EDS NOTE: PICTURE MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--An F/A18 Hornet launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt Friday, Nov. 2, 2001. The Roosevelt has launched over 900 combat missions over Afghanistan against the Taliban and al-Qaida since Oct. 17, 2001.
(AP Photo/David Longstreath)
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Friday November 2 7:26 AM ET
Admiral Cites 'Hide and Seek' War
By CHRIS TOMLINSON, Associated Press Writer
ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (AP) - The battle against Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and the al-Qaida terrorist network has turned into a ``hide and seek'' war, the commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt battle group said.
Rear Admiral Mark Fitzgerald said U.S. war planes are depending more and more on special forces units on the ground in Afghanistan to identify targets. Taliban troops have also begun hiding in towns and villages, he said.
``We know there is stuff they are hiding inside the city, but the stuff out there in the field has become scarce,'' Fitzgerald said in a briefing late Thursday. ``It's a very mobile battlefield, it's small bands of people moving around in groups, so we're trying to pin down those locations and go after them.''
Fitzgerald said pilots have successfully wiped out most of the Taliban's infrastructure and have cut supply lines. He denied that the war was bogging down.
``It's a hide and seek kind of war out there right now, but it's certainly not a stalemate,'' he said.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt, based in Norfolk, Va., is one of three U.S. Navy battle groups in the north Arabian Sea involved in the attacks against the Taliban and al-Qaida, the organization led by Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Fitzgerald said the Taliban and al-Qaida appear to have problems getting supplies and collecting revenues for their war effort.
He added that despite Taliban reports of civilian casualties, most U.S. bombs have successfully hit military targets.
``We've seen a very high percentage of kills with these (precision weapons) and a very low amount of collateral damage,'' Fitzgerald said. He said most cases where civilians have been killed or injured were a result of a weapons malfunction.
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-EDS NOTE: CONTENTS MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS- U.S. Marine Corps pilots Lt. Col. "Squeeze," left, and Capt. "Rooster" gear up for a mission aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, in the Arabian Sea, on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2001. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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--EDS NOTE: PHOTO MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--Sailors exercise on the hanger deck in battle conditions lighting as maintenance crews work on a F/A-18C Hornet fighter, on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Arabian Sea, on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2001. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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In this handout picture from the U.S. Navy made available Monday, Nov. 5, 2001, the American flag which flew over the World Trade Center in New York City is shown aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt at an undisclosed location in the Arabian Sea during Operation Enduring Freedom on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2001. The World Trade Center flag will be passed on throughout the carrier's battle group. (AP Photo/US Navy, Mannie Garcia)
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-EDS NOTE: CONTENTS MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS --Commander of the Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group Rear Adm. Mark P. Fitzgerald aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt following an interview on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2001. Fitzgerald is in command of the battle group operating somewhere in the Arabian Sea. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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-EDS NOTE: CONTENTS MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--USS Theodore Roosevelt mascot Sagamore T. Moose waves to the supply ship USNS Saturn as it pulls alongside the carrier in the Arabian Sea on Monday, Nov. 5, 2001. The Roosevelt, based in Norfolk, Virginia, is one of three U.S. Navy battle groups in the north Arabian Sea involved in Operation Enduring Freedom. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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Mon. November 5 6:41 PM ET New Round of Fighter Planes Launched By HRVOJE HRANJSKI, Assoc. Press Writer
ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (AP) - With food supplies newly replenished nearly a month into the bombing campaign, the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt launched fighter planes on a fresh round of airstrikes early Tuesday, catapulting a dozen attack jets toward Afghanistan (news - web sites) in the space of a few minutes.
Hours earlier, about 500 deckhands worked through the night to store food and other non-combat supplies airlifted aboard or brought alongside by the refrigerated supply ship, the USNS Saturn.
Navy cargo helicopters from the Roosevelt maneuvered above the choppy Arabian Sea to lift about 270 wooden pallets loaded with food from the Saturn to the giant carrier. Other pallets were ferried across by cable.
``It's a complex operation. Anything can go wrong,'' said Lt. Cmdr. Dave Cruz, assistant supply officer.
Meanwhile, on a platform above the hanger bay where the food was being sorted, Marine Lance Cpl. Jesus, 21, from Miami, Fla., ran a final check on a F/A-18C Hornet loaded with air-to-surface and air-to-air missiles.
The Roosevelt has been launching jets on night attacks since the strikes in Afghanistan began nearly a month ago. In what has become a routine operation, the first to go were EA-6B Prowler surveillance planes, followed by Navy F-14 Tomcats and Marine Hornets, catapulted from the carrier's four launch pads in intervals of several minutes each.
The Roosevelt heads one of three Navy battle groups in the Arabian Sea. Also there are the aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and the USS Kitty Hawk.
The Roosevelt's commanding officer, Capt. Richard O'Hanlon, went on the ship loudspeaker trying to raise the spirits of New York Yankee fans on board, telling downhearted supporters about a phone call from Yankee players Paul O'Neil and Tino Martinez.
The Yankees lost the World Series in the 7th game Sunday night to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
O``Hanlon, a New Yorker, said O'Neil and Martinez called to thank supporters among Roosevelt's crew for backing the team under difficult conditions.
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EDS NOTE: CONTENTS MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--A pair of Navy CH-46 helicopters work in tandem to replenish the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on station in the Arabian Sea on Monday, Nov. 5, 2001. The helicopters ferried supplies to the Roosevelt from the USNS Saturn supply ship. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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In this handout picture from the U.S. Navy made available Monday, Nov. 5, 2001, US Marine Captain, call sign "Joey" M. Colleta, VMFA-251 Thunderbolts, uses hand signals to communicate with his ground crew as he prepairs to launch his F/A-18 Hornet from the deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt in support of Operation Enduring Freedom at an undisclosed location in the Arabian Sea on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2001. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Mannie Garcia)
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