Wednesday, September 10, 2003
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Wednesday, September 10, 2003 |
Fayetteville sailor returns after six months at seaFayetteville’s Stephen W. Jacobs recently returned from a successful six-month deployment on board the dock landing ship USS Anchorage. Anchorage and USS Comstock were the first San Diego-based amphibious ships to return from Operation Euduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Navy Hospitalman Jacobs, the 21-year-old son of Steven Jacobs of Fayetteville, is a hospital corpsman on board Anchorage. “I help keep the crew healthy and safe, which will allow them to perform their mission,” Jacobs said. Anchorage departed San Diego Jan. 17 with six other San Diego-based ships as part of Amphibious Task Force West. They carried Marines from the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment. Anchorage also carried the Marines’ associated equipment, vehicles and weapons to the Arabian Gulf. Jacobs felt proud to be part of the deployment and part of OIF. “It is the greatest honor to serve my country at this time,” the three-year Navy veteran said. “I feel a great deal of pride and self-worth. Providing and fighting for my freedom and the freedom of a nation is the greatest honor I could ever have.” Once Anchorage dropped off the Marines at a naval base in Kuwait in February for OIF, they commenced logistical support of the Gulf Oil Platforms of Mina Al-Bakr offshore terminal and Abd-Allah offshore terminal in the northern Arabian Gulf. They assisted U.S. Coast Guard personnel assigned to protect the platforms by providing daily quality of life amenities, such as hot showers, three meals a day and bunks to sleep in. In addition to supporting the GOPLAT mission, Anchorage’s crew conducted a “Desert Tortoise” helicopter shuttle service for all the ships in ATF West. This involved loading up in Bahrain with more than 100,000 pounds of mail, 232 pallets of cargo and 71 sailors, then delivering the cargo and transferring the sailors to the amphibious war ships patrolling the northern Arabian Gulf. Jacobs believes that Anchorage’s efforts made a significant contribution during OIF. “We brought two Marine units to and from Iraq,” he said. “We also provided postal and supply services to all the other ships deployed with us.” Toward the end of the deployment, Anchorage and Comstock participated in a rescue of five Filipino fishermen stranded at sea, 313 miles off the Philippine coast. This particular deployment and war may have ended for the crew of Anchorage, but the mission always continues. Providing safety on the homefront and being part of a strong fighting force at sea is something Jacobs and his shipmates carry on with pride, tradition and dedication.
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