Stars and Stripes:
This 7,000-ton guided-missile destroyer can knock out a ballistic missile and defend itself from attack at the same time. Just don’t expect its industrial washers to safely clean decorative bunting.
That’s what Petty Officer 2nd Class Isaac Payne learned when he was handed several bags of red, white and blue decorations last month, all to be readied to hang on the ship’s rails before its arrival in Spain. The Carney’s industrial washers and dryers would have ruined the delicate fabric.
“It’s got to be hand-washed and scrubbed,” Payne said.
So it goes on one of the U.S. Navy’s most technically advanced warships, which will make its first missile patrol in November.
Loaded with political and strategic significance because of its Aegis ballistic-missile defense system, the Carney is home to a workforce that includes cooks and clothes washers in addition to engineers and boatswain’s mates. All play a role in keeping the ship at sea, its officers say.
“One thing we always tell sailors is there is no one job greater than any other job,” the Carney’s executive officer, Cmdr. Peter Halversen, said.
The Carney and its crew of about 300 officers and sailors arrived in Rota, Spain, on Sept. 25, one of four American guided-missile destroyers that will make regular ballistic-missile defense patrols in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Only a few officers and sailors have any direct role in the missile-defense system; much of the crew works to keep the ship’s propulsion and life-support systems going. Many sailors juggle multiple roles, something common to the Navy’s smaller ships, which include frigates, destroyers and cruisers.
Payne is the ship’s barber on most mornings. In the afternoons, he helps wash clothes — about 350 pounds each day — and manages inventory for the ship’s store. He also suits up for regular damage-control drills.
The ship’s medical officer, Senior Chief Petty Officer Noel Martinez, acts as the local health inspector, checking the ship’s galley and the cleanliness of its water supply when not updating medical files or scheduling immunizations.
“Downtime? When I sleep,” Martinez said with a laugh, “usually at the end of the day. And that’s if we don’t have someone who’s ill or gets ill in the middle of the night.”
Petty Officer 2nd Class Branden Rabb maintains damage-control equipment like oxygen masks and radios from a small space below deck. He stands watch in the engine room and participates in several damage-control drills a week…
