USNS Lummus staff plant trees in Koblerville

The Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Three staff, a group of 10 military personnel from the USNS 1ST Lt Jack Lummus—the flagship of a squadron of 10 ships often seen anchored off the Saipan lagoon—participated in last month’s Beautify CNMI tree planting activity at the Koblerville Youth Center and Substation.

U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Don Wilson, Community Relations Project Coordinator for the U.S. Navy command involved, said the group’s interest in local community involvement was sparked in part after their participation in the 4th of July parade introduced them to the friendliness of the Saipan community.

“We want the Saipan community to know that there are active duty military personnel on the island,” Wilson explained in an e-mail to the Saipan Tribune. “While most of the community is already aware of our ships anchored off the coast throughout the year, very few people in the community know much about the ships or their assigned personnel.

“The MPSRON THREE Staff is always willing to share our stories with those we meet around the community. Our desire to make our presence known in the Saipan community is definitely what supplied the motivation that led us to volunteer in the efforts of Beautify CNMI,” Wilson said.

Because the staff were given short notice about the activity, only four staff members were able to participate. “We look forward to greater participation in the future,” promised Wilson.

The COMREL coordinator elaborated on the staff’s desire to increase their presence in the community and said, “While the desire to become more active in the Saipan community existed before the command’s participation in the 4th of July parade, it did increase our desire to participate in other community functions and activities around the island.”

The squadron of ships that the MSPRON THREE staff serve can be seen off the Saipan coast 70-80 percent of the time. Five of the ships are usually anchored off Garapan, while the squadron constantly rotates the other five ships between Saipan, Guam, Korea and Japan.

“While it is rare for the ships to be called away all our ships are required to be ready to sail with less than 12 hours of notification,” Wilson said. All of the ships are known to leave in advance of extreme weather, but, Wilson noted, “sometimes the schedules all line up and we are all at sea at the same time for training.”

The MPSRON THREE staff visit Saipan daily when their work is complete, but because they are all currently serving a one to one-and-a-half year tour in a continuously forward deployed status, none of them live on Saipan.[B][I] (Caroline Lochabay)[/I][/B]