After making good time and getting replenished along the way, USS Harry S. Truman will arrive off the Gulf Coast on Sunday to start providing Katrina aid:
The SH-60 Seahawk and Army UH-60 Blackhawks scheduled to come aboard will fly to and from the ship with food, water and other supplies for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
“We have more than 20,000 bottles of water and more than 17,000 [meals, ready to eat],” said Supply Officer Cmdr. John Palmer, of Lexington, Ky. We also have cots, sheets and blankets, said Palmer.
Truman is scheduled to arrive off the Gulf Coast early Sunday morning, and one of her tasks will be to support the helicopters bringing these items ashore.
“We are unsure of how many helos will come aboard, but it will probably be between 30 and 40,” said Truman’s Air Boss, Cmdr. Doug Carsten of Byron, Mich. “We talked with our counterparts on the West Coast, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), who helped in a similar mission during the tsunami relief. They were doing up to 90 missions a day. I think we can match that here aboard Truman.”
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