18page

IKE making preparations to move inland and stand up a continuity of operations center so the response could be coordinated from a safe distance. The Leonard E. Merrill Center, a 145,000 square-foot facility 25 miles west of Houston in Katy, would serve as a safe haven for nearly a week. Small boats from Station Galveston and the aids to navigation team were gathered in the parking lot and a command post was set up inside the one-time home of the National Indoor Football League Katy Copperheads. Three days later, Capt. Marcus Woodring, deputy commander of Sector Houston-Galveston, gathered his crew and prepared everyone for the long haul. “Get in touch with your families, find out where they are, and make sure they are safe. That’s our number one priority,” said Woodring. “Our job is to save lives, and that’s what we’re going to do after this storm comes by. Come Sunday morning, we’re going to go to work and we’re gong to go to work hard and fast. Things are already happening and the storm is not even here yet.” Crews had come from across the country to help. Together they worked around the clock to monitor the storm, begin early rescue efforts, monitor developments in the shipping channels, and make prepare for the eventual recovery. Hurricane Ike was already proving difficult and taking longer to arrive than forecasters predicted, leaving anxious crews with some spare time. Some watched college football, others played video games, basketball or cards. Some slept on cots in makeshift berthing areas on the gymnasium stage, on floors, or anywhere else they could find a spot. Some were lucky enough to find lodging in town. Hotel rooms were a hot commodity. Another hot commodity, food, was in steady supply thanks to the cooks from Sector Field Office Galveston who served three meals a day to everyone at the COOP, making sure the crew was energized for the response. They would need it after the massive storm came ashore with sustained winds of 110 mph. Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula took the brunt of the damage. The area was laid to ruins as the storm surge simply washed over the land. Thousands were left stranded and required rescue. Although Coast Guard air and boat crews ended up rescuing about 95 people, state and local crews had the lead and rescued hundreds more. The Coast Guardsmen were certainly glad to have the help. The enormous job of reopening commerce in these waters was still ahead. With the entire nation feeling the effects of Gustav and Ike at the pump, this was particularly important. The Dirty Work By PA3 Patrick Kelley, PADET Houston They work long hours and battle the unrelenting elements. They work with steel and wood and use sledgehammers and axes. They weld and drill and cut and hammer to carry out their mission. Yet, they live a life similar to that of an umpire; no mention means no problems. When Hurricane Ike slammed into Galveston and churned its way straight up the Houston Ship Channel this was no less true. The men and women of Aids to Navigation Team Galveston knew the work ahead was not only going to be extensive, but also vitally important to national commerce. The Port of Houston is home to a $15 billion petrochemical complex, the largest in the nation and second largest worldwide. As soon as Ike had past, the Coast Guard had boats on the water assessing damage. What the assessment revealed was staggering: 90 percent of the aids in the Houston Ship Channel had been moved out of place, damaged or destroyed. Recognizing the importance of the situation, Capt. William Diehl, commander of Coast Guard Sector Houston- Galveston and captain of the port, requested that almost all ATON resources on the Gulf of Mexico be dispatched to southeast Texas to help rebuild some of the nation’s most vital ports. This is how the BABY was born. Enter CWO Robert Gulihur, ATON officer at Sector Field Office Galveston. Gulihur is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the aids to navigation in the Houston and Galveston waterways, and oversees the buoy yard at the SFO. His buoy yard would temporarily become the largest and most significant collection of ATON equipment in the country, known simply as “BABY,” short for big ATON buoy yard. The BABY was the supply hub for all of the cutters and ATON crews involved in what Woodring called “the largest wateryway recovery in the history of the United States.” In all, four boats from ANT Galveston, two boats from ANT Corpus Christi, and the Coast Guard Cutters Hatchet, Clamp, Aftermath A member of Coast Guard Station Galveston surveys damage to the base following Hurricane Ike. Photo by PA1 Alan Haraf, 11th Dist. Waiting MK3 Andrew Berryman watches storm clouds pass through Katy, Texas, Sept. 12. Photo by PA3 Ayla Stevens, PADET Baltimore 32 Coast Guard — Issue 2, 2008 33 uscg.mil/mag Did you know? Ike was the third costliest hurricane in U.S. history at $31.5 billion. Only Katrina and Andrew caused more damage.