Damage Control Aboard The USS Obama

Aboard a US naval vessel, damage control parties swing into action after engaging in hostile actions where the ship takes a hit. Every man is assigned a specific function in order to maintain the vessel's structural integrity and save lives.

On October 12, 2000, damage control was vital to the survival of the missile frigate, USS Cole, after it received a devastating hit while anchored in the Yemeni harbor at Aden. Terrorists had loaded a small craft with explosives and pulled along side the Cole. The explosion killed 17 American sailors and injured 39 others.

In the above photo, notice the gaping hole amidships on the port side at the waterline. After being damaged by the terrorists, the Cole is towed out to sea by fleet ocean tug USNS Catawba where the the Norwegian navy heavy salvage ship MV Blue Marlin (pictured below) awaits to receive her.

The MV Blue Marlin carried the Cole back to the States where she arrived in Pascagoula, Mississippi on December 24, 2000, at the Northrop Grumman Ship Systems repair facility. It required 14 months of work to repair the damage from the explosion. Upon completion of repairs, the Cole left the facility on April 19, 2002, and returned to her home port at Norfolk, Virginia. She is currently deployed in the Middle East off the coast of Lebanon.

Damage control is also a vital component for politicians. Just watching the media brouhaha over the not so Reverend Wright's incontinent remarks is a revelation on how political damage control is achieved. Allow me to draw some possible inferences.

In the photograph above, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is shown preparing his explosive racist, anti-American remarks at a terrorist training facility known as the Trinity Unity Church of Christ.

In the above photo, the Rev. Wright is shown exploding alongside the USS Obama. Please notice the gaping hole amidships between the USS Obama's ears.

The damage control team aboard the USS Obama went into action immediately after the explosion. Sensing that this was a deep, penetrating hit, the team immediately lightened the vessel for high speed zig-zagging by throwing common sense overboard. This allowed the damaged craft to put distance between itself and further reality-based fusillades by stating that the USS Obama rejects the racist, hate-filled remarks of Rev. Wright.

These claims were made despite the fact that the USS Obama has used the Rev. Wright and his terrorist training facility as a homeport for over twenty years. The Rev. Wright has even served aboard the Obama as a Navigator, providing mentoring and spiritual advice. The USS Obama and crew (Mrs. Obama and children) have also sheltered in this port and donated tens of thousands of dollars towards its maintenance.

Repairs on the USS Obama have yet to be completed as it is still in transit, towed by the mass media salvage craft, the USS Hypocrites.

The Obama's sister ship, the USS Clinton, has remained adrift at sea after shooting itself in the rudder during live fire manuvers. Attempts to restore steering control aboard the USS Clinton by replacing the helmsman have as yet proved meaningless since the Captain of this vessel has long since thrown off her mooring lines, burned her charts and eaten most of her crew.

Because of its previous involvement with the salvage of the Obama, the USS Hypocrites is not able to respond to the stricken USS Clinton as it flounders in the Primary Sea.