Page8, Thursday, November 10, 1994,The Gazette Father, son serve together during JTF operations By MSgt.L.P.:Cabal,Jr. MarFor, Joint Task Force - 160 When 20-year-old Christopher A. Abbott of Lewistown, Mont., enlisted in the Marine'Corps Reserve this past June, he had no idea that he would be serving alongside his father on foreign soil just five months later. "I joined the reserves for the extra money that I would need for my education," said the third year psychology major at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. "When I reported to the Reserve Center in Johnson City, Tenn., I was asked if I would be interested in volunteering for a humanitarian deployment to Cuba. I was told that we would be helping to provide external security for the Cuban and Haitianmigrant camps at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. I thought the experience would be great and said, 'yes.' "In September, when I got accepted for the assignment, I called my dad, a chief warrant officer with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C., to brag about it because I knew he was scheduled to deploy to Okinawa, Japan, next June." CWO-3 Richard A.Abbott, a veteran of nearly 26 years service in the Corps and a strong believer in education, advised his son to stay in school. He then informed the hard-charging Private First Class that 1st Bn, 2nd Marines was also on the list of Marine units selected to take part in Operation Sea Signal and that he, too, was headed for Cuba. Only the elder Abbott didn't realize the execution order for his infantry battalion would be givenjust two hours after that telephone conversation on September 11. "I got real excited when I found out that I would actually get a chance to serve with my father in Cuba," exclaimed the young rifleman, "especially since he is on active duty and I am a reservist." CWO-3 Abbott was at Camp Tarawa to welcome his son to the "Pearl of the Antilles" when Company F, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines reported for duty with Joint Task Force - 160 on October 22. "Despite my desire for Christopher to remain at the university and continue his education, I was proud to see my son, here," said the gunner. "I guess I, too, never thought that we would get to serve together." Following a quick personal ground orientation and situation briefing during that initial encounter, the Abbotts have not had much of an opportunity to socialize due to conflicting work schedules. "I may be here into next year," -o U Pfc.ChristopherA. Abbott and CWO3Richard A. Abbott, father and son, found a few minutes to visit with one another during their busy schedules of helping with migrant operations here. Photo by MSgt. L.P. Cabal, Jr. claimed the elder Abbott, "But Chris is just here for a 30-day pump. For now, we just plan to hook up for dinner one evening before he ships out later this month. We did connect to get a birthday present for his sister, Allynne, though," he chuckled. "This deployment has been every bit as interesting and exciting as I imagined," said Pfc. Abbott. "It has really shocked me to see how much people are willing to go through to get a chance to live in the United States," he com- mented, referring to the Cuban migrant's dangerous and sometimes fatal attempts to sail the 90 miles of Caribbean Sea between Cuba and Florida on homemade rafts and boats. "Most of them seem like really good people and I wish them a lot of luck getting there," he continued. "I am personally, however, looking forward to getting back to the dormitory at school, myself, where I won't have to live inthe dirt and I can get a hot shower every night." Coast Guard cutters play important role in saving migrants By Spec. Dee Constant Joint Task Force - 160 Public Affairs When we hear of someone walking the plank an image of Captain Hook forcing Peter Pan into shark-infested waters may come to mind. However, when the captain of the United States Coast Guard Cutter Chandeleur has someone walk the plank, it is from shark-infested waters and danger to safety. The Chandeleur is one of the many Coast Guard cutters that plucked migrants from the oceans this summer. The crew has saved thousands of Haitian and Cuban rafters. "We patrolled the waters and whenever we saw the migrants we would pull them from their crafts," said Lt. Glenn F. Grahl, commanding officer of the Chandeleur. "I hesitate to call them craftsbecause in many cases the migrants were in little more than floating debris. We've pulled them from tire tubes, 50-gallon oil drums Soldier gets splashed during promotion Sergeant First Class Joseph Pierre-Louis, a Haitian interpreter for camp seven, was recently drenched with acoolerfuli of ice water during his promotion ceremony. Nearly all of the migrants ofcampseven and a group of Haitian interpreters turned out in a camp formation to participate in theoccasion. Pierre-Louis, from the 21st Combat Support Hospital, Fort Hood, Tx., has been involved in Operation Sea SignalsinceJunewhen he wasontheUSNS Comfort in Kingston, Jamaica.1 Photo by Cpl. Jim Davis. and even upside down truck cap covers. "We've seen more than our share of dehydrated people. Because many of the crafts would capsize soon after leaving shore some of these people spent many days without any food or water," Grahl explained. "As soon as we pulled them aboard we would assess their medical condition and begin rehydrating them. We had to airlift some of the migrants whose medical situations required more attention than we could provide," Grahl added. The crew rescued hundreds of migrants daily throughout the summer. "It almost became routine. Someone would spot a vessel or sometimes just a person in the water, we'd bring the migrants aboard, give them medical care, water and food. Within 24 hours we would pull alongside a U.S. Navy ship and then the migrants would walk the plank from the cutter to the Navy ship," explained Lt. j.g. Roberto Muniz, executive officer of the Chandeleur. The Chandeleur is the second smallest class of cutter in the Coast Guard. It is a 110-foot patrol boat, based in Miami Beach with U.S. Coast Guard Group Miami. The crew's usual primary mission is maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, boating safety and random boardings, according to Grahl. Now the cutters primary mission is harbor defense in Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien. They leave ahead of the larger cutters that are repatriating Haitians. "We go ahead of the bigger ships to clear the channels. The harbors are full of small rowboats, canoes, sailboats and other vessels. We need to secure an area large enough for the cutters to safely enter the port," Muniz said. Aside from securing a safe entry for repatriating Haitians, the crew's other mission is to protect the cutters from barterers. "As soon as the Haitians see a Coast Guard cutter enter the harbor, they swarm around it trying to trade things like dried fish for U.S. dollars. It is our responsibility to keep these people from the ships," Muniz said. While this mission is quite different from the Chandeleur's normal duties the crew's attitude is not. "Our crew is tight. We have worked many 48-hour shifts yet no one complains. Everyone knows the routine, what's got to be done, and we do it. Ifsomeone is too busy, one of us will fill his position, take up the slack, that's what this is all about," said Petty Officer 1st Class David Pilitowski, quartermaster and ships navigator. Although the Chandeleur has logged many hours these last months there have been no injuries or safety problems, according to Grahl. "My crew has made our very difficult missions appear routine. They were obviously proud of the job they were doing. I'm proud of them, too," Grahl concluded. Name: Lt.Col. Henry O'Neal, commander, 6th Air Transportable Hospital Home station: 6th Medical Group, MacDill AFB, Fla. Education: Bachelor of Science in biology from Tuskegee University in Alabama and Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Florida Specialty: Internal medicine Home town: Sylacauga, Ala. Family: Wife, San; sons, Patrick and Conor; and daughters, Kyndal and Taylor Hobbies: "Jogging, walking, listening Doctor O'Neal to music and catching a little quiet time when I can get it." Philosophy of leadership: "Lead by example, keep an open mind and be flexible. There's more than one way to do the things we do; allow your subordinates to do theirjobs." Goal for medical care at Gitmo: "Maintain an effective blend of care for the Haitian and Cuban migrants and, as much as possible, make it the same sidardz as Li e U.n' ted 'at.'