ACU-4 Lands Where Other Can't

USS KEARSARGE, At Sea (NNS) -- The Landing Craft Air Cushions (LCAC), operated by Assault Craft Unit 4 (ACU 4), play a vital role in the mission of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3).

The LCACs cost $32 million, and can land on more than 70 of the beaches around the world. With 17,000 horsepower, they can carry more than 25 people at a time, fit almost every piece of rolling stock the Marine Corps offers, and can carry up to 380,000 pounds.

The LCACs are designed to be sea-to-shore connectors, transporting Marines, equipment, cargo and other personnel from Navy ships to shore. The Navy first began using LCACs in 1984. Mass production started in 1987, and more than 90 LCACs exist today. Today, ACU 4 has 39 LCACS in operation.

When visiting the crafts, the LCACs appear large from the outside, jammed full of Marine equipment, with huge propellers in the back to drive the craft.

Inside is tighter than one might expect. The main cabin is comprised of two levels. The one below is for riders, while right above is the pilothouse where most of the small crew sit and operate from.

The craft known as "LCAC 69", has "Star Wars" references plastered around the walls, in and outside. Inside on the main door, a "Sons of Anarchy" and Star Wars mash-up is evident with a metal sign that says "Sons of Anakin." On the outside, there is a big sign that identifies LCAC 69 as the Aluminum Falcon.

"The Star Wars theme was started by crew members that aren't even here anymore," said Boatswain's Mate First Class Timothy McGuire. "It comes from Robot Chicken, that T.V. show. The Aluminum Falcon is in that show. We just continue with it."

There are three LCAC crews aboard Kearsarge, and in fact, each crew has their own theme.

"Thirty-four has "Red Dawn", 36 has the grim reaper and 69 has snowflake," said Chief Gas Turbine System Technician (Electrical) James Bartone, 34 engineer, referencing the Star Wars Rebel Alliance logo on the Aluminum Falcon.

Each crew consists of only five members and a natural competitiveness exists between all three teams. A little friendly trash talking is fairly common throughout the day.

"It's competitive," said Quartermaster First Class Eric Davis, 34 navigator. "You always try to out do the other crafts. It's just a pride thing."

"Say they only took three loads today because they broke down and we took five," said Bartone. "Hey we carried the load today, things like that."

When preparing for an LCAC ride, the craft inflates with air. The LCAC actually hovers above the water even with all the weight the craft can actually carry. In transit, the crew speaks into mics to communicate with one another.

"It sits on 39 water-tight compartments," said Bartone. "It's basically one big buoyancy box afloat."

To travel in a LCAC might be compariable to an amusement park ride, bumping around trying to get a hold of ones senses.

"It beats you up, literally," said Bartone. "You're exhausted at the end of the day."

"The fact that we can operate in more places than conventional landing crafts can, that's really the biggest thing," said Senior Chief Gas Turbine Systems Technician Stephen Lowe. "Unlike conventional landing crafts, we are not constrained by our draft. We can operate in 70 to 80 percent of the world's beaches. Conventional craft can maybe operate in 10 to 15 percent of the world's beaches. We don't pull any draft in the water. If it's a shallow beach, or in cases like this part of the world where the tide goes out eight to ten feet in some places and you have 100 yards of mud flats before you get to the actual beach, we could go right across the top of the mud flats and land on dry sand."

Lowe is the lead chief petty officer of ACU 4 and a craft master, which is compariable to the captain of a ship.

"I've always told people it's the closest thing you can come to flying something without a college degree," said Lowe.

The crew does wear flight suits when they go out and they are technically in flight status. They have to go through all the flight physicals and extra things anyone in that status has to go through.

"We are on a cushion of air basically," said Bartone. "We are not displacing any water, so we are on top of the water, on top of the land. So technically we are six to eight feet off the ground."

The ability to move huge amounts of payloads with the kind of speed the LCAC can do is a big advantage over the Landing Craft Utility (LCU), which is a bigger landing craft. When compared, the LCAC is a newer technology than the LCU.

"The LCU max speed is about 12 knots," said Lowe. "Fifty knots is our max speed across water. Twenty-five knots is the max speed across land. Granted they have a little bit more deck space then we do, but we can move the equipment a lot quicker than they can."

As advanced as LCACs are, for all their power and features, they wouldn't go very far without a good crew that uses teamwork to get the job done.

"It is a five-man crew," said Lowe. "Craft master, engineer, navigator, deck engineer and a load master. Teamwork is vital. It's vital to mission success."

With such a small crew, each ACU 4 crewmember is vital to the mission.

"The craft master is overall in charge of the craft," said Lowe. "When you are moving across the water at 35 knots at night-time, and you can't see, you aren't just relying on a radar picture, you are relying on your navigator to tell you where the contacts are and the force and speed of the contacts. The engineer obviously is monitoring the equipment and engineering plan on the craft. Your loadmaster serves as your lookout while you are in the water, too. If you didn't have teamwork, you wouldn't have mission success."

"The camaraderie is awesome," said Bartone. "We are really close. You've got to be when it's only five of you operating the craft."

Each of the three crews keep vigilance over each other to make sure they all return home safe.

"One mistake can cost someone's life," said Davis.

The Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group, with the embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, is deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

For more news from USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), visit www.navy.mil/local/lhd3/ .