On the high seas, battering winds howl through the mast, blowing waves tall enough to crash over the forward decks some 60 feet above the water level. USS Spruance (DDG 111) pulls alongside a U.S. replenishment vessel at a distance a professional quarterback could throw a long pass.

One of the most complicated procedures a Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer like Spruance can perform is a replenishment-at-sea, or RAS, as deckplate Sailors' shorthand goes. On its current deployment, Spruance has conducted 10 separate RAS evolutions, taken in more than 2.5 million gallons of diesel and aircraft-grade fuel, as well as 400 pallets worth $1 million in supplies for the ship and her Sailors.

"It's a big adrenaline rush seeing two very large ships pull alongside each other," said Boatswain's Mate 3rd Class Michael Defries, master helmsman aboard Spruance.

Defries is one of the few qualified Sailors assigned to keep Spruance's precision alignment during the high-stress evolution.

"Being on the bridge driving [the ship] alongside, we have to have our head on a swivel, as anything could cause harm to the ship or personnel," Defries said. "Everyone is aware of the risk when pulling alongside; all of us come together, always looking out for each other, knowing that people can get hurt."

Occasionally, the ship conducts several RAS evolutions over a short period of time. During one particular nine-day span, Spruance conducted three replenishments, including one with Royal Australian navy ship HMAS Success (OR 304).

"We have a saying in Deck Division," said Defries. "When the seas are smooth, things will run rough; when the seas are rough, things will run smooth."

Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Matthew Merhige, from Cleveland, has been with Spruance for more than 100 separate RAS evolutions, each presenting its own challenges.

"This is one of the most difficult things we do," Merhige said. "It takes time to get used to it. Everything we do in Deck Division is a little dangerous."

Merhige serves as the petty officer-in-charge on the cargo transfer station aboard Spruance. There, a thick, braided-steel cable stretches between the destroyer and the transfer ship, which is used to send a hook device, known as a trolley, between the ships.

Slung below the trolley are hundreds of pounds of cargo, comprised of equipment, food and much-coveted mail. An intricate system of pulleys and electric motors send the load to Spruance, where it is lowered and handled by waiting Sailors who are specially trained to operate in the precarious environment.

"It's dangerous, but it comes down to the Sailors on deck and the bond you have," Merhige said. "It's difficult to know what to do if something goes wrong, but once you shake the goosebumps off, you're golden."

As the ship receives the pallets, it is simultaneously taking on hundreds of thousands of gallons of aircraft-grade fuel for embarked helicopters and diesel fuel to keep the twin, three-story tall propellers churning through the water. Thousands of gallons of fuel flow through 7-inch rubber hoses each minute at incredible pressure between the two ships.

Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Mechanical) 1st Class Thomas Paz, known as the ship's oil king, is the Sailor ultimately responsible for directing fuels to the appropriate holding tanks aboard Spruance and also checking their quality.

"Imagine trying to fill up your car while the gas station is moving," Paz said of the intricacies of a RAS. "Everyone's nerves are high initially due to the fact that with the smallest misalignment, or if the pressure doesn't stabilize, the consequences are huge."

As a supervisor, Paz is also responsible for the technical training of his personnel involved with the RAS evolution.

"We have become very proficient with the (RAS) evolutions thus far," Paz said. "We continue to learn and improve our abilities as well, and the training never stops."

The stress of the environment is not limited to the main decks where the heavy lifting goes on, or the engineering spaces where the volatile fuels are routed and held. On the bridge, several watchstanders are scanning the horizon for potential collisions with other surface vessels. The conning officer, also known as the conn, is responsible for maintaining constant speed and the precise spacing between the two haze-gray hulls.

"My first time as conn was knee-buckling; I wanted to vomit," Cmdr. Manuel Hernandez, Spruance's commanding officer, recalled. "I was so nervous, because each Sailor understands that if you don't execute, if you don't perform at your highest level, your Sailors can get hurt. It is up to you, the conn, to bring the ship alongside the supply ship."

Positioned on the forecastle of the ship, standing up against the salty waves crashing over the bow, are a group of Sailors handling the phone and distance line -- a single rope stretched taut between the two ships with attached markers to indicate the spacing between the ships.

"Every single individual on the RAS detail is going through the same feelings," Hernandez said. "They do it with so much honor and courage and passion, because they know if they don't perform under those physically and mentally challenging conditions, that creates a dangerous situation."

Sonar Technician (Surface) 3rd Class Jennifer Greenlee, a Monroe, North Carolina, native is one of Spruance's newest Sailors who joined the ship shortly before departing San Diego in April. Since embarking the ship, she has been part of every RAS evolution this deployment.

"You really get a good workout," Greenlee remarked with a smile, but that smile quickly turned stern as she retold how it is to be one of the phone and distance line handlers. "I had no idea what I was getting myself into at first. It gets tiring fast; you are always getting pulled toward the edge of the deck. But you just dig deep and stick it out."

As Spruance continues its mission in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility, the ship has several more RAS evolutions to coordinate before the deployment ends. Each one will receive the same intense training, planning and scrutiny as the previous evolution; ensuring safety is the ultimate objective. When the RAS concludes, all controlling petty officers, chief petty officers and officers will convene to debrief and talk about any issues that came up -- what went wrong and what went right.

"At the end, we get to talk about how it went," Merhidge said. "It (the RAS) brings Sailors closer together because we went through the hard part together."

Spruance and guided-missile destroyers USS Momsen (DDG 92) and USS Decatur (DDG 73), and embarked "Warbirds" and "Devilfish" detachments of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 49, are deployed in support of maritime security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific as part of a U.S. 3rd Fleet Pacific
Surface Action Group under Commander, Destroyer Squadron (CDS) 31.

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