Supplies at sea

"Shoot the lines," orders a voice from the bridge of the aircraft carrier USS Constellation over the ship's loudspeaker. Several decks below on the hangar level, a gunner's mate heeds the order by raising the barrel of his M-16 rifle and firing at a fast-approaching ship about 200 yards off the Constellation's portside. A booming noise echoes off the 20-foot ceiling of the aircraft carrier's garage. The sailor has hit his target. The Constellation however, is not engaging the neighboring vessel in battle. Instead, the carrier is firing off the first of several nylon lines and coiled wires that will attach the high-speed Navy cargo ship, the Rainier, to the carrier to provide one of its regular at-sea pit stops for fuel, supplies and bombs.

"Without this, we could not sustain our operations at sea," says Chief Warrant Officer Mike Frost, who oversees the linkup.

As the United States teeters on the brink of war with Iraq, the routine replenishment operation takes on a new importance, serving as a reminder that without solid logistics operations the Constellation would have to make regular port calls and perhaps even delay some of its flights.

Over about three hours, the Constellation will receive 800,000 gallons of diesel boat fuel and 650,000 gallons of jet fuel. The fuel runs through black hoses that unfurl like snakes from towering steel poles on the Rainier and travel across tension lines to large receiving valves on the side of the carrier.

Additionally, two Seahawk cargo helicopters will use large hooks dangling from their underbellies to carry about 250 wooden pallets, weighing over 5 tons apiece, from the cargo ship to the carrier's flight decks. Those pallets contain everything from missiles to bananas.

"Complacency is the biggest danger," says Frost, noting that the Constellation has already been replenished more than 30 times since being deployed last November. Still, Frost's well-worn manual on replenishment at sea-which is 10 chapters long and an inch-and-a half thick-hints that the exchange is no small technical feat. Frost says the key is for both ships to maintain the same course and speed. On a bright morning with calm seas in the Persian Gulf, both ships stay side by side at about 13 knots.

Like most military operations, replenishment at sea has its share of traditions. Both ships always exchange special cargo with one another. The Rainier sends over Starbucks coffee, while the Constellation returns the favor with a batch of peanut-butter cookies--"the captain's favorite," Frost notes.