Westside Story Newspaper – Online The News of The Empire – Sharing the Quest for Excellence
By Chief Mass Communication Specialist Bill Steele, Navy Office of Community Outreach
(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— SAN DIEGO, CA— A 1997 Mojave High School graduate and Hesperia, California, native is serving aboard an Avenger mine countermeasure ship designed to clear mines from vital waterways across the globe.
Chief Petty Officer Martin Benitez is a Navy damage controlman serving aboard USS Champion under the command of Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.
As a Navy damage controlman, Benitez is responsible for maintaining watertight integrity of the ship, ensuring that damage done to the ship is repaired properly, and training the crew on firefighting methods.
“There’s a lot of training that goes into being a damage controlman,” said Benitez. “Overall my job is helping my shipmates move up into training positions and spreading knowledge.”
Mine countermeasure ships are designed as mine sweepers/hunter-killers capable of finding, classifying and destroying moored and bottom mines. These ships use sonar and video systems, cable cutters and a mine detonating device that can be released and detonated by remote control.
Hunting mines is a slow, laborious task that requires a ship to stay in a small area until it’s done, according to the Navy. Since 1945, mines have sunk almost four times more U.S. ships than all other threats combined, said Navy officials.
The worldwide threat, which today totals more than a million weapons of some 300 different types, comprises rudimentary but still-dangerous World War I-era contact mines to highly sophisticated, multiple-influence and programmable weapons, reports the Navy. These figures are for sea mines, proper; they do not include underwater-improvised explosive devices that can be fashioned from fuel bladders, 50-gallon drums, and even discarded refrigerators.
The ships deploy a remotely operated mine disposal system and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) mine neutralization system. The disposal system detects, locates, classifies and neutralizes moored mines and mines resting on the seabed. The vehicle uses high-frequency, high-resolution sonar, low light level television, cable cutters and explosive charges to detect and dispose of mines, while remaining tethered to the vessel by a cable and under control of the vessel. Each ship accommodates a crew of 80.
“Serving on a minesweeper, you form a small brotherhood and family,” Benitez said.
As part of the Navy, Benitez explained that sailors are helping to build a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes, including helping to develop new war-fighting capabilities to continue the Navy’s success on the world’s oceans.
“The Navy has blessed me and my family. I’m trying to pay it forward by helping others get to the position that I’m in,” said Benitez. “It’s a privilege to serve.”
