November 21, 2001

Worldwide adventure

Russ Merrick completes a round-the-world tour of duty

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
       Russ Merrick didn't know that joining the Coast Guard would be a ticket to see the world.
      The Petty Officer, second class, joined up five years ago, just out of high school. A native of Massachusetts, Merrick was no stranger to the water or sailing. He was intrigued with the chance to both serve his country and help people directly.
      "I came in thinking I'll be on boats saving people out of the water," Merrick recalled.
      He just never imagined he'd be doing it in South Africa - a destination off the beaten path for the branch of government charged with securing the coastline of the United States.
      But Merrick, now winding up his tour of duty at Air Station Traverse City, spent six months this year as part of a round-the-world mission. From January to July, he was stationed aboard the cutter Sherman, part of a cooperative training mission with the Navy.
      The dramatic rescue occurred as the Coast Guard crew was heading home after their tour of duty in the Persian Gulf. The ship sailed down the east coast of Africa when they heard an urgent distress call.
      A violent storm with 40-knot winds north of Cape Town had gripped a disabled car carrier, tossing it toward shore as cars in the hold flew about like toys. Fires in both the ship's engine and hold plus the looming shoreline required a quick rescue. Another ship attempting to help had been unsuccessful.
      The Sherman crew managed to take the ship into tow and save the car carrier's crew, ship and cargo. While doing so, many deck seaman laying out the rope for the tow were flung about on the rocking deck and hurt. Merrick and another crew member, both certified Emergency Medical Technicians, helped carry them to the ship's infirmary.
      "That was the worst weather I'd ever seen, like the movie 'The Perfect Storm,'" said Merrick, who videotaped much of the effort from the flight deck until he went to help his injured crewmates. "It looked like our ship was going to break in half."
      The dramatic rescue caught the attention of the government, media and people of South Africa, who turned out in droves to greet the Coast Guard heroes.
      "When we pulled into Cape Town two days later, a huge crowd of cheering people were there and the media," said Merrick, who brought home copies of the South African papers detailing the rescue. "Embassy people were all there to greet us, too."
      The ship's crew took all the attention in stride and the air crew gave a demonstration of the helicopter and rescue swimmer before leaving.
      This once-in-a-lifetime adventure began rather quietly last fall when Merrick saw the posting looking for air crew members. While the cutter Sherman had its own 180-member crew, the eight members of the air crew for the helicopter were pulled from around the country for the trip.
      A former high school exchange student with a penchant for studying maps and almanacs, Merrick put in a special request for the out-of-hemisphere deployment. He was pleased to be chosen as the only aviation technician for the six-month venture.
      The goal of the exercise was to help the Navy enforce United Nations sanctions against Iraq. For two months, the cutter cruised the Persian Gulf with two other Navy ships, stopping suspected smugglers trying to get oil out of Iraq for hard currency.
      "The Coast Guard are experts in the boarding of vessels," Merrick said. "We went over and conducted dozens of boarding in the Gulf looking for suspected smugglers."
      Merrick also got a taste of the tense atmosphere in the Middle East during his tour there. The ship's crew frequently saw Iraqi P3s, sub hunting intelligence planes, flying over at 20,000 feet
      Security at the Naval base in the southern part of the Gulf was very tight, supplemented by the presence of reserve Coast Guard units who escorted each ship into docking each night.
      "They weren't playing around, that's for sure," he said. "When you're going into port, a ship is very vulnerable. Like what happened to the US Cole, they were mooring to a pier, all looking to make sure they didn't crash into the pier, and this boat came from the other side and rammed them."
      Back in town four months, Merrick is now looking ahead to his next assignment. He applied for a position as a company commander (a drill instructor) at the Coast Guard training facility in Cape May, N.J.
      He is very excited about this position, believing that his great enthusiasm for the Coast Guard will help shape and motivate young recruits. He also sees it as an excellent step in what he plans will be a long career in the Coast Guard.
      "The whole idea is that I've had a blast and the past five years have gone by like that," Merrick said. "I've been all the way around the world, seen things most people never see. I get to fly in a beautiful helicopter and save people's lives."
      "It's been an awesome career opportunity and I can't imagine doing anything else."