Monday, November 1, 2004 Matthew A. Russell has been an archeologist with the National Park Service Submerged Resources Center since 1993. He serves as Project Director for the USS Arizona Preservation Project.

A Day of Logistics

Mounting an operation in a place like Pearl Harbor takes a lot of logistics, and the first day of our operation is all about taking care of the details that will allow us to operate smoothly for the next three weeks. The first hurdle to overcome is to navigate the intricacies of the Pearl Harbor Naval Base Pass and ID office to get our rental vehicle the proper permits to allow it on base. Think DMV with Homeland Security on the brain. After two trips and a faxed letter from Doug Lentz, the USS Arizona Memorial Superintendent, we secured our pass and were ready to roll. Another key to operating independently at the Memorial is a 17-foot Boston Whaler the park uses to get its maintenance crews from the headquarters to and from the Memorial. This morning we launched the boat, secured slip space for it at the U.S. Navy’s Water Transport facility on Ford Island, and had the boat inspected by base security and approved for operation in and around Pearl Harbor – no mean feat considering the mix-up in communication with the security detail: someone had confused “National Park Service” with “National Security Service,” so the security crew thought they would be inspecting some kind of Navy SEAL-style craft on a top secret mission. Needless to say they were less than impressed with the Whaler, but signed off on it so we’re good to go. Meanwhile, other team members were making runs to Home Depot and Kmart to get last minute supplies, and moving the first load of gear out to the Memorial. While we’re working at the park, we typically stage most of our gear out of a storage room on the Memorial structure, out of view of the public. One of our over-riding principals while we’re working here is to minimize our impact on the visitor experience whenever possible. We take that seriously and try to maintain the solemn environment at the Memorial and cause the least disruption as possible; we do a pretty good job of it considering we have 4-5 divers on any given day, 3-4 topside scientists and support personnel, and a host of technical gear including underwater cameras and lights, scientific instruments and probes and an ROV. 

Travelin' light to Pearl Harbor. The FedEx drivers hate us. Photo by Brett Seymour.

The final task of the day is to meet the FedEx truck bearing the bulk of our gear from Santa Fe. While Fed Ex shareholders love us, we’re the FedEx drivers’ worst nightmare. We shipped nearly 1,200 lbs. of gear in 24 shipping cases – everything we need to mount a successful operation on Arizona: from dive gear and underwater communications equipment to photographic and video equipment, scientific probes and gauges to the ROV and all of its accessories, and everything in between. We don’t necessarily travel light, but since we end up moving everything about ten times as far as the Fed Ex guy, we don’t pack anything we don’t absolutely need.

The first day of any project is never fun, but its necessary and by the end of the day the gear is prepped and we’re poised to get in the water first thing in the morning. We’re excited and ready for our return to Arizona.

Dusk at Pearl Harbor, with USS Missouri (left) and the USS Arizona Memorial (right). Photo by Brett Seymour.