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sailors began an 18-day training mission to prepare for deployment somewhere in the eastern portion of the Pacific Ocean and beyond. Training includes helicopter and Harrier operations, fire drills, "mass-casualty" drills and a mock assault on the beach at Camp Pendleton.

Three ships similar to the Bonhomme Richard are already in or near the Middle East: the USS Bataan in the Mediterranean, the USS Pelelieu in the Indian Ocean and the USS Essex off Japan.

The big-deck ships - each of which costs more than $1 billion - have been used for humanitarian as well as military missions because of their cargo-hauling and medical capabilities.

The Bonhomme Richard is set to deploy in January, although the order could come sooner. Capt. Rolf Yngve, the ship's executive officer, said the ship's orders are to "get to the highest readiness state as soon as we can."

If needed, the Bonhomme Richard and the two smaller ships in its group, the Pearl Harbor and the Ogden, could be in the Persian Gulf within 30 days. The Pearl Harbor and Ogden also carry Marines, including combat engineers, and heavy equipment that could be used to cut roads in rocky  terrain.

Do the ready groups deploy with Navy SEALs, capable of covert operations? "We have a wide range of capabilities," said Capt. Christopher Ames, commodore for the Bonhomme Richard amphibious ready group.

Would the group be able to land enough troops and gear near a landlocked country such as Afghanistan, 300 miles from the nearest ocean? "We have quite a reach," he said.

Still, there is a sense aboard the Bonhomme Richard that the world seems to pay little attention to the amphibious assault ships.

"You turn on the Discovery Channel and you see carriers and submarines but nobody does anything on amphibious assault ships," said Jonathan England, an electronics technician.

"We don't get a lot of recognition," said Jason James, also an electronics technician. "But even if people don't know it, we're out there doing the job, and that's what's important."

Capt. De Geus concedes that the Bonhomme Richard and other ships of its class have been called floating

shoe boxes, but he rejects the idea that they are not as attractive as the Navy's better-known ships.

"I think she's the most beautiful ship I've ever seen," he said.

Editors note:
For shipmates not fortunate enough to attend the last reunion in San Diego - or shipmates who didn't take the LSD tour while in San Diego, the USS Pearl Harbor was the ship the group toured. It is the newest, and probably last, LSD to be built. According to the ships website (http://www.surfpac.navy.mil/shipsnav/pearl/pearlhme.htm) the ship, USS PEARL HARBOR (LSD 52) was built by Avondale Industries in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was commissioned on May 30, 1999.

The website also states that "The PEARL HARBOR is the last of the United States Navy's four new cargo variants of the Whidbey Island Class (LSD 41) of Landing Dock Ships. "

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