Restoration and Repair Update

OPERATIONS BERTHING

We renovated the Operations Department Berthing around the Mount 52 handling room. Both the Operations and Weapons Berthing areas were missing a significant amount of lagging material in the overhead and bulkheads. This resulted in a significant heat stress factor in both compartments, particularly during the summer months. We determined that the best option to reduce the heat levels was to use a blow-in insulation solution to improve the efficiency of our future air conditioning system. With assistance from a local insulation company, Koala Insulation, we finished the work in September and there was an immediate reduction in the heat levels. Here is a picture of the insulation on the starboard side of Operations Berthing

We have continued restoration of the compartment with a paint job by David and Company, our painting sponsor, and installation of plexiglass walls to protect the museum artifacts. We will include a working model of the pre-modernized Orleck along with other ship models and artifacts from the ship’s 53 years of service.

WARDROOM

We received a donation from a local carpet installation company, All About Floors, who installed carpeting in the Wardroom. We also installed a push pin map so that our visitors could show us their hometowns.

NEW EXHIBITS

We have two exciting new exhibits that are now on display. The first one, located in the Pilot House, is a video describing the actual events during Orleck’s train busting mission during the Korean War. The second exhibit uses holographic technology in the Combat Information Center (CIC) to describe a Cold War scenario.

Korean War Train Buster

The USS Orleck was the charter member of the Korean War Train Buster Club when it destroyed two North Korean supply trains in 1952. Using information gathered from books and an eyewitness account from Roy Yater, we developed a video that commemorates that mission and placed it on the bridge where the mission was coordinated from. We were also fortunate to receive a visit by the son of an Orleck crew member who was aboard Orleck at the time, and he provided a copy of the certificate that his father and other crew members received for being onboard during the mission. The certificate is on display to the right of the video monitor.

Russian Submarine Encounter

Our most recent new exhibit is called the Russian Submarine Encounter, which is in the Combat Information Center or CIC. It is a holographic display that describes a realistic encounter between a U.S. Navy Carrier Battlegroup and a Russian submarine during the Cold War. CIC is positioned like the ship is underway conducting Anti-Submarine Warfare operations with red lighting, radar repeaters sweeping, and both the sonar stack and underwater battery fire control system in full display. The holographic officer describes in detail the events that transpired when conducting operations against a potentially hostile submarine.

SUPPORT TO THE COMMUNITY

Orleck provides a platform for local organizations to perform training and other efforts to improve their mission effectiveness. One organization is the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) Diving Team. The JSO Diving Team used Orleck on numerous occasions for training on explosive ordinance removal for vessels as seen in the picture below.

We also supported a Virtual Reality (VR) class taught at the University of North Florida in the Fall Semester. One group of students focused on a day in the life of a sailor, filming in the berthing compartments, the mess decks, and various watch stations. The other group focused on our Engineering Department, recording areas of the aft Fireroom and Engineroom. Once the recordings were completed, the students added an audio description to each space. Once you put the VR headset on, it feels as though you are inside the space with a “virtual” docent telling everything to know about what you are looking at. Hopefully, we will have these recordings available on a link to our website. Stay tuned.

Nadia Seesock, our events and volunteer coordinator, has been busy scheduling and planning multiple events over the past six months. Events included commemoration of the Korean War Armistice, ship reunions, Navy re-enlistments and retirement ceremonies, the veterans’ run, and many party and social events onboard the ship and Navy Pier.

Korean War Armistice Commemoration

The Orleck Museum conducted our second annual commemoration of the Korean War Armistice on 25 July 2024. Korean War veterans, friends and family attended this event to recognize their service and sacrifices during the war.

Sea Scouts from Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Young Marines also supported the ceremony.

Vet The Vote

On 5 December, we hosted a Vet the Vote event honoring those veterans who supported the elections process on 12 November.

Historic Naval Ship Association (HNSA) Conference

Members from the Jacksonville Naval Ship Association attended their first HNSA Conference on the USS Midway Museum in September and had the opportunity to brief attendees on the steps it took to get the USS Orleck to its new home of Jacksonville, Florida. Our members also learned of a variety of ways to increase the number of visitors and volunteers to our museum, which we are currently implementing on the Orleck.

September 2024 Chief Petty Officer (CPO) Training

Orleck was proud to support CPO training events in September 2024. Numerous local Navy Commands used the ship to conduct various exercises for the training, providing real-life shipboard experience for all selectees, and we are looking forward to supporting them in years to come.

K9’s For Warriors

Our Restoration and Repair Officer, MACM Charlie Davis, USN, (Ret.)  and his service dog Lady welcomed Ms. Jeannie Blaylock from Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate First Coast News onboard to film a documentary in support of the Veteran’s Day Telethon in support of K9s for Warriors.

The Orleck also provided a unique opportunity for many of K9s and their veterans to train aboard a naval warship.

Veteran’s Day

We opened on Veteran’s Day to a beautiful view of sunrise under the Hart Bridge over the St. John’s River.

We welcomed back several Orleck Crewmembers for their annual informal reunion. In addition to the 15 U.S. Navy veterans, many of whom were visiting the Orleck’s new homeport of Jacksonville, Florida, for the first time, we were honored to have retired Captain Zafer Karaboga from the Turkish Navy as our guest. Captain Karaboga served onboard the TCG Yucetepe (Orleck) for five years as both the Electrical Engineering Officer and Anti-Submarine Officer. We look forward to working with CAPT Karaboga on learning more about the ship’s service in the Turkish Navy. We also took the opportunity to interview and record stories from former Orleck crewmembers for inclusion in our Veterans’ Museum.

Pearl Harbor Day

In commemoration of Pearl Harbor, the Orleck hosted its inaugural car show and other solemn events to recognize those who gave the ultimate sacrifice on 7 December 1941.

During the car show there was also a Missing Man Table ceremony performed in the drone hangar of the ship presented by Pat Mulvihill with the Rotary Club of North Jacksonville with assistance from the U.S. Navy JR ROTC Cadets, an Instructor from the First Coast High School in North Jacksonville and the National POW/MIA Memorial & Museum.

The Two Bells ceremony was also held at noon in honor of Pearl Harbor with Chaplain Monsignor Desmond O’Connor Retired and First Coast High School Jr ROTC Cadets U.S. Navy Under Leadership of CWO 4 Allan Layne USN (Ret.)

Volunteers, both as Docents and Maintainers, are critical to the success of the Orleck Museum. Many of our volunteers are active-duty sailors from Naval Station Mayport and Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Sailors from HSM-46 assisted in a field day of the HT Shop and ship wide cleanup in preparation for Veteran’s Day events. CWO2 Smith was also selected as the Orleck Museum’s Volunteer of the Year for 2024 for his countless hours of assistance throughout the year. Thank you, Chris!

Other active-duty sailors supported the painting of the Chief Petty Officer’s Berthing Compartment and the transfer of dummy 5-inch 38 caliber ammunition from Mount 51 to the Mt 52 Handling Room.

USS Orleck offers opportunities for students as well as Adults to participate in our S-S-T-E-A-M-H (Seamanship, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics and History) Programs. A Navy ship is a veritable crucible of SSTEAM-H functions and opportunities. Our efforts on Orleck are meant to promote knowledge in each of those areas in a way that is fun and educational. We have hosted SSTEAM-H Training as a part of our tours, and as separate events as requested and integrated into the tours. We can provide insights into marlinspike seamanship, meteorology, radio-controlled devices, how to use and exploit steam for naval purposes, drawing and painting afloat and ashore, mathematics of weapons design and function, and a full range of Naval history subjects from ancient battles and tactics to modern warfare, along with the ship itself as a piece of American and Turkish military history. Topics such as First Aid, Navigation, Logistics, and maintenance practices are also available. Those members and guests interested in a specific topic or series of topics can contact our SSTEAM-H coordinator at [email protected] or check out our website!

On November 13, 2024, we hosted 70 students from Ascension Catholic School onboard for a tour and training on the history of the American Flag and meteorology.

Flag Flying

We have instituted a U.S. Flag flying program where we will fly the flag on the ship in honor of someone on a specified date. We also provide a Certificate of Authenticity. Please see our website for more information.

Veterans Museum

The Orleck is associated with the Jacksonville Veterans Museum. The Veterans Museum consists of kiosks that are being placed in a variety of locations throughout Northeast Florida to recognize the service of all veterans. One of the kiosks is in the DASH Hangar. The kiosk provides the opportunity to see recorded histories of veterans.

The Orleck crew has performed superbly in 2024, completing significant restoration efforts, and expanding the number and type of events hosted onboard. We look forward to a successful 2025, which will include celebrating the ship’s 80th anniversary.