In addition to supporting the

GOPLAT mission, Anchorage's crew conducted a "Desert Tortoise"

helicopter shuttle service for all the ships in ATF West. This involved

loading up in Bahrain with more than 100,000 pounds of mail, 232 pallets

of cargo and 71 sailors, then delivering the cargo and transferring the

sailors to the amphibious war ships patrolling the northern Arabian Gulf.

Jacobs believes that Anchorage's

efforts made a significant contribution during OIF.

"We brought two Marine

units to and from Iraq," he said. "We also provided postal and

supply services to all the other ships deployed with us."

Toward the end of the deployment,

Anchorage and Comstock participated in a rescue of five Filipino fishermen

stranded at sea, 313 miles off the Philippine coast.

This particular deployment

and war may have ended for the crew of Anchorage, but the mission always

continues. Providing safety on the homefront and being part of a strong

fighting force at sea is something Jacobs and his shipmates carry on with

pride, tradition and dedication.