Reserve fleet awaits summons to duty again.

Lying at quiet anchorage out in the broad estuary of the James River is a fleet of yesterday ...

Sea and sky frame the rich pageantry of the James River Reserve Fleet.

The names of the vessels are as rich as their history ... Santa Cruz, Shenandoah, Southern Cross, Patriot State, Sphinx, Cape Catoche ...

The vessels include three Victory Ships--Wayne Victory, Cataba Victory and American Victory--built hastily in World War II. There are several prize vessels seized from the Germans after the war. There is also every other sort of ship that has sailed the seas under the American Flag in the last half century.

Tug Master

Tug Master Chris Hudgins pushes the throttle forward. The workboat moves smartly from land and moves toward the fleet offshore. Gaining speed, the boat is soon riding a bow plane and spewing white wake from either side.

At last--an opportunity to see the 104 vessels of the James River Reserve Fleet maintained by the U.S. Maritime Administration in the James River to the west of Fort Eustis. I had often heard of these vessels; now, they loomed ever closer.

For Hudgins, it is another day moving materials and people among the vessels that comprise the fleet.

For me, an opportunity I have long waited ... Our shipboard visit this day is to the Cape Nome, a Ready Reserve Fleet vessel.

Ready Reserve Fleet

The Ready Reserve Fleet consists of 76 vessels maintained in a reduced operating status. In the event of a military crisis, they could be rapidly put to use.

The ships in the James River fleet include other Cape-series vessels: Lambreth, Lobos, Ann, Lava and Mendocino.

These are the vessels that are most important to the Military Traffic Management Command. They could be made ready for a surge military transportation requirement in 10 to 30 days. Even with the construction of the new series Fast Sealift Ships and Large, Medium-Speed, Roll-on/Roll-off vessels, the ships still represent valuable sealift.

Cape Nome towers over our workboat as Hudgins idles us to a lowered gangway.

Jerry Foster

First off is Jerry Foster. Officially, Foster is a high-voltage electrician, one of a work crew of 70 specialists responsible for maintaining the vessels. Unofficially, Foster is much more, A natural leader, Foster is head of the local union chapter. Today he is the guide. Always, he is a man with great pride in the mission and product.

Cape Nome is one of a small fleet of vessels of the Ready Reserve Fleet that will sail again. The great bulk of the James River fleet is beyond its service life. Many of the ships are decades beyond their prime, their machinery idle and antiquated.

Most of the ships will not see white-capped waves on a distant voyage again. As many as 61 of the vessels are classified as "nonretention," and await scrapping or sinking as fishing reefs. Twelve other ships belong to the Navy.

In some cases, the ships are used for spare parts.

Foster remembers being part of a gang that had to remove and ship a 12,000-pound engine reduction gear from a ship's engine room.

The Ready Reserve Fleet vessels get special care. Every six months Category IV maintenance is applied to the vessels. Steel cable is greased and machinery tested.

That is what is happening today on the Cape Nome.

High in the rigging are men Silhouetted against a bright sky. Using pulleys, they are shuttling cables through grease pots to give the metal a protective coating.

It takes about a month to perform the maintenance; then, the crew is shifted to the next vessel.

"We perform maintenance on about everything under the sun," said Foster. "The environment is awesome--heat, cold, snow ...

There is an air of readiness on the Cape Nome.

Huge canvas tarpaulins shield cargo holds and windows from invading moisture and salt.

Electricians test internal components.

Alvis Joyner and John "Munch" Shaw check out electrical systems.

"The heat and cold take a toll," said Foster. "We do a lot of work. We do a good job."

Once a year, vessels of the reserve fleet are given sailing orders and are required to steam on a mission to ensure readiness.

There are small clusters of Ready Reserve Fleet vessels in Suisun, Calif., and Beaumont, Texas. Other fleet ships are berthed at various U.S. and foreign ports.

The James River fleet had more than 900 vessels following World War II. Today, there are barely 100.

Superintendent Michael Bagley says a few vessels come in or out every month. There were four of these movements in January and another four in February. No ships came or went in March and April. One took place in May.

The Threat

Time and tide present problems for the fleet. An oil spill is one example of an ever-present hazard. Workers are constantly alert to the value of preventive maintenance.

If a major problem comes up?

"Everyone goes to work," said Foster.

And then there are hurricanes to consider.

The winds of a major tropical depression pushing against the resistance of so many ships at anchor could be a problem.

The Maritime Administration has plans to install heavy-duty anchors deep into the riverbed to provide more security.

Farewell

The sun is now high up in the sky--and hot.

Hudgins guides the workboat alongside.

Foster's big frame moves gracefully aboard.

I'm right behind.

Overhead, the work goes on. Tiny figures high in the rigging guide the greasing operation.

We're now moving around phalanxes of moored ship ... of every color ... of every type rigging. Some proud and defiant, with sleek lines ... others with antique lines, bathed in orange rust.

Here is a ship that was a movie prop. Further over is the nuclear-powered barge Sturgis, which once provided electricity in Panama.

Off to one side, appropriately aloof, is the Guadalcanal, an amphibious assault ship built to handle helicopters.

Foster takes pride in his work on the ships.

He is also thoughtful when he considers their poignant history.

"I have been on some of the vessels that hauled troops to Vietnam," said Foster.

"The men who sailed in the ships left messages scrawled on the sides of their wooden bunks. They talked about their wives, families and home. I get choked up when I think about it."

Hudgins aims the vessel back to shore. As the workboat lurches ahead, cool salt air flows over the gunnel.

Astern, the fleet begins to recede. It is no longer as visible, but still at the ready: Waiting for a summons back to duty.

John R. Randt Director, Office of Command Affairs