Off to the Gulf Coast.........
 

Well here it is 5:30 pm on tuesday June 15th and my youngest son is in his roompacking his gear. He leaves in about an hour, driving all night so he can be in Gautier Miss. tomorrow morning to complete his paperwork. Thursday he will be on the deck of a 25' ex-navy single screw work boat, picking up oil soaked booms and returning them to the beach for processing. 84 hrs a week, probably 30 days before he gets a day off. First of next week he should be running one of the small boats with 2 crew members. He plans on being gone for the duration. He is working with a big company, I got him the hookup for the job. I hate to see him go, but very proud at the same time. Any of you fellas down there, gimme a shout.
Franco

give him a big thank you from all of us on the west.

Sounds like a whole new chapter opening up in his life...Like Willy always says...tell him to keep his hair combed...Keep me posted on things...

Valiant are TEC guy lives in Gulfport, I was there just before the spill

Franco its an unfortunate opportunity for our country and a fortunate opportunity for the younger generation, My nephew and his new wife both graduated in may with masters in GPS plotting from Florida Atlantic university in Boca Raton and they both got jobs in Alabama tracking and plotting this disaster they are working 12 hr days 12 days straight then off for 3 @ 350.00 per day each plus food vouchers and lodging ,so they both jumped at the opportunity, sound like they will be there awhile.

I'm over on the other side of the coast in Bay Saint Louis. Gotcha back over here too.
:sand:.

Tell him make sure to absolutely wear that respirator and make sure they are working. Nobody knows what the exact composition is of the dispersant Corexit is to know what the effect it is on life. We do know they banned it's use in the UK. :cen:

I'm here in Pascagoula Ms next to Gautier there's plenty of work here. Bp has hired several company's as subcontractors and they are everywhere. We have one of the main sites located here for the Gulf Coast. A lot of boats have been hired and they are paying well. Good luck to your son and tell him to stay safe and be careful.

Sounds like it could be a life changing event, I imagine he will get paid well and he should have the satisfaction of doing something good. I was going to compare it with boot camp...

BTW,

Welcome aboard PPD1953 (noticed first post).

My prayers with him and all the rest of the folks living with, and working with this disaster.

Ditto that.

So 10 days later, whadda ya hearing?...:hi:

It's a mess here. I live in Pensacola and got my last boat trip of the season about a week ago. The thick stuff moved in now, so the V is laid up until things get cleaned up. Probably going to be a long "off season" for me.

Thanks for all the positive responses.

Talk to Phil almost everyday, he is working for Miller Environmental Group ans is assigned to a coastal response team. He is on an ex-navy 25' work boat. There are airboats laying out clean booms and collecting soiled booms. The soiled booms are brought to Phils boat and once the are fully loaded they get sent to a processing area. He is pulling 12 hour days, 7 day a week. Friday the were cleaning up oil, Phil said it is like working with peanut butter and very nasty stuff. Miller Environmental is a pretty good company and the stay on everybodies a*s*s to make sure they are using all the safety equipment and take regular breaks. He is staying in an extended stay motel, shares a room with 1 guy. Miller has a big tent where they serve breakfast every morning (eggs, bacon, sausage, grits, toast, bisquits, etc) and the have box lunches everyday. After they get off work @ 5:00 Miller gives the guys $25 per diem to use for dinner and such. They usually eat and are ready for bed no later than 9:00 pm, they get up around 3:30 every day. Phil really likes the work and being on the water. He says the main body of oil is still offshore from where he is. I think he has started a log book to log his hours so he can get hin Capt's License down the road.

Thanks again guys!

WOW!! Good for him!!! Interesting hearing about whats happening from the non political side of it.. Keep up the info...THANKS!!!!

If at all possible can you keep us updated with his efforts and experiences! It great to have a set of eyes on the inside of all this mess that is not screened by the news media before distribution! If he nedds anything or has any questions about the area let us know! We will be more than happry to assist him!

Thanks!!

I'll do my best to keep you guys up to date

let him know we appreciate his effort, but look out for land sharks. lotta out of towners down here looking for the BP golden goose.

...and a lot of 'em deserve a golden goose from BP...no doubt I applaud the hard work and long hours Franco's son is putting in, lots of peoples lives and natural habitat have been ruined by BP's gross negligence in an effort to save a buck...

reel. i'm not defending bp and fully believe they should be held wholly responsible for what they have done. believe me it is MY hometown beaches , bays, salt marshes, barrier islands, & creeks that are going to be fouled. i was refering to the promises that a lot of contractors have made to get people down here to work and then can't live up to the terms because bp has not cut any funds loose. there are cases where some boats have been on the bp dime for 30 days and have not recieved any monies yet. and now the feds are in charge of distributing the funds, i'm sure they will speed things up..

Franco, i did not mean any disrespect, we need and appreciate any help we can get.

No dispespect taken.

Miller Marine seems like the real deal! They have their s*h*i*t together! They are a world widw response company with a lot of experience and as far as I can tell, they are living up to their word. I have heard there are some fly by nights so to speak that are addind to the confusion. Lets just hope they get your backyard cleaned up.

I would think that they'd be flooded with applicants in these tough times.

Kudos to your son, Franco.

I give up! I clicked on the link and got a mapquest for an address in Colorado?

:head::head::head:

But I hear Denver's GREAT this time of year!!...The Great and Powerful Pubah is trying to send us a message...listen closely...

Read an article in Time Magazine today about "Cleaning up on the oil spill." Part of article featured Miller Marine and Time was very complimentary about Miller's efforts.

Thursday July 15, 4:30 pm EST. The leak is shut!!!! The cap is working and there is no oil flowing into the ocean according to CNN. Tests are still being done, but for now the leak is finished. Thank you Jesus!! :clap::clap::clap: