Aboard U.S. carrier, Phila. native sees typhoon's impact

Working in classified intelligence aboard an aircraft carrier off the Philippines, Petty Officer Third Class Robert Nurse, a Philadelphia native, pores over aerial surveillance photographs of the typhoon-ravaged country, looking for safe places to land Navy relief helicopters.

A 2011 high school graduate of the city's Science Leadership Academy, Nurse, 20, is in his second year in the Navy and is normally stationed in Japan.

Now on temporary assignment to bring food, water, and medical supplies to the Philippines, he is part of the 5,500-person crew of the George Washington, the nuclear-powered supercarrier longer than three football fields (1,092 feet), well over a field wide (252 feet), and 24 stories tall, and able to make 400,000 gallons of fresh water daily.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel ordered the vessel to the region to provide disaster aid Nov. 12. Sixty hours later, it was there.

"My job is basically to coordinate with pilots" of the 24 helicopters and V-22 Ospreys in the George Washington's battle group, Nurse said in a satellite-telephone interview Monday. The pilots ferry supplies and transport injured people.

"I look at the photographs to determine where it is safe to go. Are there downed wires in the area? Is the ground stable? Today, we looked at images of roads to see if they are capable of being used."

As of late Monday in the Philippines, said Nurse, crews working since the start of the operation had transported 519 people for medical attention and delivered 370,000 liters of water and 165,000 pounds of dry food.

The carrier is expected to spend three more days off the Philippines and then depart, handing off responsibilities to several amphibious Navy ships.

"I never thought I would be able to be part of something like this," Nurse said. "Even though it's indirectly, I feel I've done a lot to support the relief efforts. . . . It's always great to help people out when they are in trouble."

The second-oldest of five siblings, Nurse has lived in Germantown, West Oak Lane, and West Philadelphia. He ran cross-country, briefly in high school, played baseball in his freshman and sophomore years, "then started focusing more on my grades," he said.

He was last home in May. His mother, Jaineen Walker, works in finance at The Inquirer.

In the Navy, Nurse was tracked into intelligence and given a top-secret clearance. His unit is off-limits to media cameras.

"He's so important we can't photograph him," Lt. j.g. Derrick Ingle, deputy public affairs officer for the George Washington, teased in an interview.

Then Ingle turned serious, calling Nurse "wise and professional" beyond his years.

"Looking at Petty Officer Nurse right now, he is a sharp-looking young sailor with a future as a commissioned officer," Ingle said.

"They talk about the youth of America. They worry about them. Looking at him, I don't."

215-854-2541 @MichaelMatza1