thedrifter
05-27-09, 08:16 AM
A day at sea with US Marines
By PHILIP NWOSU
It was a taste of an entirely new world. And for journalists invited by the Public Affairs Section of the United States Consulate in Lagos for a tour of the visiting United States warship, the USS Nashville, the sheer beauty of the vessel even after 39 years of active service in that country’s Navy, was jolting.
Stunned by the sudden feeling of being in the United States, while on board the USS Nashville, the reporters freely expressed their feelings about Nigeria and the Nigerian Navy platforms, especially after they were told that the USS Nashville had seen better days in the US Navy and would be decommissioned after its mission on the African Partnership Station.
The officers’ wardroom where the journalists were received by the APS Public Affairs Officer, Lt, Ellen Bock, gave them a feeling of a living apartment on land, even though they were inside the Nashville that was afloat Lagos lagoon.
The cleanliness of the vessel was applauded by the journalists who tailored their questions towards finding out from the Nigerian Naval Officer onboard the vessel, Commander Enoch Bello, if a similar situation could apply to the platform of the Nigerian Navy, particularly the Nigerian Naval Ship (NNS) Aradu.
Taking journalists round the vessel, Lt Ellen Bock explained the different compartments of the vessel, beginning from the flight deck, where the US Marines were spotted taking some Nigerian military personnel on a physical combat training.
The USS Nashville, Daily Sun learnt is an Austin-class amphibious transport dock and was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named after the city of Nashville in Tennessee.
The ship’s keel was laid on 14 March 1966 by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington and was launched on October 7, 1967.
The vessel was commissioned at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, on 14 February 1970 with Captain Frank R. Fahland in command.
Nashville’s various assignments included four Caribbean Amphibious readiness Groups, Mediterranean Amphibious readiness Groups, Persian Gulf Amphibious readiness Groups, Mine Countermeasure Task Group, NATO North Atlantic Operations, and training assignments with the Fleet Marine Force Atlantic.
On January 16 and 17, 2006, the Nashville was the first vessel to receive the landing of an unmanned robotic RQ-8A Fire Scout helicopter.
In July 2006, it was sent to Lebanon as part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group transporting the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to assist with the evacuation of U.S. nationals from the country, after a conflict erupted between the Israeli military and Hezbollah militants. On 20 July 2006, it landed the first Marines on Lebanese soil since 1984.
The Nashville is featured in an episode of the television programme, Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, as it evacuated Americans (including Bourdain and his production crew) from Beirut. The episode was nominated for an Emmy Award.
Inside the Nashville was full of surprises for the touring journalists as they met a large empty hall like a warehouse which also bears another vessel and three other vehicles, including a Humvee vehicle and two amphibious trucks.
Inside the hall were medical supplies brought by the US Naval personnel for charity homes in Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroun and Gabon.
Also, the hall houses a well-equipped gymnasium where military personnel onboard the vessel conduct workouts and ensure their physical fitness. There is also a classroom equipped with internet facility.
At the wardroom, the officers have a big calendar where birthdays are remembered and perhaps celebrated.
According to Captain Cindy Thebaud, who is the head of the African Partnership Stations (APS), the programme provides a unique venue to align efforts being made by various agencies and non-governmental organization from Africa, the United States and Europe.
She said that the Nashville deployment is a continuation of the CNE-C6F Africa Partnership Station Initiative, adding that the APS makes a clear commitment to African nations in the form of regular visits in an effort to help build maritime safety and security in the coming years.
Thebaud said: “APS is designed to achieve common security goals through partnership and collaboration. APS specifically aims to help build regional maritime safety and security by increasing African maritime capabilities and capacity. In this way, APS represents an opportunity to generate a more indigenous andk, therefore, more sustainable peace and security on the African continent.”
Ellie
By PHILIP NWOSU
It was a taste of an entirely new world. And for journalists invited by the Public Affairs Section of the United States Consulate in Lagos for a tour of the visiting United States warship, the USS Nashville, the sheer beauty of the vessel even after 39 years of active service in that country’s Navy, was jolting.
Stunned by the sudden feeling of being in the United States, while on board the USS Nashville, the reporters freely expressed their feelings about Nigeria and the Nigerian Navy platforms, especially after they were told that the USS Nashville had seen better days in the US Navy and would be decommissioned after its mission on the African Partnership Station.
The officers’ wardroom where the journalists were received by the APS Public Affairs Officer, Lt, Ellen Bock, gave them a feeling of a living apartment on land, even though they were inside the Nashville that was afloat Lagos lagoon.
The cleanliness of the vessel was applauded by the journalists who tailored their questions towards finding out from the Nigerian Naval Officer onboard the vessel, Commander Enoch Bello, if a similar situation could apply to the platform of the Nigerian Navy, particularly the Nigerian Naval Ship (NNS) Aradu.
Taking journalists round the vessel, Lt Ellen Bock explained the different compartments of the vessel, beginning from the flight deck, where the US Marines were spotted taking some Nigerian military personnel on a physical combat training.
The USS Nashville, Daily Sun learnt is an Austin-class amphibious transport dock and was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named after the city of Nashville in Tennessee.
The ship’s keel was laid on 14 March 1966 by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington and was launched on October 7, 1967.
The vessel was commissioned at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, on 14 February 1970 with Captain Frank R. Fahland in command.
Nashville’s various assignments included four Caribbean Amphibious readiness Groups, Mediterranean Amphibious readiness Groups, Persian Gulf Amphibious readiness Groups, Mine Countermeasure Task Group, NATO North Atlantic Operations, and training assignments with the Fleet Marine Force Atlantic.
On January 16 and 17, 2006, the Nashville was the first vessel to receive the landing of an unmanned robotic RQ-8A Fire Scout helicopter.
In July 2006, it was sent to Lebanon as part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group transporting the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to assist with the evacuation of U.S. nationals from the country, after a conflict erupted between the Israeli military and Hezbollah militants. On 20 July 2006, it landed the first Marines on Lebanese soil since 1984.
The Nashville is featured in an episode of the television programme, Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, as it evacuated Americans (including Bourdain and his production crew) from Beirut. The episode was nominated for an Emmy Award.
Inside the Nashville was full of surprises for the touring journalists as they met a large empty hall like a warehouse which also bears another vessel and three other vehicles, including a Humvee vehicle and two amphibious trucks.
Inside the hall were medical supplies brought by the US Naval personnel for charity homes in Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroun and Gabon.
Also, the hall houses a well-equipped gymnasium where military personnel onboard the vessel conduct workouts and ensure their physical fitness. There is also a classroom equipped with internet facility.
At the wardroom, the officers have a big calendar where birthdays are remembered and perhaps celebrated.
According to Captain Cindy Thebaud, who is the head of the African Partnership Stations (APS), the programme provides a unique venue to align efforts being made by various agencies and non-governmental organization from Africa, the United States and Europe.
She said that the Nashville deployment is a continuation of the CNE-C6F Africa Partnership Station Initiative, adding that the APS makes a clear commitment to African nations in the form of regular visits in an effort to help build maritime safety and security in the coming years.
Thebaud said: “APS is designed to achieve common security goals through partnership and collaboration. APS specifically aims to help build regional maritime safety and security by increasing African maritime capabilities and capacity. In this way, APS represents an opportunity to generate a more indigenous andk, therefore, more sustainable peace and security on the African continent.”
Ellie