By
LS Martin Anderson
HMAS
Stuart Boarding Ops
(MPEG video 5.80 MB)
 |
|
US
Admiral Vernon E. Clark addresses the crew of HMAS Stuart
in The Gulf.
|
In
a visit that highlighted the importance of the RAN’s contribution
to Coalition Operations in The Gulf, the US Chief of Naval Operations
(Admiral Vernon E. Clark) recently paid a visit to HMAS Stuart.
Stuart’s CO, CMDR Philip Spedding, OAM, is the commander of the
Coalition task group conducting maritime security operations protecting
Iraqi territorial waters and oil platforms.
The task group includes Stuart and several USN and US Coast Guard
patrol vessels, all of whom work tirelessly around the clock patrolling
in the vicinity of the oil platforms and up into the rivers of
Iraq, protecting merchant traffic against piracy and ensuring
the smooth flow of legitimate trade.
When describing Admiral Clark to some of Stuart’s crew, CMDR Spedding
said he was “the commander of the largest and most powerful Navy
in the world, the US President’s number one advisor on war at
sea - and a nice bloke too”.
Impressively, in just over an hour onboard, Admiral Clark spoke
with the boarding parties of Stuart and USS Chinook (PC-9) for
over 40 minutes.
His simple message was that they played a vital role in the reconstruction
of Iraq, and the fight against global terrorism.
The boarding parties were a key source of intelligence, and it
was essential that the coalition remained focused on the task
at hand.
Then, in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, some of the crew of
the Chinook were presented promotion certificates and commendations
by the Admiral.
During the visit, Stuart’s flight deck team, ops room and bridge
remained very busy coordinating the movements of three helicopters
(the Desert Duck carrying the Commander of TF 55, Captain K. Tidd,
USN, the Seahawk carrying the CNO and one escort helicopter) on
and off Stuart’s deck, while simultaneously conducting RHIB operations
with Chinook’s crew.
