USS De Wert Returns From BALTOPS 2007

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USS De Wert Returns
From BALTOPS 2007
-Photo courtesy of USS De Wert
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By Ensign Ashley Wyckoff
USS De Wert Public Affairs Officer
USS De Wert (FFG 45),
with HSL-60 Detachment One
embarked, returned to Naval
Station Mayport on July 1 after
participating in the annual
BALTOPS 2007 exercise.
The ship and detachment
departed from Mayport Friday,
May 18. After a 14-day trek
across the Atlantic Ocean,
De Wert pulled into Aarhus,
Denmark, a port visit which
served as the starting line of the
annual international multi-ship
exercise.
While in Aarhus, De Wert
Sailors, as well as Sailors from
Norfolk-based guided-missile
destroyer USS Mahan (DDG
72), dined on Danish cuisine
at Restaurant Koch, museumhopped at the ARoS Aarhus
Kunstmuseum, and had the
opportunity to meet and interact
with Sailors from several different foreign navies.
De Wert organized a “Damage
Control (DC) Olympics” competition, where two-man teams
representing their respective ships completed a series
of damage control scenarios in
competition for the fastest time.
The competition included
stations such as dressing out
in required personal protective equipment (PPE), patching
a ruptured pipe, a two-person
carry of an “injured” Shipmate,
and a sprint to the finish line.
BALTOPS 2007 was a multiphase exercise under the command of Commander, Carrier
Strike Group Two, Rear Adm.
Michael C. Vitale, consisting of
in-port events, at-sea serialized
training events, and a coordinated scenario exercise designed
to develop interoperability in
execution of a peacekeeping
mission.
This combined maritime and
land exercise took place in the
Baltic Sea, with the goal of promoting mutual understanding,
confidence, cooperation, and
interoperability among forces
and personnel of participating
nations.
This year ’s participants
included the United States,
Denmark, Germany, Russia, the
Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia,
France, Poland, Sweden and the
-Photo courtesy of USS De Wert
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United Kingdom.
Officers and crew from all
of the participating units were
given the opportunity to spend a
few hours on a foreign ship.
A rigid hull inflatable boat
(RHIB) transported De Wert
volunteers to the Danish ship
HDMS Peter Tordenskiold,
where they enjoyed a tour of the
ship, dinner in the ship’s wardroom, and a chance to shop for
souvenirs in the ship’s store.
De Wert’s Commanding
Officer, Cmdr. Bill Campbell
said, “Exercises such as
BALTOPS are critical to
achieving the CNO’s goal of a
1,000 ship international Navy.
BALTOPS 2007 improved
interoperability and increased
understanding among all partner
nations, both professionally and
personally. It was an incredibly
rewarding experience.”
After the exercise, De Wert
enjoyed a three-day port visit in
Kiel, Germany, where the officers and crew had the opportunity to experience the annual
“Kiel Week.”
Germany’s “Kieler Woche,” is
one of the largest “Volksfeste”
(a large event which combines
a beer festival and carnival) in
Northern Europe and the largest
sailing event in the world.
Each year, “Kiel Week” welcomes approximately 5,000
Sailors, 2,000 ships and sailboats, and three million visitors
to the charming German city.
In addition to feasting on delicious foods from the festival’s
vendors and enjoying music by
local bands, De Wert Sailors
were given the opportunity to
take day trips to the cities of
Hamburg and Berlin and discover a piece of Germany’s rich
history.
De Wert will deploy later in
the month to conduct counternarco terrorism operations.
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THE MIRROR, NS MAYPORT, Thursday, July 12, 2007
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