Defense Secretary salutes Vella Gulf crew in Romania

ACROSS DOD
www.FortHoodSentinel.com
June 12, 2014
AA7
Defense Secretary salutes Vella Gulf crew in Romania
AMERICAN FORCES
PRESS SERVICE RELEASE
WASHINGTON — After touring
the USS Vella Gulf in Constanta,
Romania June 5, Defense Secretary
Chuck Hagel took to the ship’s intercom to thank the crew and stress the
importance of their mission.
The Vella Gulf is in Constanta for
a port visit as part of its deployment
in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations to contribute to regional maritime security, conduct bilateral and
multinational training missions and
support the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization operations and deployments.
“To the skipper and all of you who
make this happen, we’re proud of
you and we’re proud of your Families,” Hagel said. “We’re grateful for
what you’re doing at a very important time in the world. In particular,
this mission that you’re on – where
you are today as we partner with the
Romanians, our NATO allies, at a
troubling time in this region in the
world – is really defining.
“And your role in all this is not
only appreciated,” he continued,
“but it’s as essential as it’s ever been,
and I just wanted to tell you how
proud I am of all of you. The president of the United States is proud of
you, and I also want to compliment
you in particular regarding the shape
of this grand ship.”
When the Ticonderoga-class
guided-missile cruiser arrived in
Constanta June 3, the ship’s commanding officer said Vella Gulf’s
presence in Romania reaffirms the
U.S. commitment to strengthening
ties with NATO allies and partners
while working toward mutual goals
of promoting peace and stability in
the region.
“This is an important time to reassure and demonstrate our commitment to work closely with NATO
allies in order to enhance maritime
Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Edward Guttierrez III, U.S. Navy
security, readiness, and naval capability,” Navy Capt. Robert Katz said.
“The relationships built during our
bilateral and multilateral exercises are
great ways to strengthen and improve
interoperability between allies as
we all work together toward shared
mutual goals.”
While in Romania, Vella Gulf is
scheduled to host the fleet commander of the Romanian navy, along
with other distinguished visitors.
Sailors plan to remodel an orphanage, visit the Romanian Maritime
Museum and tour the city of Constanta and the Romanian capital,
Bucharest.
(Editor’s note: Navy Petty Officer
3rd Class Edward Guttierrez III of the
USS Vella Gulf crew contributed to
this report.)
ABOVE, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel salutes
as he boards the USS Vella
Gulf June 5 in Constanta,
Romania. The Vella Gulf is
deployed to the U.S. 6th Fleet
area of responsibility to contribute to regional maritime
security and to support NATO
operations and deployments
throughout the region. LEFT,
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck
Hagel addresses the crew of
the USS Vella Gulf June 5 in
Constanta, Romania.
Photo by Seaman Andrew Clark, U.S. Navy
ARMY