Safeguard Returns to Sasebo
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS051020-08
Release Date: 10/20/2005 9:41:00 AM
By Journalist 2nd Class (SW) Brian P. Biller, USS Harpers Ferry Public Affairs and Journalist 2nd Class James Kimber, Task Force 76 Public Affairs
SASEBO, Japan (NNS) -- USS Safeguard (ARS 50) returned to its forward-deployed home port Oct. 16 in Sasebo, Japan, after completing a six-month deployment in support of exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2005.
Safeguard crew members received a welcome home party organized by command ombudsman Jodi Harris, which included more than 800 cookies for the returning heroes.
Lt. Cmdr. Doyle Hodges, Safeguard commanding officer, was touched by the warm welcome and thanked everyone from the base fire department to the Fleet and Family Support Center for their continuous support.
“It’s great to be back, and moreso because of the great welcome everybody in the Sasebo community put on for us,” said Hodges. “[The community made us] feel really nice to come back and feel like you were coming back as part of something, and that’s a very nice feeling.”
Harris also coordinated a raffle for a DVD player that Engineman 2nd Class Sang Joon Lee won, and awarded the “first kiss” to Electronics Technician 2nd Class (SW) John T. McGill and his wife.
“We’ve even got a goodie bag for each one of our Sailors,” said Harris.
During deployment, Safeguard played an active role in CARAT that included stops in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines while conducting diving and salvage exercises with the six different nations, helping to clean up schools and orphanages, enjoying liberty all over Southeast Asia, towing a ship from another naval force, qualifying Safeguard Sailors in every watch station from lookout to Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOOW) to Officer of the Deck (OOD), and celebrating the ship’s 10th birthday.
Many Safeguard Sailors felt the experience was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and took full advantage of the occasion.
“I enjoyed breaking the language barrier,” said Hull Maintenance Technician 3rd Class (DV) Zachary D. Dimare. “It was challenging, yet rewarding, to work with a culture so different from ours.”
While in Singapore, Safeguard deep-sea divers got together with Singapore Naval Diving Unit (NDU) personnel, many of whom had attended the U.S. Naval and Diving Salvage Training Center in Panama City, Fla., for the first phase of CARAT in a combined exercise conducting combined scuba diving and side scan sonar training. Safeguard divers also held classroom training on mixed gas diving and salvage capabilities of their ship and braved one of the NDU's confidence courses.
“I’m extremely pleased with the successful conduct of the in-port exercises, as well as with the way the crew responded to the need to offload some of our gear and load the specialized salvage from the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA),” said Hodges. “And as always, I’m proud of the fact that our crew behaved as ambassadors ashore.”
Safeguard Sailors also received Girl Scout cookies from two Girl Scouts of Singapore troops after giving the girls a tour of the ship.
A salvage ship from the Malaysian navy and Safeguard then worked together to pull up a purposely-sunken sport utility vehicle (SUV) from the ocean floor during the second phase of CARAT.
With engine and fluids removed, the Malaysian navy lowered the SUV into 100 feet of seawater. Safeguard and Malaysian divers, three from each ship, then teamed to locate the vehicle and prepare it to be lifted out. Safeguard used its salvage equipment to lift the vehicle from the water and placed it on the Malaysian vessel.
Safeguard also played a key role with the Indonesian navy during the fourth phase of CARAT. The two navies’ operations off of the Indonesian coast focused on drills that involved weapons tracking, visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS), and diving and salvage in the Java Sea near Surabaya. This was the first time the U.S. Navy had participated in the Indonesia phase of CARAT since 2002.
During the Philippines phase, Safeguard Sailors helped teach Philippine navy divers the MK-21 system. This system provides air underwater via a support system topside.
Safeguard’s system is permanently installed. The system has been a vital asset throughout Safeguard’s six sets of exercises it has performed as part of CARAT and will be used for the newly-formed Philippine Naval Construction Brigade, which primarily works on underwater construction.
Safeguard also celebrated its 10th birthday in the Philippines and was added to the Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet Retention Honor Roll for the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2005.
CARAT is an annual bilateral series of military exercises with several Southeast Asian nations designed to enhance the interoperability of the respective sea services in variety of mission areas of mutual benefit.
Safeguard is a rescue and salvage ship forward deployed to Sasebo, Japan, and provides salvage support the Forward Deployed Amphibious Ready Group and other U.s. 7th Fleet assets.
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