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USS Annapolis Sailors Visit Bahrain, Reach Midpoint of Deployment

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS051220-10
Release Date: 12/20/2005 6:12:00 PM

By Journalist 2nd Class (AW) Cassandra Thompson, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet Public Affairs

MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- USS Annapolis (SSN 760) finished a weeklong interlude in Manama, Bahrain, Dec. 17 after docking for crew liberty and mid-deployment maintenance.

The port visit marked the midpoint of Annapolis’ six-month deployment as a member of the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, in support of maritime security operations (MSO) in the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Cmdr. Donald E. Neubert, commanding officer of the Los Angeles-class attack submarine, said Annapolis had been tasked with several missions this deployment.

“We have the capability to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance-type activities to provide information to the commander of the strike group,” Neubert said. “We can also conduct operations that would involve supporting the surface ships’ role for maritime security operations. And as a capable platform that is very possible to maneuver around quite a lot, [we can] overtly be in different areas so that we can assist the maritime component of the commander.”

Lt. Cmdr. Aaron M. Thieme, Annapolis’ executive officer, added that the submarine’s schedule had been hectic this deployment. Despite the stressful nature of their operations and the fact that his Sailors will be separated from their families over Christmas, Thieme said the morale of his crew was “fantastic.”

“It’s tough being away for the holidays, but when we got here, we had a thousand pounds of mail, and it was all boxes and gifts from home - letters and packages. So that was a real boost for morale,” Thieme said.

He explained that Annapolis’ Sailors could send and receive email, even while submerged, so the crew was able to maintain almost daily contact with their loved ones.

“Also, every day we have a calendar page - pictures from home and sayings - that one of the family members puts together,” he said. “That goes up every day in the passageway.”

Annapolis’ family support group contributed significantly to crew morale as well, Thieme said. Along with all the personal mail, the family support group had sent two full laundry bags containing care packages and holiday cards for the crew.

Sonar Technician 2nd Class Rich Hering got married in June, shortly before Annapolis left for deployment. His strategy for keeping contact with his new wife is simple.

“I sit at the computer and write her a letter every other day,” he said. “Then when we pull in, I print them all up and mail them off. She emails me almost every day, and I email her whenever I can.”

Hering, from Jacksonville, Fla., said despite all the “missing,” he recognized the importance of the Annapolis’ presence in the Gulf.

“I guess I’ll explain it the way I explained it to one of the junior guys who asked me why we’re here,” Hering said. “If somebody robs your house, you put up an alarm system, you put lights outside your house. If you still get robbed, you put up a fence, you get a dog. [The United States] put up lights in the interior and it still didn’t keep them out. So it’s time to expand the boundaries. That’s why we’re out here.”

“Being away from home; it’s tough and we get lonely,” agreed Chief of the Boat Jon Smedley, from Cape Coral, Fla. “But part of what I’m doing is to support [my family], to give them a world I think they should live in.”