USS Nassau, Royal Netherlands Marines Seize Training Opportunity
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS060106-10
1/6/2006
From Expeditionary Strike Group 8 Public Affairs
ABOARD USS NASSAU (LHA 4), At Sea (NNS) -- The Royal Netherlands Marines and USS Nassau (LHA 4) joined forces Jan. 5 for a Visit, Boarding, Search and Seizure (VBSS) training opportunity aboard Nassau.
The event began as the Netherlands Marines left their ship HNLMS De Zeven Provincien (FFG 802) and boarded Nassau by fast roping onto the flight deck.
“Once they (Netherlands Marines) hit the deck, both navies simulated the required motions of boarding a suspect terrorist type vessel,” said Lt. Cmdr. John Vliet, Nassau’s assistant operations officer.
Several Nassau crewmembers took part in the exercise by playing the role of suspects. Throughout the ship, the Dutch were seen “patting down suspects”.
“The Dutch Specialist Team are frogmen specifically trained for missions such as this,” said Royal Netherlands Navy Marine Corps officer Maj. Harro de Vries. “This was the perfect opportunity for an exercise. We try to train on all of our assets to add variety.”
The VBSS was a relatively short exercise lasting only a couple of hours, though despite the short duration, the time was well spent.
“Today we were able to demonstrate our capabilities to the American Navy. It was an excellent opportunity to work together and understand each other better,” said de Vries.
Nassau is deployed for six months to the 5th Fleet Area of Operations in support of Maritime Security Operations (MSO). MSO set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment. MSO complement the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations. MSO deny international terrorists use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons, or other material.
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