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Patriot Completes RAS at Start of Western Pacific Deployment

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060501-03
Release Date: 5/1/2006 3:00:00 PM

From USS Patriot Public Affairs

USS PATRIOT, At Sea (NNS) -- The Sasebo, Japan,-based minesweeper USS Patriot (MCM 7) completed a replenishment at sea April 27 with military sealift command ship USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO 193), 13 days into their Western Pacific deployment.

Patriot departed Sasebo April 14 on a Southeast Asia deployment intended to enhance international interoperability and increase partnerships with several nations throughout the region.

So far in 2006, Patriot has participated in MINEX-EODEX 06 with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and Reception, Staging, Onward-Movement and Integration/Foal Eagle 06 with the Republic of Korea. Both exercises tasked Patriot to complete a number of sweeps, detect mines in a simulated minefield and provide the platform for EOD personnel to prosecute detected mines.

Patriot Sailors and embarked Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) divers are now undertaking a three-month-plus underway, with a number of diplomatic port visits planned.

“This deployment symbolizes the culmination of training on our own, with other countries and with embarked EOD personnel,” said Lt. Cmdr. Richard Brawley, Patriot commanding officer. “I think our Sailors have certainly grown from the previous exercises, gained confidence and are now ready to perform at the highest level.”

Embarked aboard Patriot is Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5 Detachment 51, also forward-deployed to Sasebo. The unit is looking forward to working with Patriot and its crew in order to strengthen the mine sweep-EOD team.

“This is a great opportunity for us to further enhance our ability to work on a mine sweep platform to prosecute mines in a peacetime environment,” said Lt. Henry Lin, Det. 51 officer-in-charge. “This is a total team effort. We look forward to building that dynamic in real-world war-fighting scenarios.”

Patriot Sailors are looking forward to displaying their technical expertise as well as seeing various parts of the world.

“The excitement level is high,” said Mineman 3rd Class Shawn S. McFall. “We’ve trained well in previous exercises, and now it’s time to take what we learned and truly apply it. We’re all looking forward to seeing what’s out there, but also know we have to do our jobs first and foremost.”

Patriot is a mine countermeasures ship forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan. Patriot and USS Guardian (MCM 5) serve under Task Force 76, which serves as the U.S. 7th Fleet’s mine countermeasures arm in forward-deployed operations.