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Danish Corvette Proves Exciting Ride for Monterey Officers and Chiefs

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060627-10
6/27/2006

By Lt. Lesley Lykins, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Atlantic

ABOARD HDMN SKADEN, At Sea (NNS) -- Commander, Destroyer Squadron (COMDESRON) 24 and USS Monterey’s (CG 61) Commanding Officer, along with members of the Monterey wardroom and chief’s mess were invited to get underway in the North Atlantic Ocean June 24 with HDMN Skaden (P561), a Royal Danish Navy corvette.

Monterey, serving as the flagship for COMDESRON 24 Capt. Robert Kapcio, hosted a commander’s conference earlier in the day which brought together various Danish, Norwegian, Spanish, British and United States ships all participating together as one Task Force during the Neptune Warrior Course June 19-30.

“It was great watching how the Danish sailors operate at sea. It was professionally rewarding and a lot of fun while they were demonstrating their maneuvering ability,” said Capt. Robert E. Oldani, Monterey’s commanding officer. “My favorite part was watching how much my junior officers and chiefs enjoyed the experience of seeing a different navy and a different ship.”

Skaden’s Commanding Officer was excited to bring the American officers and chiefs aboard his ship to demonstrate its capabilities and help them better understand what the Royal Danish Navy brings to the fight.

“This is excellent for me as a CO to get full integration with an American commander of a task group and show him what we are capable of, both our capacity and limitations,” said Danish Lt. Cmdr. Niels Mathiesen, Skaden’s commanding officer. “I hope that they will see what a smaller unit Skaden is compared to Monterey, yet better understand what she is capable of producing even for the size. I think she is quite capable.”

While aboard Skaden, the Monterey crew members were given a tour of the berthing, engine room, bridge/operations center, and mess decks. They were also given a demonstration of the ship’s maneuverability.

“They conducted a 30 degree roll and I watched BMC (the Chief Boatswain’s Mate) stand on the side of the ship as a wave came over and he got wet from the chest down,” said Lt. Russel B. Sanchez, Monterey’s weapons officer. “It was awesome. The ship was highly maneuverable, very fast and very clean.”

Many of the Monterey crew members were impressed by the Danish corvette’s modular capabilities. Skaden can be re-configured in port to serve as a platform for conducting anti-surface warfare, mine warfare, maritime interdiction operations, anti-air warfare, or anti-submarine warfare.

“To see that the modular design has already been implemented and is working on these ships was interesting,” said Lt.j.g. Doug Brayton, Monterey’s electrical officer. “They have a crew of 29 aboard the ship and they have very few people on the bridge at a time, and those watch standers are all integrated. They can change out certain modules in a very short time period to better accommodate the mission.”

After the hour-long tour the U.S. Sailors walked away with a better understanding of their allies.

“It is very exciting to be on one of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) ally ships to see how they operate and understand that they are very capable of doing a lot of exercises that we often don’t think about, like the inshore areas that they can patrol,” said Lt. Collin Wynter, Monterey’s Operations Officer. “I was most impressed to see that they have such a small crew yet they are able to accomplish a vast array of items.”

Mathiesen expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to work with the other allied navies and when asked about the U.S. Navy in particular, he wanted to tell American Sailors that he has a true and great respect for their Navy and its worldwide capability.

He encouraged U.S. Sailors to continue to operate in joint exercises and take away the benefits of working with other navies and experiencing the various cultures.

“It is very important for us to meet and train and exercise together not only for the military training and cooperation that we achieve, but also because we develop friendships and the countries actually grow closer together even though it is a military exercise.”

For related news, visit the Destroyer Squadron 24 Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/desron24/.