USS Gonzalez Supports NATO Force
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS080418-14
Release Date: 4/18/2008 12:53:00 PM
By Ensign Jennifer Kerner, USS Gonzalez Public Affairs
USS GONZALEZ, At Sea (NNS) -- On March 6, less than three weeks after departing Norfolk for a routine six month deployment, guided-missile destroyer USS Gonzalez (DDG 66) sailed over the Mediterranean horizon south of Crete and joined the other ships of Standing NATO Maritime Group (SNMG) 2.
Gonzalez reported for duty to the Turkish Flagship, TCG Salihreis (F 246), took station, and one hour later received fuel from the Dutch oiler HNLMS Amsterdam (A 836). During the next 30 days, the ship made port calls to both Aksaz and Antalya, Turkey, Volos, Greece, and Haifa, Israel, mooring pierside, outboard another ship, and anchoring twice.
Gonzalez served as air defense commander for the NATO forces in the multinational Exercise Mavi Balina 2008, conducted a Passing Exercise (PASSEX) with the Israeli Navy, and commenced a period of surge operations in support of Operation Active Endeavor. Gonzalez Sailors experienced first hand the Navy's role in the Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower.
"One of the tenants of the our maritime strategy is to foster and sustain cooperative relationships with more international partners. Specifically, the strategy notes that trust and cooperation cannot be surged," said Gonzalez' Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Brian Fort. "That is exactly what Gonzalez' role in NATO has been all about so far. Over our first 30 days we worked hard to build the trust of the SNMG 2 admiral. He needed to know that while we were just another team player in his task force, we were ready to be his air defense commander and ready to execute a broad range of NATO missions," added Fort.
Soon after joining SNMG 2, Gonzalez participated in the Turkish Navy Invitational Exercise Mavi Balina 2008, which took place off the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.
The Turkish Navy invited the ships of SNMG 2 and Pakistani Navy to participate in various naval exercises driven by synthetic tensions between fictionalized opposing forces. The main objective of Mavi Balina was to provide operational training for units and staffs in planning and conducting anti-submarine, anti-surface, and anti-air warfare.
The exercise enabled the staff and ships of SNMG 2 to hone their combat skills in a complex multinational environment, better preparing the force for combat operations in support of the NATO Response Force. The ships were also provided an opportunity to strengthen the NATO bonds between their crews and many Sailors spent time on other ships during the exercise, giving them a chance to see how their NATO shipmates operate on a day-to-day basis.
Upon completion of Mavi Balina and enroute to the port call in Antalya, Gonzalez had the chance to shoot 5-inch rounds on a live Turkish gunnery range, which was unique because training typically involves a virtual range.
After Mavi Balina 2008, opportunities continued to spring up for Gonzalez.
First, the destroyer made a rare port call to Volos, making it the first U.S. ship to visit Volos in more than seven years. While in Volos, several Gonzalez visited the site of the Battle of Thermopylae and the ruins of the Temple at Delphi.
"It was not my first battlefield visit, having visited many of the American Civil War sites in the Mid-Atlantic region while a Midshipman at the Naval Academy," said Lt. Derek Cedars. "However, it was a great opportunity to visit the site of a major battle that took place over 2,000 years ago."
Upon sailing from Volos and enroute to Haifa, Israel, Gonzalez and the other ships in SNMG 2 participated in a robust underway training program designed to hone the task force's air defense and maritime interdiction operations skills.
Each day, the SNMG 2 ships participated in link and air defense exercises and practice boardings that rotated between the U.S., British, Greek, Italian, German, Turkish, and Dutch ships in the group.
On the day prior to pulling into port in Haifa, Gonzalez was selected to serve in a combined exercise with Israeli Navy ships in the Eastern Mediterranean. Although it is not uncommon for U.S. Navy ships to exercise with the Israeli Navy, the PASSEX opportunity was quite historic for NATO ships, Salihreis and Hydra. They participated in a search and rescue exercise with the INS Lahav (502) and INS Keshet and upon completion, conducted close-order tactical maneuvering drills and a tactical communications exercise.
Once in Haifa, Gonzalez held a damage control exhibition for over fifty Israeli sailors that included equipment demonstrations on the ship's flight deck and an internal firefighting drill. Later, Gonzalez hosted Israeli sailors for general tours of the ship.
All of the ships in the NATO task force participated in a variety of events including force receptions, personnel exchange programs and sporting contests.
The numerous port calls offered Gonzalez Sailors the opportunity to explore the cultures of the Mediterranean.
Trips sponsored by Gonzalez' Morale, Welfare, and Recreation committee, took Sailors to places from the ancient ruins at Ephesus in Turkey to Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, and Nazareth.
Operations Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Travis Holloway said, "I would never have imagined being fortunate enough to visit Jerusalem if it had not been for the Navy's operations with NATO. Until recently, not many ships came here. This was truly the chance of lifetime."
Thirty days after Gonzalez reported for NATO duty, the SNMG 2 ships sailed from Haifa and commenced a period of Operation Active Endeavour surge operations, NATO's maritime security operations in the Mediterranean Sea in support of the war on terrorism.
Over the remainder of her current deployment, Gonzalez will continue to serve in SNMG 2, participating as the U.S. Navy representative to the NATO Response Force.
Gonzalez departed her homeport of Norfolk in February and expects to return from her routine six-month deployment in August.
For more news from USS Gonzalez, visit www.navy.mil/local/ddg66/.
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