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Mesa Verde Serves as Flag Ship for PANAMAX

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS090923-15
Release Date: 9/23/2009 12:10:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW) Hodges Pone III, Mesa Verde Public Affairs

USS MESA VERDE, At Sea (NNS) -- USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) added another role to the San Antonio-class as it tackled the responsibilities of command flag ship for PANAMAX 2009, Sept. 11-21.

The 10-day exercise was held with the cooperation and integration of 20 multinational military and civil organizations running various exercises in defense of the Panama Canal.

"The ship provided communication support, tactical displays, and planning space as well as habitability and care," said Cmdr. Larry LeGree, Mesa Verde's commanding officer. "During the exercise, we were able to showcase our ability in a command and control ship role."

By tradition, Blue Ridge-class ships have been the flag bearers as command ships, but Mesa Verde has demonstrated its capabilities to handle the assignments of amphibious command ships much like USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) and USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20).

"Mesa Verde is a platform proven to be ideal as a command flag ship based off operational capabilities and system configurations to support such a large staff," said Senior Chief Operations Specialist (SW/AW) Gregory Tanner, Combined Force Maritime Component Commander Forward (CFMCC) team chief. "PANAMAX is the biggest multinational joint forces exercise in the world. This ship has shown it is proficient and sufficient to support two large staffs."

Along with a ship's company composed of more than 300 Sailors, Mesa Verde was able to embark members of the CFMCC and Commander Task Force (CTF) 802, composed of Colombian sailors. For the build up in the preceding months and the exercise itself, Mesa Verde has revealed the adaptability of its Sailors while ramping up interactions with other military entities.

"It was difficult at first, but we were able to overcome all of the adversities we faced to provide quality assistance," said Information Systems Technician 1st Class (SW) Jennifer Rosadovelez, Mesa Verde's information assurance awareness manager. "With the experience gained during UNITAS, we were able to go through PANAMAX unaffected in our capabilities."

As for its interaction with embarked staff, Mesa Verde has received rave reviews for both the unmatched abilities of the ship and superior performance of the crew.

"On another ship, it would be tougher to communicate and even provide transportation," said Petty Officer 1st Class Fabian Molinar, Panamanian Navy English translator. "This ship has a smaller crew, but is able to get messages out and operate on a large scale. I have learned a lot and the people aboard Mesa Verde are very professional and accessible," said Molinar.

Overall, members of both Mesa Verde and the embarked staff were proud of the successful interaction between all of the service members and completion of the exercise.

"I enjoyed having the embarked staff aboard and working with the multinational staff," said LeGree. "Naval officers share a lot of common ground, no matter what national background we have."