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USNS Bobo Hosts Italian Naval Officers

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS101005-04
10/5/2010

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW/AW) Felicito Rustique, Navy Public Affairs Support Element - East Detachment Europe

NAPLES, Italy (NNS) -- The Military Sealift Command (MSC) Maritime Prepositioning Force ship USNS 2nd LT John P. Bobo (T-AK 3008) hosted 17 Italian naval engineering officers for a tour of the ship during the vessel's regularly scheduled port-call in Naples, Italy, Sept. 16.

The tour included walks through various areas of the ship including the galley, cargo holds, bridge and main engineering rooms. Tour guides also presented a brief with slides explaining Bobo's capabilities and role in MSC.

Lt.j.g. Marie S. Din, a member of Bobo's embarked U.S. Navy staff and guide during the visit, said the tour broadened the visitor's understanding of the MSC mission.

"This was my first time giving a tour of the Bobo, and I love showing off what we have because not many people know about us and our capabilities," said Din. "I believe the Italians were receptive during the tour and I tried to compare what we have to something they know so they could understand the magnitude of our mission."

Bobo's civilian master of the ship, Michael Faraday, also thought the Italians' visit was worthwhile.

"It's good to have these Naval cadets on board so they can see how a USNS ship is laid out, what its characteristics are, and how a merchant marine crew works with U.S. Navy on board," said Faraday.

After the tour, one of the visitors, Lt. Michele Gianella commented on what he and his peers saw.

"For us to see a merchant ship working for the U.S. Navy, and to see all the ship's systems and how they merge and unload the equipment, ready to provide support when needed is very interesting," said Gianella.

Gianella and his fellow peers who came on board Bobo are in their final two years of a six-year naval engineering degree program at Italy's Naval Academy in the city of Livorno. Their last two years of study are spent at Naples State University.

Bobo is the flagship of Maritime Prepositioning Squadron (MPS) 1. These four ships carry afloat prepositioned cargo for the U.S. military in the Mediterranean Sea and Eastern Atlantic Ocean. Bobo is a government-owned ship crewed by 29 civilian mariners working for a private company under contract to MSC. MPS 1 is commanded by a U.S. Navy captain and a staff of about 10 military personnel embarked aboard Bobo to direct the squadron's military missions while the mariners operate and navigate the ship.