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Gunston Hall Shares VBSS Knowledge

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS140603-11
Release Date: 6/3/2014 12:27:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jesse A. Hyatt

RED SEA (NNS) -- Sailors assigned to the amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) visited the Royal Jordanian Naval Base in Aqaba, Jordan to exercise visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) procedures with Jordanian and Saudi Arabian sailors, May 23-27 in preparation for Exercise Eager Lion 2014.

Gunston Hall, one of three ships which comprise the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), is conducting joint training with multinational partners during Eager Lion 2014 to help increase interoperability in the region.

VBSS is the practice of boarding suspicious or unknown vessels to gather evidence, intelligence and possibly detain known criminals. VBSS plays a vital strategic role in combating piracy in the world's most congested waterways. Countries from around the world have combined efforts to fight piracy. Joint training exercises such as these prepare Sailors for future missions.

'The VBSS missions often involve several teams from multiple countries with a shared mission and objective,' said Operations Specialist 2nd Class (SW) James Wahl of Endicott, New York. 'Being part of a VBSS team means that you must be ready and able to work with other varied and diverse teams from foreign nations to meet the common goal of eliminating piracy. Exercises such as this one helps to prepare all of us to get the job done.'

With the assistance of a translator, Gunston Hall Sailors took the lead in conducting all aspects of VBSS procedures. The majority of the instruction took place in a classroom setting, but also incorporated hands-on personnel searches and detainee handling techniques.

'We went through every step involved in boarding a vessel and tried to pass along as much knowledge as we could in the amount of time that was afforded to us,' said Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class (SW) Scott Hitter of New Iberia, Louisiana. 'The teams each possessed varied levels of practice and experience so while it may have been old hat for some, I really think others took a lot away from the training.'

The event also covered proper evidence gathering and handling procedures. Gunston Hall's weapons and VBSS officer explained the importance of assessing the intelligence collected from evidence.

'Getting on a ship and clearing spaces is important, but all the intelligence we can collect and process really helps to set us up for future success in the overall mission of anti-piracy,' said Weapons and VBSS officer Ensign Austin Clouse of Annapolis, Maryland. 'Being able to pass along knowledge on how this is accomplished gets us that much closer to our goal of making international waters safer for everyone.'

Eager Lion is a recurring, multinational exercise designed to strengthen military-to-military relationships, increase interoperability between partner nations and enhance regional security and stability.