More News From The Tip Of The Spear

Submarines deployed to the Fifth and Seventh Fleet OpAreas continue to excel at that under-appreciated but important part of submarining -- Allied relations. Here are a couple of recent stories of boats and crews doing good:

USS San Juan (SSN 751) In Bahrain

On 15 June 2007, USS SAN JUAN hosted naval liaison officers for lunch and a tour while inport BAHRAIN. CDR Markus Wetekamp and CDR Michael Knafla from Germany , LCDR Bo Albertsen from Denmark, CDR Paul MacNeill from Canada, and CDR Clay Riales from the United States toured the submarine and received an overview of the ship's capabilities.
Following the tour, the Commanding Officer dined with the visiting officers in the wardroom. The visit provided the visiting officers the chance to better understand the operations of the submarine as well an opportunity for crew members of the SAN JUAN to interact with and share ideas from officers of foreign navies.

Here's a picture of the visit:

There's something unique and... well, depressing... about Manama Harbor.

USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) In Brisbane

CDR Mike Tesar, Commanding Officer USS CHEYENNE hosts Australian VIPs during their port visit to Brisbane on 14 June 2007. The evening included a tour of the submarine and a gourmet four-course meal, followed by presentation of gifts to the official guests. Guest list included members from the Royal Australian Navy, Australian American Association, Australian Submarine Association, and the American Legion.
The event was a huge success and showcased the expertise of CHEYENNE's Culinary Specialist division who catered the event. "USS CHEYENNE won the 2007 Ney Award for excellence in food service and tonight they had a chance to show off their skills," said CDR Tesar as he congratulated his crew for a job well done.

Captain Tesar was one of my fellow JOs on USS Topeka (SSN 754) back in the early 90s, so I always like to see how he's doing on his command tour. Here are a couple pictures from the visit; the first one shows CDR Tesar giving a tour topside:

The last one shows LCDR Axel Spens, Cheyenne's XO, exchanging dolphins with Mr. Don Currell, Vice President of the Australian Submarine Association Queensland Branch:

I only got to exchange dolphins once (with a Japanese submarine officer) but I think it's one of the greatest traditions we have.