Photo By Chief Petty Officer Gary Keen | Lt. Saidu Kamara, from the Sierra Leone navy, and Kouessan Kpomgbe, from the Togo...... read more read more
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USS GUNSTON HALL, At Sea – Nineteen ship riders from The Gambia, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Togo tested their acquired knowledge in a culminating final exercise, called "crucible", aboard the Africa Partnership Station West platform USS Gunston Hall, April 21.
The crucible tested the ship riders' ability to work as a team in shipboard damage control, basic first aid and force protection measures.
"This exercise is a chance for the ship riders to apply the knowledge they have acquired during these two weeks of in-port and at-sea training," said Lt. David Taylor, APS training officer.
Liberian navy Lt. j.g. Venus Dean and Ensign Charles Blawah said the training they received had benefits beyond seamanship and damage control.
"The crucible and all the training throughout the two week were astonishing," said Blawah. "There were many things I have learned, but I feel that I have benefitted the most from the communication and interaction with people from other countries. The training forced us to work with sailors from other countries, helping to expand our ability to interact with other people."
"It was shocking," said Dean. "We are all from different countries and speak different languages, but were able to grasp the concepts and apply it the exercise."
The 19 ship riders were divided and rotated among five stations: simulated small boat attack, shoring, pipe patching, fire team, and medical casualty. In the end, the sailors were briefed on their performance.
"Today is just a small evolution to give you all an idea of what can occur at sea," said Chief Petty Officer Kevin Wright, from Omaha, Neb., as he debriefed the group following the exercise. "In an actual casualty you can have all of these events happening at the same time. You have to always be mindful of what your priorities are and disseminate your people as needed. Remember when you get back to your navies, training is important. You all had an opportunity to see some things here, please by all means, take that back and share it with you junior sailors."
Sierra Leone navy Lt. Musa Fofanah said that medical portion of the crucible was his favorite part of the training.
"I enjoyed the medical training because of the role playing of the staff," said Fofanah. "They moved around and screamed like a real casualty. It really gets you motivated and makes the training very exciting. I hope that I will able to participate in APS again next year. "
The ship rider program pairs African sailors with U.S. Navy Sailors of the same specialty for one-on-one training. It is an integral part of APS that runs parallel to the more formal student activities that go on in fixed classes.
Gunston Hall, a Whidbey Island class amphibious dock landing ship, is on a scheduled deployment in the 6th Fleet area of responsibility in support of APS West, an international initiative developed by Naval Forces Europe-Africa that aims to improve maritime safety and security in Africa.
Find out more about Gunston Hall at www.gunston-hall.navy.mil. You can follow Gunston Hall and APS at their Facebook pages, www.facebook.com/GunstonHall and www.facebook.com/AfricaPartnershipStation.
| Date Taken: | 04.23.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.26.2010 09:11 |
| Story ID: | 48704 |
| Location: | USS GUNSTON HALL, AT SEA |
| Web Views: | 221 |
| Downloads: | 196 |
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