Photo By Grady Fontana | 170416-N-IX266-003 KUCHING, Malaysia— A group of cadets from University of Malaysia...... read more read more
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KUCHING, Malaysia—About 40 cadets from the University of Malaysia (UniMas) Sarawak here toured the expeditionary fast transport USNS Fall River (T-EPF 4) during Pacific Partnership 2017, at Pending Port here April 15.
“This is the first time I have brought cadets to see a USNS ship,” said Malaysian Army Maj. Razali Abdul Manan, chief instructor, Reserve Officer Training, UniMas Sarawak. “This is a good opportunity for the cadets to see the difference between the combatant ships in the U.S. Navy and the utility ships, such as the Fall River. They can see that this ship is very capable and versatile.”
The Fall River is in Malaysia supporting PP17, an annual multilateral humanitarian aid and disaster response preparedness mission that has scheduled stops in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Malaysia is the second mission stop for the Fall River, which recently arrived from Sri Lanka, and will be conducting humanitarian aid and disaster response preparedness exercises, medical exchanges, civil engineering projects and community engagement events throughout Sarawak, Malaysia.
The group of 40 cadets was divided in two groups and were given a tour of the mission bay, flight deck, the briefing room and various other aspects of the ship.
“It was a great opportunity to meet the cadets,” said U.S. Navy Lt. David Kelts, mission supply officer, Pacific Partnership 2017, and tour guide. “They’re very young and energetic—it was a great opportunity to interact with them. They asked some really great questions.”
The Fall River is a 338-foot-long aluminum catamarans designed for rapid inter-theater troop transport and sea basing. The ship can transport about 600 tons of military troops, supplies and equipment for 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots on jet propulsion.
The first group of cadets showed a great interest in the benefit of the aluminum hull and what capabilities the Fall River brings to the Navy.
“I thought this was iron, but it’s actually made of aluminum,” said Cadet Nurul Fatihaha Shamimi Suharizan, from Pahang, Malaysia. “I’m impressed with it. I’m impressed by how fast this ship can travel because the aluminum makes it so much lighter.”
Suharizan volunteered to attend the tour despite ongoing midterm exams at UniMas.
“We never get an opportunity to visit this kind of ship,” said Suharizan. “I’ve been here for three years and this is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to visit a ship. So, I didn’t want to miss it.”
Another aspect of the ship that generated a lot of interest with the cadets was the adaptive force package, which allows the ship’s mission bay to be outfitted with different types of suites that are self-contained in customized shipping containers fastened to the deck.
“The adaptive force package allows us to utilize the mission bay in ways not originally designed for: adding berthing modules; office and computer workspaces, additional laundry facilities, reefers for food storage and gym equipment,” said Kelts. “The AFP demonstrates flexibility of this platform.”
Suharizan agreed that the Fall River was very functional and took a lot of notice to the added AFP gymnasium and the briefing room. “The facilities are quite good. It looks so comfortable,” she said.
Following Malaysia, the Fall River will travel to Vietnam for the next mission stop.
In addition to Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Vietnam, the U.S. is partnering with service members from Japan, South Korea, Australia and United Kingdom.
Now in its 12th year, Pacific Partnership continues as the largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Asia-Pacific and aims to enhance regional coordination in areas such as medical readiness and preparedness for manmade and natural disasters.
For more information on Pacific Partnership 2017 follow us on Facebook and Twitter: www.facebook.com/pacificpartnership and @PacificPartner
| Date Taken: | 04.16.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 04.17.2017 04:37 |
| Story ID: | 230528 |
| Location: | KUCHING, SARAWAK, MY |
| Web Views: | 318 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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