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Republic of Singapore Navy Sailors Visit George Washington

15 October 2011

From Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Juan Pinalez

The aircraft carrier hosted more than 300 Republic of Singapore Navy sailors during a port visit to Singapore, Oct. 14.

SINGAPORE - The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) gave tours to more than 300 Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) sailors during a port visit to Singapore, Oct. 14.

The tour group was the largest military groups to visit George Washington since the ship began its 2011 patrol. The RSN Sailors took the opportunity aboard George Washington to get an up-close look at the ship’s aircraft, hangar bay, flight deck and navigation bridge.

“The RSN was offered a visit to George Washington so we opened up the opportunity to our navy family and more than three hundred Sailors came aboard today,” said Major Choo Wai Kit, RSN Fleet Headquarters. “We learned a lot about carrier operations and how a ship with more than 5,000 people can work together cohesively for a long period of time at sea.”

To get to the flight deck, the RSN Sailors had the rare opportunity to take a ride on one of the ship’s four aircraft elevators to the flight deck where they learned about flight deck operations and the different types of aircraft, including F/A-18E Super Hornets, SH-60F Sea Hawks, E-2C Hawkeyes and EA-6B Prowlers.

“We find a lot of value from learning from others and as a small navy, we can learn a lot from the U.S. Navy,” said Choo. “Ultimately we are all Sailors and operate at sea so there are many similarities; just the scope of operations is different.”

The tour group was led by Aviators from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 and enlisted Sailors from George Washington who together, proudly showed off the ship, the aircraft and explained how the two organizations work together to fulfill their mission in the western Pacific.

“A lot of what we do in this area of the world is to show that the U.S. Navy is here to help—I mean any kind of disaster pops up and the Navy is ready to respond,” said Lt. Aaron Castro of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 14. “And that’s really one of the most important things we can do as a forward-deployed force.”

In 2011, George Washington has made port visits to Sasebo, Japan, Laem Chabang,Thailand and Busan, Republic of Korea. Port visits increase mutual understanding through positive interaction events such as tours of the ship, receptions, sports event and sports and community service projects. This supports regional cooperation on common concerns which are of the utmost importance to continued progress.

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