US sailors from one of the world's most advanced vessels pay a visit to Kota Kinabalu
Thursday, 11 Apr 20194:37 PM MYT
by stephanie lee
A file picture of the United States' 7th Fleet Flagship, the USS Blue Ridge.
KOTA KINABALU: Sailors from the USS Blue Ridge visiting the city here will be going around doing community work, playing friendly football matches with locals and stateless children, as well as having their in-house band perform at several locations.
These are some of the programmes lined up by crewmen of the USS Blue Ridge, which is here for a four-day rest and recreational port visit until Sunday (April 11).
The USS Blue Ridge, the U.S. Seventh Fleet Flagship, is one of the world's most advanced vessels in its category.
Seventh Fleet Deputy Commander Rear Adm Ted LeClair said this was the ship's second visit to Sabah waters, with the last in 2013.
He said they would be visiting children at the Seri Mengasih centre for the differently-abled people on Friday, have a friendly match with children thereafter, and their band will perform at several locations including the Suria Sabah Mall and Centre Point shopping complex over the weekend.
USS Blue Ridge commanding officer Capt Eric Anduze (pic) said they would also be paying a courtesy to their Malaysian counterparts here.
image: https://www.thestar.com.my/~/media/online/2019/04/11/08/44/blueridge-anduze.ashx?la=en
– AP
"We have had strong cooperation with the Malaysian Navy and look forward to possibly expand our collaboration in security aspects," he said.
Equipped with commercial and military satellite capability, this vessel has 11 working decks, houses over 1,000 sailors and has about 10 civilians on board.
This vessel is able to tract land, sea and air movements throughout the region and is responsible for supporting the 7th Fleet through updated command and control capabilities from anywhere around the world.
It enables her staff to coordinate US and allied naval forces remotely.
Its last port of call was in Thailand.
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/04/11/us-sailors-from-one-of-the-worlds-most-advanced-vessels-pay-a-visit-to-kota-kinabalu/#9kHXDU0DUvBW5HfJ.99
