SECNAV talks terrorism, piracy on world tour
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is back in the country after a worldwide tour, ending a nearly two-week trip with stops on three continents. Along the way, he met with military and government leaders whose countries offer future Navy and Marine Corps missions, discussed plans to fight terrorists, pirates and rebels — and took in a football game.
The trip started Aug. 20, when Mabus arrived in the Five Hills Training Area near Ulan Bator, Mongolia, for the end of Khaan Quest. The 10th-annual exercise involved 10 nations and 1,000 people training for peacekeeping and humanitarian missions, including disaster response.
Besides meeting with U.S. forces involved in the exercise, Mabus spoke with leaders from Mongolia’s parliament and military, said Capt. Pamela Kunze, Mabus’ spokeswoman.
“Certainly, the strategic importance of Mongolia from a geographical perspective is pretty obvious,” Kunze said of the landlocked nation between Russia and China.
Up next was a short stop — a few hours, Kunze said — in Kabul for a meeting with Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, and an all-hands call with sailors and Marines. Mabus addressed security in the region, which has seen a spike in so-called “green-on-blue” attacks by Afghan police and soldiers on U.S. forces.
After Kabul, Mabus covered five nations in Africa in less than a week, stopping in sub-Saharan Kenya and Uganda before crossing the continent to visit Togo, Benin and Cameroon. Talks varied by location, but counterpiracy and counterterrorism measures were discussed, Kunze said.
In Uganda, Mabus met with officials and discussed efforts to address the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group. In October, President Obama announced he would send troops to central Africa to help regional forces in their hunt for the organization’s leader, Joseph Kony.
Mabus moved from Africa to Europe, arriving in Dublin on Aug. 30 and holding a high-powered all-hands meeting the next day on the amphibious transport dock Fort McHenry with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jon Greenert and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SS/SW) Rick West, among others.
Fort McHenry offered tours to more than 1,200 Irish citizens as part of the run-up to the Emerald Isle Classic football game Sept. 1 between the Naval Academy and Notre Dame, which the Mids lost, 50-10.
Mabus returned to Washington after the game — skipping a planned visit to Maine, where he was scheduled to attend a naming ceremony for the joint high speed vessel Millinocket. The event will be rescheduled.
The trip started Aug. 20, when Mabus arrived in the Five Hills Training Area near Ulan Bator, Mongolia, for the end of Khaan Quest. The 10th-annual exercise involved 10 nations and 1,000 people training for peacekeeping and humanitarian missions, including disaster response.
Besides meeting with U.S. forces involved in the exercise, Mabus spoke with leaders from Mongolia’s parliament and military, said Capt. Pamela Kunze, Mabus’ spokeswoman.
“Certainly, the strategic importance of Mongolia from a geographical perspective is pretty obvious,” Kunze said of the landlocked nation between Russia and China.
Up next was a short stop — a few hours, Kunze said — in Kabul for a meeting with Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, and an all-hands call with sailors and Marines. Mabus addressed security in the region, which has seen a spike in so-called “green-on-blue” attacks by Afghan police and soldiers on U.S. forces.
After Kabul, Mabus covered five nations in Africa in less than a week, stopping in sub-Saharan Kenya and Uganda before crossing the continent to visit Togo, Benin and Cameroon. Talks varied by location, but counterpiracy and counterterrorism measures were discussed, Kunze said.
In Uganda, Mabus met with officials and discussed efforts to address the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group. In October, President Obama announced he would send troops to central Africa to help regional forces in their hunt for the organization’s leader, Joseph Kony.
Mabus moved from Africa to Europe, arriving in Dublin on Aug. 30 and holding a high-powered all-hands meeting the next day on the amphibious transport dock Fort McHenry with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jon Greenert and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SS/SW) Rick West, among others.
Fort McHenry offered tours to more than 1,200 Irish citizens as part of the run-up to the Emerald Isle Classic football game Sept. 1 between the Naval Academy and Notre Dame, which the Mids lost, 50-10.
Mabus returned to Washington after the game — skipping a planned visit to Maine, where he was scheduled to attend a naming ceremony for the joint high speed vessel Millinocket. The event will be rescheduled.
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