Click on pic for past Navair pings.
Post or FReepmail me if you wish to be enlisted in or discharged from the Navair Pinglist.
This is a medium to low volume pinglist.
Posted on 11/2/2007, 10:10:01 AM by Clive
Leading Seaman Derek Parsons smiled broadly and held up two fingers for four-year-old Christopher to see.
“Daddy call you,” the sailor called out to his young son on the jetty below. “Two more sleeps.” Moments later, he ordered a row of men to pull up the line, and HMCS Charlottetown sailed away from Halifax on Thursday morning to begin a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf.
Christopher and his mother Sherry walked down the jetty, waving as they tried to keep up with the ship.
“I’ll call you. Two days, I’ll call you,” Leading Seaman Parsons shouted to them.
A sailor for 17 years, this was the first time he’d left behind his boy.
The Parsons family of Cole Harbour was among the hundreds of relatives, friends and colleagues who attended a tearful send-off for the 250 military members aboard.
The Halifax-class frigate was deployed as part of Operation Altair, Canada’s contribution to the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism, known as Operation Enduring Freedom.
Cmdr. Patrick St. Denis said the crew will provide maritime security, through surveillance, boardings and other measures to ensure the safe passage of merchant marine traffic.
According to the navy’s website, the frigate carries a Sea King chopper and crew, torpedoes, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, weapon-control radars, sonar and electronic warfare systems along with a variety of guns, and is equipped to play a variety of roles.
“The focus (of the overall mission) now has changed a little bit to gain the co-operation of the regional locals so we can gain more intelligence in the region, so we can known exactly what they traffic patterns are, if there’s any terrorist act or illegal act,” Cmdr. St. Denis said.
He later told reporters that being there “will help us to build relationship with the locals so they can feel comfortable to pass us information so that we can maintain their security as well.”
The naval presence is needed not only to minimize the terrorist threat for Canada, but to also protect Canadian consumers, he said.
“Three-quarters of the oil shipments of the world uses a maritime environment,” Cmdr. St. Denis said.
“Therefore, the importance of protecting the maritime highway is critical to Canadians at home so that the price of gas or the costs to consumers are maintained.”
The family of Leading Seaman Alan Isnor was among the last to leave the jetty after the vessel had sailed out of sight.
A close-knit family, his wife and three children clung to each other and sobbed as reality hit.
“I’m going to be a single parent overnight,” his wife Donna Isnor said.
A navy man for six years, he’s seldom been away for more than two weeks at a time.
His eldest son, Andrew, will turn 16 today. He’s not sure how he was going to help the family get through his father’s absence.
“You just try not to think that it’s not going to happen,” he said, as the tears ran down his face.
“But the point where they’re letting the boat off the dock, and you’re chasing the boat down the dock, and once you get to the end, there’s no turning back — he’s gone.”
The ships are:
USS Harry S Truman (CVN 75) Nimitz class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
USS San Jacinto (CG 56) Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser
USS Hue City (CG 66) Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser
USS Carney (DDG 64) Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer
USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer (Oscar Austin sub class)
USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer (Oscar Austin sub class)
HMS Manchester (D95) Manchester class Type 42 Batch 3 destroyer
USS Montpelier (SSN 765) Improved Los Angeles class fast attack submarine
HMCS Charlottetown(FFH 339) Halifax Class multi role patrol frigate
USNS Arctic (T-AOE 8) Supply class fast combat support ship
-
Click on pic for past Navair pings.
Post or FReepmail me if you wish to be enlisted in or discharged from the Navair Pinglist.
This is a medium to low volume pinglist.
Her Majesty Can’t Swim?
Contrast this story to that of the US State Dept. whiner yesterday.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.