Port Visit

The other day another Navy ship, the HSV-2 Swift, came into the Djibouti City port. The Marines were there to meet it and I joined them a bit later. The Swift is an experimental ship, a trimarine (3 hulled ship) logistics ship, that the Navy is operating as they prepare for the first two Littoral Combat Ships. Here are some pictures of us in and around the ship:

She looks pretty cool and is optimized for speed. Her Captain gave several of us a tour around the ship and we were very thankful that he took time away from his busy schedule to do so. The Swift is leased from an Australian company and it was obvious that her roots were as a civilian ferry. But the twin .50cal machine guns were an instant reminder that she was painted Navy grey for a reason. (Ok, they didn't paint her hull, but left the naked aluminum alone to save weight.) The Swift has a relatively small crew for her size, but that looks like the future of the Navy.

On our way out, we stopped at another one of the refueling piers. Apparently it is an old custom that Naval ships will often leave a momento of their stay and this can be seen at several different ports (but not all I believe). They usually paint their ship's name and sometimes a small mural. This one attracted our attention:

USS Cole, 8 Mar 98, DDG-67. The Cole was bombed on 12 Oct 2000, so this was left on a port visit a couple of years prior. It is a reminder of why we are out here, the importance of our job, and why we must remain vigilent.

DominicsDad, in Djibouti