USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group visits Vietnam

ByPettyOfficer2ndClassAskiaCollins

Commander Task Force 70 / Carrier Strike Group 5

DA NANG, Vietnam The U.S. Navy’s onlyforward-deployedaircraftcarrierUSS RonaldReagan(CVN76)arrivedinDaNang, Vietnam, for a scheduled port call June 25, markingthethirdtimeaU.S.aircraftcarrier hasvisitedthecountrysince2018.

Ronald Reagan arrived with two escort ships,theguided-missilecruisersUSSAntietam(CG54)andUSSRobertSmalls(CG62)

“We’re excited to come to Vietnam and appreciate the welcome our strike group hasreceived,”saidRearAdm.PatHannifin, Commander, Task Force (CTF) 70/Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5. “Visits like this reinforce our partnership and commitment to confronting shared challenges in the maritime domain. They also provide a great opportunity for our Sailors to engage with theVietnamesepeopleandculture.”

ThelastvisitfromaU.S.aircraftcarrierto VietnamwasUSSTheodoreRoosevelt(CVN 71)in2020 ThismarksRonaldReagan’sfirst visit to the country since diplomatic rela- tionswerere-established.

“More than 5,000 Sailors aboard USS Ronald Reagan are eager to visit Da Nang and experience Vietnamese culture,” said Capt. Daryle Cardone, Ronald Reagan’s commanding officer. “A few Reagan Sailors call Vietnam home But for most, it will be theirfirsttimevisiting Inaddition,someof the crew will volunteer at several community relations events play sports with local athletes,andparticipateinauniqueculinary exchange.

In addition to the cultural and professionalexchangessuchascommunityservice projects,sportscompetitions,andreceptions planned for the port call, Navy musicians from the U.S. 7th Fleet Band will perform freeconcertsforthepublic

The Ronald Reagan CSG is forward-deployedtotheU.S.7thFleetareaofoperations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacificregion

Navy Seabees build home for Native Americans in need

ByChiefPettyOfficerChristopherOkula

Navy Reserve - Navy Public Affairs Support

Element West GALLUP,N.M. Thepaintisstilldrying onabrandnewhousecompletedbyagroup ofReserve-dutySeabees,whoputthefinishing touches today on a dwelling built for a family in need as part of a partnership with the Southwest Indian Foundation (SWIF), headquarteredhere.

The project was the latest success in an ongoing effort dubbed Operation Footprint by the Department of Defense’s Innovative ReadinessTraining(IRT)program,oneof12 ongoing construction-related IRT projects acrosstheglobe.

Various construction disciplines were exercised, from concrete to framing to plumbing and electrical all skills with which military construction teams need real-world experience to succeed in their brandofwarfighting saidCmdr LeiaGuccione commanding officer of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 18 whose troops provided the bulk of the muscle needed to realize this latest accomplishment.

“There’s no substitute for experience in our line of work,” said Guccione. “You can’t learn how to build a house from a PowerPoint. You can’t learn how to build a bridge or a road or pour a pad from a PowerPoint. You’ve really gotta get out here, get your handsdirty,anddoit.

The IRT program was conceived in the early nineties to deliver unique training

ITOMAN,Japan (June 22 2023) U.S.NavySailors from Commander FleetActivities Okinawa (CFAO) and tenant command personnel,posewith Japanesevolunteers fora group photograph before setting up candles at the Peace Memorial Parkin Itoman,Okinawa Japan,June 22 2023.The candle lightingwas held on the eve ofOkinawa Memorial Day a prefectural holidayhonoring thosewho died during the 1945 Battle ofOkinawa Peace Memorial Parkis built on Mabuni Hill,the location ofthe end ofthe battle and the current site ofmemorialwalls naming the more than 200,000 dead from all involved nations.CFAO maintains and operates facilities to support the U.S.Navy’s naval and aviation assets in the IndoPacific region.(U.S.NAVYPHOTOSBYMASSCOMMUNICATIONSPECIALIST1STCLASSDAVIDR.KRIGBAUM)