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USS ANZIO, At Sea - The crew aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Anzio took a break in its busy schedule at sea to mark the middle of the ship's deployment in support of counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia, Aug. 24.
Anzio left its home port of Norfolk, Va. in May, and became the flagship for Combined Task Force 151, June 28, a multi-national coalition established by the Combined Maritime Forces in Bahrain to deter, disrupt and suppress piracy activity in the Horn of Africa region.
"Today was an excellent opportunity for the crew to relax and spend the day together with embarked staff and units and just to have some good old fashioned flight deck fun," said Anzio's executive officer, Cmdr. Bill Ketcham. "They have been working around the clock for several months now and they deserve this."
The crew enjoyed a holiday routine that included events throughout the day such as a tug-of-war contest, bean-bag toss, pie in the face MWR fundraiser, steel beach picnic, talent show, ice cream social and movies on the flight deck after dark.
"I really enjoyed the tug-of-war contest because it leveled the playing field showing that we are all one team which is a reflection of our daily interaction on watch with each other," said Petty Officer 1st Class Keith Gilbert.
After several months of conducting counter piracy operations, the crew enjoyed the break.
"It was very nice to relax," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Justin Morgan. "We work long days so it is great to get a break from the routine and re-charge our batteries. It was a lot of fun."
Other units embarked aboard Anzio including the Helicopter Squadron Light 48, Det. 7, joint U.S./UK CTF 151 staff, US Coast Guard legal detachment and the Emergency Resuscitation Surgical Team also took time to relax.
Anzio is commanded by Capt. Frank Olmo from Harrington Park, New Jersey. Olmo assumed command of the Aegis cruiser, March 19.
| Date Taken: | 08.25.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 08.25.2009 10:38 |
| Story ID: | 37925 |
| Location: | ABOARD USS ANZIO, AT SEA |
| Web Views: | 404 |
| Downloads: | 364 |
This work, CTF 151 Flagship Marks Deployment Milestone, by LCDR Corey Barker, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
