USS WASP

Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Johnny Michael

CARIBBEAN SEA – Sailors and Marines aboard the multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) welcomed Christopher Lambert the Charge D'Affairs, Deputy Chief of Mission for the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo, and MG Rolando Rosado Mateo, Director of the National Department for Drug Control, along with other guests from the Dominican Republic Nov. 2.

Lambert and Mateo arrived onboard Wasp via helicopter at approximately 11:30 a.m. to observe Southern Partnership Station operations and the interoperability concept in practice on Wasp.

"This is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the unique contribution the amphibious Navy and Marine Corps team is making to our national defense and to showcase the professionalism of our Sailors and Marines," said Wasp Commanding Officer, Capt. Lowell D. Crow. "The United States continues to enjoy warm relations with the Dominican Republic, and this visit certainly helped serve that interest."

The distinguished visitors were given a tour of Wasp, with particular attention paid to the ship's cavernous well deck and state-of-the-art landing forces operational command. Wasp leadership also treated the visitors to lunch and the two parties exchanged gifts before the Dominican Republic delegation departed the ship.

According to the U.S. State Department, the U.S. has a strong interest in a democratic, stable, and economically healthy Dominican Republic. The country's standing as the largest Caribbean economy, second largest country in terms of population and land mass, with large bilateral trade with the U.S., and its proximity to the U.S. and other smaller Caribbean nations make the Dominican Republic an important partner in hemispheric affairs. The Embassy estimates that 100,000 U.S. citizens live in the Dominican Republic; many are dual nationals. An important element of the relationship between the two countries is the fact that more than 1 million individuals of Dominican origin reside in the U.S., most of them in the metropolitan Northeast and some in Florida.

Wasp and the Security Cooperation Marine Air Ground Task Force are working alongside Mayport-based Destroyer Squadron 40 during a three month deployment to build interoperability and cooperation between U.S. and partner nation naval forces through a variety of exercises as part of Southern Partnership Station.

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