YOKOSUKA, Japan – Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG 60) departed Fleet Activities Yokosuka Sept. 11, following a 12-day port visit.
The ship arrived in Yokosuka Aug. 30 for voyage repairs and embarkation of Warlords of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 51, Detachment 1, operating from Atsugi, Japan.
“I think it’s great that we’ve brought one of the Navy’s newest helicopters onboard one of the Navy’s oldest class of ships.” said Lt. Cmdr. Brian Ross, the Initial Ship Aviation Team Training safety observer of HSM-51. “It’s like passing the torch, the integration of the old with the new. We are honored to be a part of this ship’s last deployment.”
According to Ross, the MH-60R Seahawk helicopter provides a variety of capabilities to the ship, including surface and anti-submarine warfare, vertical replenishment and reconnaissance missions.
In addition to embarking the air detachment and making critical repairs, the ship’s crew enjoyed their first visit to a foreign port since leaving Everett, Washington in June. The crew explored the area and had the opportunity to visit several nearby cities, including Tokyo and Kamakura. The ship arrived in Yokosuka during the final week of Mt. Fuji climbing season, allowing nearly 80 Sailors climbed Japan’s iconic mountain and take home their well-earned Mt. Fuji hiking stick.
“I went to the top of Tokyo Tower and saw the entire city stretched all across the horizon,” said Yeoman 1st Class Matthew Judd, from Everett, Massachusetts. “It makes you feel really small. It looked like a never ending city. It was amazing.”
Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class Brandon Sullivan, from Bozeman, Montana, was excited to climb Mt. Fuji with several of his shipmates.
“This hike really brought some of us together,” said Sullivan. “I could tell from the way everyone was talking to each other on the way down, because we all accomplished something together.”
Rodney M. Davis, stationed in Everett, Washington, is on patrol in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
| Date Taken: | 09.13.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.13.2014 00:43 |
| Story ID: | 142046 |
| Location: | YOKOSUKA, JP |
| Web Views: | 66 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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