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USS Fort Worth in Jakarta for first port visit in SE Asia
First visit: The littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) arrives in Jakarta on Monday, marking its first port visit in Southeast Asia and the first LCS visit to Indonesia
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First visit: The littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) arrives in Jakarta on Monday, marking its first port visit in Southeast Asia and the first LCS visit to Indonesia. (Courtesy of the US Embassy) (LCS 3) arrives in Jakarta on Monday, marking its first port visit in Southeast Asia and the first LCS visit to Indonesia. (Courtesy of the US Embassy)
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span class="inline inline-left">First visit: The littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) arrives in Jakarta on Monday, marking its first port visit in Southeast Asia and the first LCS visit to Indonesia. (Courtesy of the US Embassy)
A US combat ship, the USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), arrived in Jakarta on Monday as part of a 16-month rotational deployment in support of the Indo-Asia-Pacific rebalance.
This port visit is the USS Fort Worth's first in Southeast Asia, and also marks the first LCS visit to Indonesia.
US Ambassador to Indonesia Robert Blake greeted the ship upon arrival today in a ceremony also attended by Western Fleet Command commander Rear Adm. Widodo, US 7th Fleet Task Force 73 commander Rear Adm. Charlie Williams and Destroyer Squadron 7 commander Capt. Fred Kacher.
'Fort Worth's arrival in Jakarta is the first of many engagements she will conduct with regional navies while deployed to the seventh fleet for the next 15 months,' said Williams in a release made available to The Jakarta Post on Monday.
'This port visit also speaks to our strong and growing partnership with the Indonesian Navy,' he went on.
Southeast Asia is a textbook example of a littoral region and an area where the LCS is uniquely suited to operate, the US Embassy said in a statement.
'With its maneuverability, high speed and shallow draft, the LCS provides a regular and routine presence in the region and access to places where larger US Navy ships cannot go,' it says.
Fort Worth is of comparable size to the warships operated by regional navies in Southeast Asia, and a major benefit of the platform is its ability to work with them during exercises like Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT). Fort Worth will return to Indonesia in 2015 as part of the CARAT series.
"Fort Worth's arrival in Jakarta is a new dawn for US Navy operations in Southeast Asia," said Kacher.
"As someone who has lived and worked in the region for the past two years, the question I consistently receive from our partners is, 'When is the LCS coming?' With Fort Worth now here, and additional LCSs rotationally deploying to Singapore in the coming years, I can confidently tell our partners that the LCS is here for good and she's ready to operate at sea with you."
Fort Worth will employ the surface warfare mission package for her entire deployment, augmenting her 57 millimeter (mm) gun and rolling airframe missile launcher with two 30mm guns, two 11-meter rigid-hull inflatable boats and two six-member maritime security boarding teams. (ebf)(++++)
