10 NAVY NEWS, JULY 2010


● HMS St Albans’ ‘bish’, the Rev Keith Robus, leads a foc’s’le service on the frigate in the northern Gulf


It Saint half hot, mum...


● The star of the show, HMS St Albans, punches through the northern Gulf and (below) a Kuwaiti fast patrol craft at speed during a search and rescue exercise involving the Gulf state and the Type 23


summertime. 40-plus degrees Celsius (50-plus on quite a few days). But does that stop the men and women of HMS St Albans doing their business? Of course not. No, the Saint knuckled down to some


AS THE Gulf tends to be in


intensive exercises with her Kuwaiti allies under the glare of the May and June sun. As befits an alliance, the locals dispatched a welcoming committee for the Portsmouth- based frigate: five Apache gunships (two of which are pictured above).


The Kuwaiti Air Force helicopters are typically found over the desert (indeed it’s only Britain which has converted the potent aircraft for use at sea), but their armour-piercing Hellfire missiles could ruin a Type 23’s day as much as any tank’s... So the five Apaches proved to be an extremely useful test of St Alban’s aerial defence systems.


“Over these few days the Royal Navy and the Kuwaiti Forces demonstrated their versatility and proved that they can operate together seamlessly – particularly in vital rescue operations. “These exercises not only develop and strengthen the skills required for nations to work together, but are also opportunities to further reinforce the strong bond between our two nations.” The exercises bracketed three days in Kuwait’s eponymous capital city.


The ship served as a platform for UK industries, in particular those producing equipment suitable for use by Kuwait’s coastguard.


Five companies used the 23 as the backdrop to promote their wares from surveillance sensor


which ranged radar and electro-optic


systems to commercial and military hovercraft, as well as underwater instrumentation.


Other aircraft in Kuwaiti skies were rather less fearsome: Kuwaiti Pumas conducted a series of winchings on to and off the frigate’s flight deck.


There was no shortage of senior visitors filing up the St Albans gangway, among them Brig Gen Jassim Mohammed Al Ansari, commander of the


Meanwhile, St Albans’ own air power – Merlin helicopter ‘Lola’ (no we still don’t know the story behind the unusual callsign...) – was scrambled as part of manoeuvres to test the ability of friendly forces to conduct a joint rescue operation.


Operations’ Centre ashore to choreograph the search and rescue exercise involving maritime and aerial units


It was down to the Kuwaiti Coastguard


naval offi cers who embarked on the Type 23 to gain an insight into what St Albans – and her sisters who almost constantly deploy to the northern Gulf – bring to maritime operations in this challenging environment. And lest it be thought that the Kuwaitis had


all the ‘fun’, Saint’s Royal Marines boarding team carried out training with their Kuwaiti counterparts in the Kuwaiti Ministry from the Interior. “Joint operations between friendly nations are essential in building, and enhancing the security and safety at sea for all,” said St Albans’ CO Cdr Adrian Pierce.


It drew to a close with some combined ship manoeuvring before a Kuwaiti Coastguard vessel berthed alongside the Saint to transfer several personnel. All this was witnessed by a pair of Kuwaiti


Kuwaiti-led coalition task force which upholds the security at sea and oversees safe passage for mariners in the northern Gulf. The frigate also hosted the British Ambassador to Kuwait, Frank Baker, and the Commodore of Britannia Royal Naval College, Cdre Jake Moores. Away from VIPs and top brass, the ship’s


company challenged local/ex-pat sides to football,


rugby and netball matches, there


was a spot of golf, some hash running and a football coaching session provided by three of the sailors to local youngsters (see the sports pages for more). “We can look back at a very busy – but


enjoyable – stay. We experienced at fi rst-hand the renowned warm and friendly reception from the people of Kuwait,” said Cdr Pierce. “It was a fantastic opportunity to further


UK-Kuwaiti relations, while showing off some of the cutting edge technologies onboard one of the Royal Navy’s most modern and capable warships.” The frigate has now resumed more routine duties, namely protecting Iraq’s two oil platforms which are the lifeblood of her economy.


The Saint will soon be making for home as her sister HMS Somerset arrives in the region to take over Operation Telic patrols.


Keith Almighty “


THE two Royal Marines checked their magazines, cocked their weapons and fl icked on the safety catch as they beckoned me with a nod of the head to follow them. It was a surreal moment as I climbed off the patrol boat into the heavily guarded Iraqi port of Umm Qasr on the Khawr Abd Allah river.


My name is Keith Robus and six months ago I was a vicar of a suburban parish in West London.


However after 21 years in parish life, I answered the call by the Almighty to become a chaplain in the Royal Navy. I had been a reservist for three years, but, unbeknown to me at the time, this was just a preliminary for full-time service.


At the beginning of March I left my new home of Portsmouth to join HMS St Albans for their operational deployment in and around the Gulf of Arabia.


A Royal Naval Chaplain is ‘a friend and advisor to all’. They carry no rank, and by tradition assume the rate or rank of the person to whom they are talking. They have also been granted the right of confi dentiality, as they are outside all reporting structures. This means that sailors are able to confi de in their chaplain knowing it will go no further.


The two Royal Marines, ‘sea soldiers’, were acting as bodyguards for each other and me, as chaplains are forbidden to bear any weapons, as I was brought into the port base to conduct a pastoral visit. It was a moment for refl ection, for the only magazine I knew about were parish ones, and the only body armour I had ever worn were football shin pads.


During my stay in Umm Qasr, I was able to lead a church service and celebrate Holy Communion. It was also possible to chat with many of the personnel on the establishment, a coalition of UK, US, UN forces as well as Iraqis.


The ministry at this port base mirrors what happens on a ship. The Chaplain is head of his own department, and has the privilege to join in with the many activities taking place on the vessel to keep it ship shape.


During my time aboard STAL, as her abbreviated name becomes, I have painted some of her outside, greased cables, cooked in the galley, been a casualty in a crash exercise, been winched into Lola, the ship’s Merlin helicopter, and swabbed decks, as well as conducting church services.


We are, by our very nature, ‘incarnational’ chaplains, eating, sleeping, working, exercising and relaxing with the 200 or so sailors within our steel ark.


We count them out for ‘the run ashore’ and count them back in, playing an active part when pastoral situations arise.


For example, with the majority of the crew aged between 18 and 26, nearly all will have grandparents, and statistically during a deployment sadly some of those grandparents will die.


For the young man or woman it may be their fi rst bereavement and they may not be allowed back for the funeral. HMS St Albans is deployed for over six months and during that length of time, strain may be placed on families and relationships. It is here and in other situations that the listening ear and guidance of the chaplain is of great benefi t.


On a happier note, the chaplain is also the ‘pint of morale’ to be brought out when the routines become just that and the next port visit is weeks away. Many a chaplain has made good use of their privilege at not carrying rank to poke fun at themselves and others – and at times of those in authority but always in a good-natured way.


Were you to ask me, am I enjoying myself and do I fi nd this ministry fulfi lling, I would only be able to answer that I think I have the best job in the Royal Navy and that it is a joy and privilege to serve the men and women of HMS St Albans.


Please do pray for us and for all members of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces serving in places of danger both at home and overseas.


” pictures: la(phot) steve johncock, frpu west


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