NAVY NEWS, DECEMBER 2010
9
‘A sensational ship...’
NOW in a cold and dark winter, here’s something
Naval speech...). This is the torchbearer of the future Fleet shepherded by launches and a New York Police Department helicopter towards a berth on the Hudson River.
HMS Daring spent four days in New York on her inaugural visit to the Big Apple. And what a visit. It really couldn’t have been any
more A-list... You want to host a dinner for the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations’ Security Council and twenty UN Ambassadors in the destroyer’s ward room? You want to hold a reception for 120 VIPs, including the British Consul Sir Alan Collins? You want to promote the ‘Cultural Olympiad’ in 2012 – a celebration of the best of British art to coincide with the Olympics – by hosting some of Britain’s most famous actors? You want a rig run in Times
Square? You want to call in on the
New York Stock Exchange and Wall Street? Yep, that was all possible. New York was the final scheduled port of call for HMS Daring on her first ‘mini deployment’ – two-plus months operating off
Seaboard of the United States. And it was a visit to remember.
the Eastern
It began with a formal reception for experts in the security field and a ceremonial sunset (the Port Authority Police Department Honor Guard providing the bugler). Barely had the guests departed than the chefs and stewards were gearing up for another high- profile function.
our hearts (with apologies to one W S Churchill for paraphrasing a famous
to warm the cockles of
McAlpine paid formal visits to the New York Stock Exchange and City Hall and paid his respects at the site of the World Trade Center and the British Memorial Garden in Hanover Square (near Wall Street) where the 67 Britons killed in the September 11 atrocities are remembered. And there were some lighter moments. The
class – which are even more futuristic-looking than the Type 45s... and cost an eye-watering £3.7bn a pop. So what’s been accomplished during Daring’s
ship’s company headed off on a rig run (which basically involves being treated like royalty by New Yorkers: free travel on the subway, moving to the front of queues, free drinks). Other Darings enjoyed a glimpse of cutting-edge British (and French) technology with a tour of a Concorde, now part of a museum on the neighbouring berth. The visit closed with a celebration of the best of British art. Alongside the Olympic Games in 2012 there’ll be a ‘Cultural Olympiad’, a showcase for every aspect of UK art (an ‘industry’ worth more than £4bn annually to the nation’s economy).
“HMS Daring is a sensational ship and the crew is the crème de la crème. I loved every second of my time on board and was struck again by the extreme youthfulness of those who are prepared to lay down their lives in service of our country. As an Army brat myself, I felt I was amongst family.”
– Joanna Lumley
description ‘national treasure’ probably applies). Of course, Daring didn’t cross the Pond merely to hob-nob with the powerful and famous. The main reason for her transatlantic crossing was a workout with the USS Enterprise battlegroup (you might recall the picture of her with the Big E in last month’s paper...).
After that photograph was taken, Daring and the USA’s most famous aircraft carrier knuckled down to a Comptuex (Composite Training Unit Exercise) – a sort of OST/Joint Warrior exercise to test every facet of the Enterprise group ahead of its deployment next month.
With the UK holding the presidency of the UN Security Council last month, a suitable location was sought for the regular dinner for council members. Enter one Type 45 destroyer... As well as dining in Daring’s wardroom (which now has a fine wooden table and is, thankfully, much less sterile than when the Navy News team last visited), the UN VIPs were treated to a guided tour of Britain’s most advanced warship. They weren’t the only ones to look around Daring while the ship was berthed on the Hudson. The ship’s company also hosted New York schoolchildren, who left the destroyer with various mementos, including England football strips. Daring’s Commanding Officer Capt Paddy
For Daring the mission was obvious: defend the task group from aerial attack – known as ‘Red Crown’ duties – and co-ordinate Allied aerial assets.
And the Septics don’t do things by halves when it comes to these exercises: 346 aerial sorties were flown by friend and foe while D32 was in charge of safeguarding the task group. In doing so, says Daring’s Commanding Officer, Capt Paddy McAlpine, the ship “provided the best area air picture of any platform to go before”. For the Americans, the chance to see Daring in action offered their Navy a glimpse into things to come; the Pentagon is currently building next- generation air defence destroyers, the Zumwalt-
from the creative world were invited aboard Daring to highlight the impending celebration, among them Sir Patrick Stewart (younger readers will remember him from X-Men, slightly older ones from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and older ones still for a string of Shakespearan performances...) and Joanna Lumley (for whom the
Some eighty leading figures
relatively brief deployment? Well, according to her Executive Officer Lt Cdr Rob Steadman, the ship and her 180 sailors have achieved “a fair amount”:
■ first test of the Type 45’s ability to work with our US allies; ■ first test of providing area air defence for a battlegroup; ■ first sustained period in defence watches;
■ first warm-weather trials (off Florida) to prepare for any future deployments east of Suez; ■ first long-range test of the Type 45 logistics chain (which came in handy when some engine parts were needed); ■ first replenishment at sea with a foreign tanker; ■ first nighttime replenishment at sea; ■ first Pickle Night at sea.
Hmmm. ‘A fair amount’ seems a bit of an understatement...
Pictures: New York Police Department
Numbers helped and charitable spend to date 2356 and £535,220
Men and women in the Royal Marines and Royal Navy serve their country, often at times of danger: the RNBT serves them and their families, at times of need, throughout their lives. Your donations help us to help them.
The Royal Naval Benevolent Trust Castaway House, 311 Twyford Avenue, Portsmouth PO2 8RN t 023 9269 0112 f 023 9266 0852 e
rnbt@rnbt.org.uk w
www.rnbt.org.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48