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USS Vandegrift (FFG 48) arrives in Ho Chi Minh City on the first U.S. Navy ship visit to Vietnam in 30 years. The visit symbolizes the normalizing relations between the two nations.
Photo by PH3(AW) Gary B. Granger, USN |
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The Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, Nguyen Thien Nhan, greets Cmdr. Richard Rogers, Commanding Officer of USS Vandegrift (FFG 48), as U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Raymond Burghardt looks on.
Photo by PH3(AW) Gary B. Granger, USN |
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Cmdr. Rogers joins Ambassador Burghardt for a press conference on board the USS Vandegrift (FFG 48) while the ship was in port in Ho Chi Minh City.
Photo by PH3(AW) Gary B. Granger, USN |
The USS Vandegrift’s (FFG 48) visit to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in late 2003 marked the first U.S. Navy ship in Vietnam since 1973. The Commander of the USS Vandegrift, U.S. Navy Cmdr. Richard Rogers, said he was deeply honored to command the first ship to visit Vietnam in 30 years.
“Our Vietnamese hosts welcomed us with superb hospitality. Our visit marked an important step in continuing the normalization of relations between our two countries.”
The USS Vandegrift’s visit came just one week after Vietnamese Defense Minister Pham Van Tra visited Washington, DC, and met with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, to discuss a broad range of bilateral and international security issues.
An Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate, the USS Vandegrift has a crew of about 200 sailors and is a multi-mission platform that can operate two helicopters for undersea warfare and reconnaissance missions. It is part of the USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) Carrier Strike Group, and is forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan.
During the port visit, the crew participated in a volleyball tournament with the Vietnamese Navy Technical School and helped in three separate community relations projects around the city. Mr. Marc Porter, economic officer for the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, said officials from Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped contacted the Consulate General’s office and asked for assistance for the projects. “It was an excellent opportunity for . . . local district officials . . . to meet with the United States government and the United States Navy,” said Mr. Porter.
Lt. Cmdr. J. D. Gordon, USN, is assigned to U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. JO Tom Smith, USN, is assigned to the U.S. Naval Media Center Detachment, Yokosuka, Japan.
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