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Foreword

RIMPAC 2004:
Demonstrating Shared Resolve for Regional Peace and Security

MALABAR 2004:
Enhancing Peace and Security in the Asia-Pacific Region

Happenings

	Indian Navy officers in light blue shirts, Lt. Cmdr. Amarjeet Saluja (left) and Lt. Sanjeer Khosla, observe USS Gary (FFG 51) crew members prepare for a replenishment at sea with INS Aditya (A 59). Photo by JO1 Todd Macdonald, USN
	A refueling probe from the Indian Navy replenishment and repair ship INS Aditya (A 59) is guided into a fueling receiver aboard the USS Gary (FFG 51) during a refueling exercise event. Photo by JO1 Todd Macdonald, USN
	A USS Cowpens (CG 63) sweep team prepares to board the INS Aditya (A 59) for a VBSS event. Photo by PH3(AW) Joshua Millage, USN
	Indian sailors from the INS Brahmaputra (F 31) listen as a U.S. Navy sailor translates a message aboard the USS Gary (FFG 51) during a visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) exercise event off the coast of India.. Photo by JO1 Todd Macdonald, USN
	An Indian Navy VBSS team from the INS Mysore (D 60) board the USS Cowpens (CG 63) during a VBSS event.. Photo by JOC Rick Chernitzer, USN
	Indian Navy Lt. Santil Ashok and U.S. Navy Storekeeper Seaman Ricky Crews enjoy a game of basketball during sports day.. Photo by JO1 Todd Macdonald, USN

Working in Combat Information Center (CIC) aboard the USS Gary (FFG 51), LPO Hanumanthu saw the similarities and differences between the two navies. “All the communication language and terminology is the same,” he said. “The major difference is that the U.S. Navy is using computer-based programs to operate, and we are using manuals. We get the same results; it just takes a bit more time and effort to get to it. We only use the computer in emergency situations due to how much it costs to run the Internet on our ship,” he said. “Being able to e-mail your family while you are under way lets them know you are safe, and that makes a big difference on the morale of the guys on the ship as well as for their families.”

When asked how his overall experience went aboard a U.S. ship, LPO Hanumanthu smiled and said, “When I retire in four years, I can say that I spent time on a United States Navy ship and that is something I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Sam Barris, who spent three days aboard the INS Mysore (D 60), noted that the Indian sailors are very career oriented. “Whereas we have sailors that may only come in for four years and then get out, they have a navy where you’re expected to stay in for a career,” he said. “They are very devoted to duty for that reason. They are very focused, and they are very relaxed,” he added. “On the first day out, each department fielded a volleyball team, and they played volleyball on the flight deck, with the executive officer and commanding officer officiating.”

Lt. j.g. Barris said he thinks he’s made some new friends. “One of the [Indian] officers saw me the other day in my whites, and he said, ‘what are you doing in that uniform? You’re a Mysore sailor!’ That really meant a lot to me personally.”

Community Service Projects
U.S. sailors put smiles on the faces of the students at The Trust of Nanu Nagle School for the poor in Margao, India, when the sailors presented donated medical supplies, sewing machines, and books to the school and painted two classrooms and playground equipment. This community service project occurred at the end of Exercise MALABAR 2004.

According to the school’s principal and founder, Dr. Kristamand Desai, the school houses 40 students from kindergarten through 12th grade, and is the only school in India for children of migrant workers. “These children come from very poor families and don’t have much, so for the U.S. Navy to be so gracious, it is like a blessing to us,” said Dr. Desai. “I did not ask for this, God provided this for us.”

The children and sailors shared lunch from the USS Cowpens’ galley and talked. “The kids were so sweet,” said U.S. Navy FC3(SW) Catherine Slee. “This one boy came up to me by himself, without any adult urging him on, and looked right at me and said, ‘Thank you very much for coming.’ That made it all worthwhile for me.”

After lunch, the sailors passed out books to the children. Reading material was something they had very little of, and it excited the children as much as the brownies did for lunch. For U.S. Navy Gunner’s Mate Third Class Jeannette Tarqueno, the community service project gave her a chance to give an impromptu reading lesson to a young girl. “She just came up to me with the book in her hand and wanted me to help her read it,” she said, “So I put her on my lap and we read through it. It was fun, and she did a pretty good job of it.”

India and U.S. Navy Bands Perform Before Exercise

MALABAR 2004
Before Exercise MALABAR 2004, the Indian Navy Band and the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet Rock Band spent an afternoon performing for each other in various styles of music, from classical Indian to American and Indian jazz, rock, and pop. The performance was one of many levels of cooperative interaction between the Indian and U.S. navies. They learned about each other’s instruments and shared some of their cultures before performing in a joint concert that night at the Naushala auditorium in New Delhi. “I wish I could have stayed here longer and learned some of the traditional singing techniques,” said U.S. Navy vocalist Musician Second Class Mallory McKendry.

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