By Frank Whitman
Five thousand sailors and Marines attached to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in Guam for a port visit Aug. 4. The port visit – the ship’s first while on deployment - was to allow the crew time for rest and relaxation, and to resupply the ship.
The Guam Chamber of Commerce has estimated that visiting military personnel benefit Guam's economy by about $200 per person per day. With 5,000 sailors and Marines, the port visit was estimated to have brought $1 million a day.
“We've been working hard these last few weeks,” said Capt. Pete Riebe, commanding officer of the carrier. “(We’ve been) flying replenishments at sea, refueling at sea, building qualifications, building proficiency in all mission areas. These sailors and Marines are ready to deploy anywhere in the world.”
The ship’s arrival followed a press release, dated Aug. 2, from the Pentagon announcing that the carrier would be deploying to the Middle East as part of the Defense Department’s “adjustments to U.S. military posture designed to improve U.S. force protection, to increase support for the defense of Israel, and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to various contingencies,” the release stated.
“To maintain a carrier strike group presence in the Middle East, the Secretary has ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, currently on deployment in the Central Command area of responsibility.”
Speaking to Guam media, Riebe said, “As a matter of policy we can’t get into details of future operations. What I can say is that we are on a regularly scheduled deployment. We were scheduled to the Indo-Pacific region.”
Rear Adm. Adan Cruz, commander of the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, reiterated that flexibility is part of the Navy’s strength. “This team is ready to do any mission assigned anywhere in the world,” he said.
On Guam, Riebe said, the crew was looking forward to exploring the island. “We've worked with your local businesses to book a number of tours,” he said. Crew members had also arranged to take part in community relations projects including cleaning beaches and trails and, according to a release from Naval Base Guam, mentoring local youth.
About a dozen of the ship’s crew members are from Guam. Among them is Petty Officer 1st Class Aubriaunne DuPont. She was surrounded by family and friends as Riebe conducted a brief ceremony on the pier adjacent to the carrier and pinned an Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist badge on her uniform.
The Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist qualification signifies that a Sailor “has achieved the highest level of expertise in surface ships and in surface warfare,” according to the Navy website.
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