Germantown (LSD 42) - Naval Cruise Book

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--...nv--L, ---.--,-...---..... ..,,.....-.,,.... - ..-.-..., ,...- .i ....,. ,........,.-...,.--..-...,. ,p.qQ.m-:1 llt ENS Richard Ferrari Cabovel prepares to board a merchant vessel for an inspection. fRightJ Our rigid-hull inflat- able boat nears an Iraqi dhow where a merchant sailor is in need ofmedical care. 1 l O oardlflg earch XL CIZUTQ The VBSS team tabovel inspects a merchant ship offthc southern coast of lraq. tRightl VBSS team members on a brand new, state-of-the-art dhow.

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,,,,.,,,1 . -,,,,.., ,,,,,,,,...,,......,........ ...Q..-..,.,,.,,.....,.. -qi--- Winning Hearts 8: Minds, Une MRE at a Time. Nlarines niay not lind Meals Ready to liat thllllfsl to he the tastiest clion' in town. hut therexs Ll young Kenyan trightl xxho's not letting go I othis shiny gilt until he finds out XK'llllliS inside. tlieloxxtl tiySgt .lohn S 1. Berret shakes hands with a new lriend he mul in hat -.-, , .......-..-fn - iw' t 'n' ' 'So a Monkey Walks into a Bar...' SSgt Shawn Demenkow trightj jokes with Kenyan Paratroopers after the Exercise Edge Mallet Opening Ceremony. tAboveJ A Navy dentist removes a rotted tooth from a Kenyan patient dur- ingahumanitarian operation. The Navy Medical!Dental team saw nearly 2.000 Kenyan patients. A Marine in a Light Ar- mored Vehicle tleftj pre- paresto returntothe ship. K We Have ESWS... They have Merit Badges? For Kenyan paratroopers tabovej rubbing sticks together to make fire is ajungle survival technique. They shared this ancient skill with 13th MEU Marines, who never quite fig- ured it out in Boy Scouts. 9

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t VBSS team lbeloxxl returns to Cieriiiamtowii alter providing liealtli and I'llvOl'l inspections lor several ships. llNl2 licetlles tru 1 lit ne 1il'Ierpi'ox'iding medical care for sick mereliunt sailors on an lraqi dlioxxp Who says Marines get to have all the fun? Certainly not the Visit Boarding Search and Seizure CVBSSJ Team Thev did their part to help restore order to Iraq by inspecting merchant vessels in search of stolen oil as well as weapons drugs or any other illegal cargo They also helped provide for the basic needs of crews on suspect ships identified by other United Nations C oa lition VBSS teams Our team took food and water to such vessels and provided medical care to their sailors as they waited in a pre trial penalty box USS Germantown played a unique role in ending smuggling when an Iraqi merchant ship sank in the penalty box Eight sailors on board the ship had been accused of smuggling oil out of Iraq Instead of waiting for trial they decided to sink their ship to destroy the evidence. The sailors were pulled from the water by boats from an Australia ship and another American ship The coalition sailors handed the wet and oil covered mer chants off to a Germantown boat crew, who brought them here for medical care and safe keeping A few days later, we sent them on their meriy way We donlt know what happened to them, and we weren't allowed to take any pictures with them while they were heic But we kmd ot' miss our eight, chain smoking Iraq friends who came for a visit early in the deployment MQ . .- 30:-N' BM2Stoek tleftl and EN3 Kuykindall labovel debate over who looks more hard- core with the M-I4 riflle. ll