IN FOSTERING stronger ties with the sultanate, the embassy of the United States of America to Brunei Darussalam organised a visit for senior Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) personnel and media yesterday to the USS Ronald Reagan, reportedly the largest naval vessel in the world.
"The ambassador wanted to make sure that we all continued to show our strong ties with Brunei, especially with the RBAF," said the US embassy's deputy chief of mission, John McIntyre on behalf of Ambassador William Todd.
McIntyre told press that the ambassador had made a commitment to His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and to the people of Brunei to increase American cooperation and interaction with Brunei.
The deputy chief of mission stated that the visit was just one of the steps that the embassy had taken in strengthening the overall relations between the two countries. He added that they would explore cooperation opportunities in areas such as education. He said that the establishment of the new embassy complex would also constitute as another step towards a closer future between the two nations.
"We want to make ourselves more relevant to Brunei. We want the people of Brunei to see how committed we are to them," he said.
As aircraft was the way to go, the RBAF delegation led by Military Attache Colonel Karl Seabaugh along with embassy staff and media boarded one of the two C-2A Greyhounds ready to bring the invited guests from the Royal Brunei Air Force base in Rimba to the USS Ronald Reagan. At the time, the aircraft carrier was located some 80 miles off the Bruneian coast in the South China Sea.
Briefed on safety procedures and geared up in life-vests and "craniums," or safety helmets, the passengers cruised through a 45-minute flight before landing on the warship. With only a limited stretch of runway available, it was the job of three arresting steel cables to stop the aircraft, which was on full power prior to touching down on the USS Ronald Reagan. The twin-engined aeroplane had to be at full power because of the five per cent chance that the pilot could miss all three cables and then, he would be forced to take-off immediately and try to land again.
Once on the deck, the RBAF officials were welcomed by the ship's commander, Rear Admiral Scott Hebner. The crew, who wore colour-coded uniforms according to their respective roles, stood firm in respect to the honoured guests despite the strong head-winds.
The group was then split up into two, with the military officials and embassy staff in one group and media in another. Lieutenant Ron Flanders, the public affairs officer was on hand to give the press a tour of the ship.
Towering 20 stories above the waterline, the USS Ronald Reagan is 1,092 feet long, which is nearly as tall as the Empire State Building. Powered by two nuclear reactors with enough energy to supply a small city, the ship needs only to refuel once every 25 years, according to Lieutenant Flanders.
The USS Ronald Reagan was home to approximately 4,500 sailors, of which 750 were female crew, who came from all over the United States. With crew enlisting into the navy as young as 18, the average age of sailors working throughout the ship was 19, while the average age on deck was 22.
"You meet new people everyday. It's like its own city," said Lieutenant Flanders.
To accommodate this population, living quarters were scattered all around the ship. The vessel also served 15,000 meals daily, with 205 loaves of bread baked and 100 dozen eggs cooked in a single day.
On-board health facilities included a 63-bed hospital ward serviced by five physicians and a team of specialists. To maintain their fitness, the ship houses a total of five modern gymnasiums for the sailors.
A home away from home, the greatest problem faced by sailors was being away from their families for many months at a time and this has been a concern, according to Lieutenant Flanders.
While on the aircraft carrier, the guests witnessed a series of launch and recovery (take-off and for landing) exercises performed by the naval pilots and crew of the ship. Once again donning the required safety attire, the RBAF personnel, embassy staff and media had the opportunity to get up close to watch the launching demonstrations of F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets.
Switching on the aircraft after-burners, the aeroplane were launched from speeds of zero to 200 miles per hour in a matter of seconds. There were a total of 61 aircraft on board the ship, with more than 54 of them aeroplanes of various nature and seven Seahawk helicopters.
The groups also had the opportunity to experience being launched from the aircraft carrier, when they departed from the ship after having spent a day on board.
The USS Ronald Reagan was currently completing its tour of the region. It had just left from Singapore, after having docked there. It was also involved in various military operations in countries in conflicts such as Afghanistan, Philippines and other nations which needed the support of the US navy.
It was actually passing through Brunei waters and will eventually reach its home port, San Diego, California.
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