Norwegian Army Visits Guided-Missile Frigate USS Carr

A platoon of troops from the Norwegian army toured the guided-missile frigate USS Carr (FFG 52) Aug. 30.

Carr was pierside in Tromso for a three-day port visit to the northern Norwegian town. During their visit, Carr Sailors invited the Norwegian army aboard the Norfolk-based frigate to strengthen the partnership between the two nations.

“It was an exciting experience to come aboard a U.S. Navy vessel,” said Norwegian army Lt. Anita Gunn-Fossli, a member of the Norwegian army’s military working dog platoon. “It’s always interesting to see how militaries from different countries compare with our own. Visits like this enable us to see this firsthand, because we don’t get opportunities like this very often.”

The Norwegian troops spent an hour aboard Carr as Sailors explained the functions of the ship and the role each department plays in the ship’s maritime missions. At the end of their visit, the Norwegian troops were presented with the ship’s coin to commemorate their visit to the Carr.

After the tour, several members of the Norwegian military working dog platoon demonstrated some of their daily training scenarios, which included several of the platoon’s canines engaging with their trainers in confrontational scenarios and demonstrating how their dogs use their keen sense of smell to locate several training explosives.

“This deployment has opened doors and strengthened ties with civilian and military personnel from several of our partners in the Baltic and Northern Europe,” said Fire Controlman 2nd Class Justin Gunderson. “I always enjoy showing Carr as well as discovering information about how other military forces compare and differ from our own. I think they enjoyed the tour and learned a lot about how we live and work on board Carr.”

“Welcoming the Norwegian army on board Carr and providing them with tours was a great opportunity,” said Cmdr. Patrick E. Kulakowski, Carr’s commanding officer. “Any time we visit other nations, and have an opportunity to interact with that country’s military, we can strengthen our partnership and leave a positive and lasting impression.”

Carr is homeported out of Norfolk, Va., and is on a three-month deployment supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility.
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Source: navy, September 2, 2011;