Amphibious Dock Landing Ship USS Oak Hill Visits Naval Station Guantanamo Bay

Amphibious dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51) ported Naval Station (NS) Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Dec. 13.

After completing its deployment in support of Amphibious Southern Partnership Station in the Caribbean area of operations, the ship arrived to conduct agricultural countermeasure wash downs of all embarked equipment before returning to the U.S.

“This is the first chance that most of my crew of 300 and the other 400 embarked Marines, Air Force, Army and Coast Guard personnel have ever had to visit Guantanamo Bay,” said Oak Hill Commanding Officer Cmdr. David Bauer. “I am honored to have had the opportunity to sail the Mighty Oak into this port, and we all look forward to meeting those of you stationed here and enjoying this excellent location.”

NS Guantanamo Bay’s Port Operations department served as the primary point of contact for the visiting vessel, arranging all services while in port.

“This visit is important for the Oak Hill as they are heading home after a successful deployment, and an agricultural wash down is a requirement prior to their return,” said NS Guantanamo Bay Port Operations Officer Lt. Shawn Ware. “This will also benefit our department as we will capture all information pertaining to agricultural wash downs. The Port Operations department will finish the visit armed with a canned brief for future ships as well as recommendations for codifying and improving the process going forward.”

During the Amphibious Southern Partnership Station deployment, Oak Hill conducted missions in coordination with military forces in Colombia, Panama, Honduras and Guatemala.

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Naval Today Staff, December 15, 2011; Image: navy