USS Samuel B. Roberts Arrives in Victoria, Seychelles

USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) arrived in Victoria, Seychelles, to begin their involvement with Africa Partnership Station (APS) East’s hub Aug. 12.

The Seychelles hub will feature students from East African partner nations participating in courses including fisheries, senior enlisted leadership and small boat maintenance.

This will be the third hub Samuel B. Roberts has participated in on its current deployment Samuel B. Roberts Sailors will lead courses in basic damage control and visit, board, search and seizure operations.

Cmdr. Angel Cruz, Samuel B. Roberts commanding officer, said the Seychelles hub would be special for his crew because more of the courses would be taking place on the ship.

“On Sammy B., we like to train how we fight,” said Cruz. “We are excited to have our African partners come aboard and receive the training we have to offer in the environment where we are the subject matter experts.”

While in port, Samuel B. Roberts Sailors will also participate in a community relations project by assisting with the renovation process at the President’s Village Children’s Home. Sailors will retile areas of the orphanage and then compete in a friendly soccer match.

“Any time we hit a port, we want to do more than just enjoy liberty,” said Cruz. “Sammy B. Sailors have never shied away from hard work, and I know they will help out with our effort to improve conditions and build relationships with the people of Seychelles.”

Djibouti, Mauritius, Seychelles and the United States will be participating in the APS East hub. The hub is scheduled to end with a graduation ceremony Aug. 18.

APS is an international security cooperation initiative, facilitated by Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, aimed at strengthening global maritime partnerships through training and collaborative activities in order to improve maritime safety and security in Africa.
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Source: navy, August 16, 2011;