THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 23, 1996 TAG: 9607230241
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 104 lines
With guns secure and the brass polished to a tawny gleam, the HMS Campbeltown announced its arrival to the Norfolk Naval Station on Monday with a 17-gun, port-side salute before silently gliding to a berth.
The flagship of NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic, the 5,000-ton British frigate docked with ships from Germany, The Netherlands and the United States for a two-week layover in Hampton Roads.
The visit comes after more than three varied years at sea for the squadron - and assignments that saw its small crews board merchant ships in the Adriatic, tail suspected drug runners in the West Indies and rescue yachts in distress in the storm-tossed Atlantic.
``There is no doubt in anyone's mind that one of the best ways to serve your country is through service in the NATO alliance,'' said Commodore Andrew B. Gough, aboard the Campbeltown. ``The alliance is the most successful in history.''
Along with a Canadian frigate that will arrive in Norfolk Aug. 1, the force is the world's first permanent, peacetime multinational naval squadron.
Its multinationalism shows.
German radios or Italian guns are not uncommon on British ships; nor are American missiles. To ensure that everyone is familiar with the alliance's equipment, NATO cross-trains the squadron's sailors.
Thus, a German navigation officer serves on the Dutch ship, a French officer on the same craft, an American on the Campbeltown. Altogether, Gough said, nearly 300 sailors have been ``cross-pollinated'' during the cruise.
Interchangability extends to equipment, as well. Over the weekend, the Campbeltown's helicopter developed a mechanical problem that was fixed with a part from a Dutch helicopter.
The standing force's last visit to Hampton Roads came three years ago, before its ships embarked on this busy, far-flung cruise.
It spent most of that time off the coast of former Yugoslavia, where the five frigates patrolled the Adriatic Sea in search of ships sneaking contraband into the war-stricken region. After that, the flotilla headed into the Caribbean to track boats and airplanes thought to be involved in international drug smuggling. Moving north, the ships followed the choppy wake of Hurricane Bertha and helped rescue several yachtsmen whose boats were nearly scuttled by the storm.
In between those duties, the Atlantic force spent its time training. And training. And training.
But it was in the Balkans that the squadron saw its most demanding work. In one year, sailors and Royal Marines boarded 620 ships of various nationalities searching for contraband that would further destabilize the situation in southeastern Europe.
Every type of ship, from Japanese car-carriers to rusty colliers, hove to for boarding. For the most part, the foreign captains were cooperative because they had nothing to hide.
But one ``difficult customer,'' the skipper of a bulk carrier, took a little persuading, Gough said. The Campbeltown had succeeded only in getting the errant captain to slow down after he'd refused the ship's request to board, when an Italian Tornado jet - part of an ongoing NATO exercise that had no connection to the boarding - screamed by overhead.
The captain got the message.
A search found no signs of contraband - although its cargo of phosphates raised eyebrows because it could be used in making explosives. The reason the captain was reluctant to help, Gough said, was he lacked the proper licenses to pilot a ship.
Were it not for artful gold crowns perched atop flagstaffs at its bow and stern, the Campbeltown might be mistaken for an American frigate: Its Navy-gray paint, order and routine, and all-business weather decks betray no nationality.
That's not the case down below. On Monday, as the ships neared the Elizabeth River, Lt. Cmdr. Jonathan Handley, the commodore's aide, invited guests for morning coffee.
There in the wardroom was a handsome supply of beer and whisky - even a supply of the ship's own whisky, distilled and bottled in Campbeltown, Scotland.
``American ships are, shall we say, more functional,'' Handley said. ``Europeans are more accustomed to their creature comforts.''
Only Poseidon himself knows how many American sailors have longed over the years for a nice cold beer at the end of a long day. Alcohol is not allowed on American ships, and it certainly isn't on tap - bitters, ciders and ales, to boot.
But should any American sailor long for a temporary attachment to the Crown's Royal Navy and the option of hoisting a pint of Guinness, he should consider one more thing: All British wardrooms are also equipped with Marmite, a dark brown, tarlike yeast extract.
British seamen have enjoyed it for generations.
To the American palate, however, the stuff proves that the force's cross-training is not quite complete. ILLUSTRATION: HUY NGUYEN photos
British sailors man the rails as the frigate Campbeltown pulls into
the Chesapeake Bay for a Monday docking in Norfolk.
Two sailors stand guard as the Campbeltown's crew goes about its
business of berthing in Norfolk. The guards are a precaution against
Irish Republican Army attacks on British ships.
Photo
HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot
An American sailor might find a root beer on a U.S. frigate. But on
a British ship, the beer satisfies a bit differently. Chief Petty
Officer Tom Worthy shows off the variety of beers available aboard
the British frigate Campbeltown. by CNB