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Admiral Roughead and Defense Minister Tea Banh announce the upcoming ship visit by the USS Gary.
U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Announces First American Ship Visit to Cambodia in Three Decades
Ministry of Defense, Phnom Penh
January 24, 2007
Admiral Gary Roughead, Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, announced today that the USS Gary will make a ship visit to Cambodia 9-13 February 2007, making it the first U.S. Navy ship to visit Cambodia in more than thirty years. Admiral Roughead stated, "We believe that [this ship visit] makes a beginning of a strong Navy-to-Navy relationship with many opportunities for the future." When asked what activities will take place during the visit, the Admiral responded, "There will be activities among our Navies. I am hopeful there will perhaps be some athletic events and some community relations activities that will take place. But the most important thing that will happen is that our sailors and your sailors will have an opportunity to meet and to talk and to develop relationships to better understand one another and how we operate our Navies and exchange ideas and develop friendships that are so important on the water."
The USS Gary is an Oliver Hazard Perry Class guided missile frigate. This class currently consists of 51 ships making it the largest single class of warships built by a Western Navy since World War Two. The ship is 453 feet in length, and its crew complement includes 21 officers and 203 enlisted personnel. The ship's namesake is Donald Arthur Gary who enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1919 and rose to the rank of Commander on the basis of combat awards before his retirement in 1950.
Admiral Roughead made his announcement immediately after his meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, H.E. Tea Banh. Admiral Roughead is visiting Cambodia January 24-25, 2007 for a familiarization visit to the country. As the U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander, Admiral Roughead is responsible for the world's largest combined fleet command, encompassing 102 million square miles and more than 190 ships and submarines, 1,400 aircraft, 191,000 Sailors and Marines and 30,000 civilians.
