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SIU-crewed Wheat shines in multinational exercise (7/7)

The U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) has issued the following news release concerning the SIU-crewed USNS Roy Wheat, operated by Keystone. The release also is available on MSC’s web site HERE Prepositioning ship key player in multinational exercise BALTOPS 2006 Maritime forces from nine countries met in the Baltic Sea June 6-18 for the 34th annual military exercise Baltic Operations 2006. Among them was the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command noncombatant cargo ship USNS LCPL Roy M. Wheat. During the exercise, Wheat, a member of the European theatre's Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron One, was used as a critical training platform for military teams from NATO and Partnership for Peace nations. From June 6 -14, Wheat played the role of a merchant vessel suspected of carrying contraband. Teams from Germany, Denmark, Poland, Russia and the United States practiced intercepting and boarding the ship via speed boats and helicopters. Once aboard, the teams searched the ship for illicit cargo. Overall, Wheat was boarded and searched 13 times during the exercise. “We were amazed at how cohesive a unit the personnel from all of the nations became by the end of the exercise. Although we all hailed from different countries, we became a team,” said the ship’s civilian master Capt. Rick Jordan. Wheat is operated by 29 U.S. merchant mariners employed by a private company under contract to MSC. On June 14, Wheat also trained with German, Swedish, Danish, Scottish, U.S. and Russian warships during the exercise's minesweeping scenario. Wheat posed as a ship being escorted through a “Mine Danger Area” by a convoy of U.N Peacekeeping Force warships. After being “hit” by mines during the drill, Wheat’s crew simulated containing flooding aboard ship, rescuing injured crewmen and abandoning ship. “The ships of Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron One have been regular participants in BALTOPS since the squadron was established in the mid-1980s, and particularly since being forward-deployed to the European Command area of operation since 1995,” said Capt. Edward K. Zurey. Capt. Zurey commands MPSRON One, which strategically prepositions combat cargo at-sea in the event that U.S. troops need to respond to a military or humanitarian crisis in the 6th Fleet AOR. “This exercise helps NATO and Partnership for Peace nations hone their maritime interdiction skills which contributes to the overall maritime security of the region,” continued Capt. Zurey. “It also helps the nations involved strengthen the already steadfast partnerships that unite us.” USNS LCPL Roy M. Wheat is named for a Medal of Honor winner Lance Cpl. Wheat who threw himself on an exploding mine to save the lives of his fellow Marines during the Vietnam War. ###