Europe brief: USS Fort McHenry arrives in Guinea

[unhappycamper]

Europe brief: USS Fort McHenry arrives in Guinea
Stars and Stripes
European edition, Friday, February 2, 2008

The USS Fort McHenry arrived Thursday in Equatorial Guinea, the seventh West African nation visited since it started its Africa Partnership Station deployment in November.

The visit is the first by a U.S. Navy ship to the tiny coastal country in more than 15 years, according to a Navy news release.

The primary reason for the port visit is to establish a dialogue between Equatorial Guinea and officials of the APS program.

APS includes sailors from Africa, Europe and the United States teaching West African navies to secure their own coastlines and waterways, an effort to counter drug smuggling, illegal human trafficking and reduce illegal fishing: a $1 billion industry in the region.

The APS program is being handled by the crews of the Fort McHenry and the High Speed Vessel Swift.


Africom article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52135