On Monday, the guided missile destroyer USS John S McCain and the rescue and salvage ship USNS Safeguard docked at Tien Sa Port to begin a six-day friendship visit to Da Nang. 

The US delegation included Rear Admiral Cindy Thebaud, Commander of Logistics Group Western Pacific, Colonel Paul Schilse of Destroyer Squadron Seven, the captains of the USS John S McCain and the USNS Safeguard, and the Deputy Principal Officer of the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr Robert Ogburn.  They were warmly welcomed by representatives from the Foreign Affairs Office of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence, the Viet Nam People’s Navy High Command, the Military Zone 5 High Command, the Zone 3 Naval High Command, the city’s military headquarters, the municipal Border Guard High Command, and the city’s Department of Foreign Affairs.

The two US naval ships

During their stay in Da Nang, the naval forces of Viet Nam and the USA will participate in non-combatant activities, as well as exchange professional skills in military health service, search and rescue, diving training, and on-board repairs.  In addition, US v Vietnamese navy sporting events are scheduled to take place.  A musical performance by the US Navy’s 7^th Fleet band Orient Express will take place at the Da Nang University of Technology at 2.00 pm on 8 April.  The Orient Express band will also perform at the Eastern Sea Park at 7.00pm on 9 April.  The visiting guests will also take part in community relations events, along with talks to students and pupils from local universities, colleges and senior high schools about the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.  In addition, the ships’ crew members will visit the city’s Charity Vocational Training Centre and the Hoa Mai Orphan Care Centre.
 

Presenting flowers to one of the US guests