{"id":19694,"date":"2023-07-20T14:39:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-20T14:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=19694"},"modified":"2023-07-22T06:48:25","modified_gmt":"2023-07-22T06:48:25","slug":"uss-ramage-ddg-61-arrives-in-durres-albania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=19694","title":{"rendered":"USS Ramage (DDG 61) Arrives in Durr\u00ebs, Albania"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p>The port visit provides an opportunity to enhance the U.S.-Albanian partnership as the two nations work together for a stable, secure, and prosperous Europe. It also allow the Sailors of USS Ramage a chance to experience the culture and history of a key NATO Ally.<\/p>\n<p>As a NATO member since 2009, Albania\u2019s long-standing relationship with NATO, and its continued interoperability with NATO Allies, including the United States, has solidified the country\u2019s position as a strategic partner in defense of the Adriatic Sea.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI welcome the visit of the USS Ramage to Albania as another step forward in our strengthening defense partnership, as close partners and NATO Allies,\u201d said Demian Smith, Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires of U.S. Embassy Tirana.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe spirit of Albania is very much our own, a proud nation which declared their independence from tyranny and broke free from communist dictatorship,\u201d says Cmdr. Tim Yuhas, commanding officer of the USS Ramage. \u201cOur relationship with Albania is built on a foundation of shared values, experiences, and vision. We all want nothing more than for people to live their lives in freedom. With this port visit, we hope to preserve this trust between our great nations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While in port, Ramage Sailors will have the opportunity to visit historical sites such as the Amphitheatre of Durr\u00ebs, the largest amphitheater in the Balkans, as well as Durr\u00ebs Castle, a fortified city built under Byzantine, Venetian, and Ottoman influence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrowing up as the son of two experienced archaeologists, my parents sparked my interest in history,\u201d says Gunner\u2019s Mate Seaman Caleb Baker of Littleton, Colorado. \u201cI\u2019m excited to visit the Archaeological Museum of Durr\u00ebs after its reconstruction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Strengthening partnerships during the port visit to Albania builds enduring relationships and emphasizes our shared commitment to promoting safety and stability within the region, while seeking opportunities to enhance our interoperability as NATO allies. Albania recently participated in the Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO)-led enhanced vigilance activity Neptune Strike 2023-2 alongside the Gerald R. Ford CSG.<\/p>\n<p>CSG-12, Gerald R. Ford CSG, is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa area of operations, employed by U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., allied and partner interests.<\/p>\n<p>The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is comprised of its flagship and namesake, the Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8), Destroyer Squadron Two (DESRON-2), the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG-60), and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Ramage (DDG 61), USS McFaul (DDG 74), and USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116).<\/p>\n<p>The squadrons of CVW-8 embarked aboard Gerald R. Ford are the \u201cTridents\u201d of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 9, the \u201cSpartans\u201d of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 70, the \u201cBear Aces\u201d of Airborne Command and Control Squadron (VAW) 124, the \u201cRagin\u2019 Bulls\u201d of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 37, the \u201cBlacklions\u201d of VFA-213, the \u201cGolden Warriors\u201d of VFA-87, the \u201cTomcatters\u201d of VFA-31, the \u201cGray Wolves\u201d of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 142, and the \u201cRawhides\u201d of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40.<\/p>\n<p>Headquartered in Naples, Italy, NAVEUR-NAVAF operates U.S. naval forces in the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) areas of responsibility. U.S. Sixth Fleet is permanently assigned to NAVEUR-NAVAF, and employs maritime forces through the full spectrum of joint and naval operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The port visit provides an opportunity to enhance the U.S.-Albanian partnership as the two nations work together for a stable, secure, and prosperous Europe. It also allow the Sailors of USS Ramage a chance to experience the culture and history of a key NATO Ally. As a NATO member since 2009, Albania\u2019s long-standing relationship with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":19696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19694"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19697,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19694\/revisions\/19697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}