{"id":56848,"date":"2023-12-05T09:08:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T10:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=56848"},"modified":"2023-12-05T17:26:51","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T17:26:51","slug":"uss-thomas-hudner-arrives-in-souda-bay-greece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=56848","title":{"rendered":"USS Thomas Hudner Arrives in Souda Bay, Greece"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p>The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), a part of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group (CSG), arrived in Souda Bay, Greece, for a regularly scheduled port visit November 30, 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Porting in Souda Bay provides a chance to further strengthen the United States\u2019 partnership with its NATO ally, Greece, and also demonstrates the U.S.\u2019s commitment to a stable, secure, and prosperous Europe, while allowing Thomas Hudner\u2019s Sailors to experience the unique aspects of Grecian culture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas Hudner\u2019s visit to Souda Greece follows an exciting op-tempo in the 5th Fleet area of operation,\u201d said Commander Shelby M. Nikitin, commanding officer, USS Thomas Hudner, \u201cThis port visit highlights our support for Greece, and continues to fortify our commitment to maintaining strong relationships with all our NATO allies. My officers and crew are thrilled to be hosted by Chania and look forward to a well-deserved liberty port.\u201d<br \/>During Thomas Hudner\u2019s time in Souda Bay, the ship will conduct topside preservation and maintenance after a long period of operational tasking in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Hudner\u2019s Morale, Welfare, and Recreation committee has organized tours of several cultural sites, including tours of Rethymno and Lake Kournas, as well as local wineries showcasing one of Chania\u2019s finest exports.<br \/>\u201cThe Grecian countryside looks beautiful, and I am greatly looking forward to the tour of Rethymno and Lake Kournas,\u201d said Gunner\u2019s Mate (Vertical Launch System) 3rd Class Benjamin L. Hallwachs. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to see what all Chania has to offer.\u201d<br \/>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>Thomas Hudner is a part of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group (GRFCSG). The GRFCSG is comprised of Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 2, the Information Warfare Commander, and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60).<\/p>\n<p>The ships of DESRON-2 within the GRFCSG are 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>For over 80 years, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-U.S. Naval Forces Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) has forged strategic relationships with allies and partners, leveraging a foundation of shared values to preserve security and stability.<\/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 Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), a part of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group (CSG), arrived in Souda Bay, Greece, for a regularly scheduled port visit November 30, 2023. Porting in Souda Bay provides a chance to further strengthen the United States\u2019 partnership with its NATO ally, Greece, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":56850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56848","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\/56848","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=56848"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56851,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56848\/revisions\/56851"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/56850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}