Mission Commander meets Labuan crew

25 July 2010 By LEUT Kara Wansbury

HMAS Labuan at anchor during early morning rain off Halmahera Island, Indonesia during Pacific Partnership 2010.

Commander Pacific Partnership 2010, Captain Lisa Franchetti (United States Navy) enjoyed the hospitality of the gentlemen onboard HMAS Labuan (Lieutenant Steve Noakes) recently, with a visit during the Indonesian leg of the mission.

Anchored off the coast of Halmahera Island in the famous Spice Islands Captain Franchetti was hosted onboard for an afternoon where she was given a tour of the ship and shared afternoon tea with the crew. She took the time to thank the crew for their hard work, two weeks into their ten week mission.

“Thank you all, this whole deployment is a unique opportunity. It is great to have you here and I can’t thank you enough,” said Captain Franchetti, “The clinic in town here in Sofifi has seen almost 400 people before lunch and you are making that happen.”

Her gratitude was graciously received by all onboard.

“It was really positive that she visited us today. It was great to get the acknowledgement for our hard work and to be accepted into the wider Pacific Partnership team,” said Able Seaman Stores Naval Robert May.

HMA Ships Labuan and Tarakan (Lieutenant Kevin Whatling) are operating as host platforms for medical and dental personnel from the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada and Australia as well as translators from Indonesia. The personnel are transferred ashore each day to conduct medical and dental clinics in more remote localities as part of the PP10 mission.

Mission Commander meets Labuan crew

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