USS Somerset visits Vizag Port, crew engages in joint Navy exercise

Visakhapatnam: The USS Somerset crew, who participated in the joint Tiger Triumph exercise with the Indian Navy, described it as an amazing experience and stated they will always treasure the memories they made while in Visakhapatnam.

The crew spoke about the US ship docked at the port of Visakhapatnam; one of the three amphibious transport dock ships of the San Antonio class, the contemporary vessel bears the name Somerset County, Pennsylvania, in memory of the people who perished on United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In memory of victims of 9/11

The ship can accommodate more than 1,000 sailors in addition to dozens of military planes, helicopters, and vehicles. Additionally, the ship includes a workshop where boats may be repaired, according to pilot Ashley Ambuehl. The USS Somerset has a museum of 9/11 memories.

United Airlines Flight 93 was hijacked during the terrorist attacks, but the passengers and crew prevented the plane from reaching its intended target, and it tragically crashed in Stonycreek Township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

Somerset is one of three San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships named in honour of the lives lost on 9/11.

“We love the time we spent here in Visakhapatnam with Indian navy personnel. We learnt a lot from them and we had some great memories of playing games with them,” Brnjic, Surface Warfare Officer on Somerset, said.

Humanitarian exercise

In keeping with the long-standing alliance between the US and India, Tiger Triumph-24, a bilateral tri-services humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) exercise, has commenced on the Eastern Seaboard and will run through March 31. The goal of the exercise is to improve interoperability even more and move closer to a global HADR mission model in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

The Rapid Action Medical Team (RAMT) and planes from the Indian Air Force will be dispatched together. Conversely, US naval vessels carrying US Marine Corps personnel will take part in the event. An additional participant in the drill is the US Army. Through the exercise, standard operating procedures (SOPs) will be improved to provide quick and easy coordination between the troops of the two nations and to build interoperability for carrying out HADR operations.