USS Fort McHenry Assists Ghana

The United States Navy reports that the tiny African nation of Ghana has been working with the Amphibious Dock Landing ship USS Fort McHenry as part of an effort to train its Navy to patrol the coast in the most effective manner.

Ghana is on the West Coast of Africa and the people on the coast support themselves by fishing. They use small canoes and other small craft and traditional methods to fish. These traditional methods tend to preserve the fisheries. However, pirate fishing vessels have been stealing the fish that legitimately belong to the local people. They fish just outside the international border of Ghana, depleting the fishery, and dumping waste fish into the water, which fall to the bottom and interfere with the reproduction of local species.

These are not the kind of pirates that capture ships, but they do hurt the local population.

The training provided by the United States Navy to Ghana is likely to help them to enforce their own laws and preserve the livelihood of their people. Training will cover a wide spectrum of activities. For example, small boat instruction, maintenance, force protection, life-saving and medical operations, and even some nonmilitary applications like community relations.

The Sea Bees are building a medical clinic on shore. The Sea Bees got their name in World War II. They are an engineering unit that worked so hard and efficiently that people compared them to bees, always working. The medical clinic will be used by the local population, as well as by local military forces. Commander Nigel May, a British naval officer, explains that the clinic will also be used as a liaison between aid organizations.

The United States Navy reflects the diversity of the population of the United States of America. Consequently, the USS Fort McHenry has on board a sailor, Culinary Specialist Second-class Darren Parker, who lived in Accra. He speaks Akan, the local language, and he lived for many years in Ghana before he joined the United States Navy just under 10 years ago. He is serving as a translator in the area, as well as in his culinary role. He helps the Sea Bees to acquire supplies onshore, and helps them to interact in a friendly way with the local population.

USS Fort McHenry serves as a platform for all of these efforts, and holds a contingent of officers from various nations. This is an international effort, not just a United States effort.

The United States Coast Guard is also involved in the operation. The operation is at the request of the government of Ghana.

The United States Navy operates all over the world to protect the homeland, to keep sea lanes open, and to help local nations control their coastlines. As part of this effort the Navy often befriends local populations, which serves the related purpose of maintaining the peace by proactively helping people, creating friends for the United States across the globe.

McHenry Aids Ghana, USN