USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS Completes Annual PANAMAX Exercises

Molly has recently become her ship's PAO (Public Affairs Officer). That's the PR person in a nutshell. Below is a press release she wrote for last week.


USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS Completes Annual PANAMAX Exercises
ENS Molly Harris
07 September 2007

USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (FFG 58) returned to Colon, Panama on September 6th at the conclusion of PANAMAX 2007. The exercises, which began a week and a half ago and included over 30 ships from 19 regional navies, brought nations together for the collective goal of maritime security of the Panama Canal. In addition to “SAMMY B”, the USS WASP (LHD 1), USS PEARL HARBOR (LSD 52) and USS MITSCHER (DDG 57) worked tirelessly throughout the exercises.

PANAMAX began with a 19-ship sortie from both the Caribbean and Pacific sides of the Panama Canal, where the participants spent the first few days running exercises. The participating ships ranged in size from small patrol crafts to large deck amphibious ships, giving Sailors the opportunity to work with platforms with which they may not have been familiar. From communications drills, to flashing light drills, to tactical maneuvering and simulated Replenishments at Sea, every watch team remained engaged throughout all hours of the day and night as they interacted with various vessels from foreign navies. “Sammy B” Sailors performed superbly throughout each and every evolution, remaining professional at all times.

These beginning exercises and drills culminated in a three-day tactical scenario, during which all ships were put to the test of whether or not they could, as a collective group of ships, protect the Panama Canal against terrorist infiltration or attack. The exercises, which included the cooperation of “real world” merchant ships acting as suspected merchant vessels, gave ships’ boarding teams the opportunity to practice “real time” boarding, honing skills that they would need when patrolling and monitoring actual suspected vessels carrying out national tasking. “Sammy B” utilized her Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS) team to carry out one particularly challenging boarding in the middle of the night, amidst a steady rain fall.

The Roberts’ two embarked SH-60B helicopters, Venom 506 and Venom 511, from HSL-48 Detachment 7, took an active role in the exercises; serving as “eyes” for the ship helping to gather intelligence regarding critical contacts of interest. Venom 506 and 511 were not only workhorses for SAMMY B but also were utilized by the Exercise Commander, CUSNAVSO, continuously.

Overall, the 2007 PANAMAX exercise was successful in its quest of protecting the Panama Canal. While it was easy to get caught up in the small details of working with multiple ships, the goal of the exercises was extremely important to not only the participating countries, but for navies and citizens around the world. The ability to possibly disrupt shipping between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans threatens global security by means of breaking sea lines of commerce and communication. This sentiment was expressed by ENS Brannan, the Combat Information Center Officer onboard the Roberts, who helped to coordinate and execute PANAMAX’s many exercises: “while communication with other foreign navies was sometimes challenging, the end result was overall rewarding as the relationships we built with other countries will prove useful in future strategic maritime joint operations.”

The USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS is currently operating in the Western Caribbean region to support Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Felix.