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USS HARRY S. TRUMAN, described as the US Naval Forces’ ‘finest aircraft carrier in the fleet’ pulled into port in Bahrain to celebrate Independence Day early with a reception on board.
Music played as refreshments flowed and fine food was carved out for invited guests as the war machine was cleverly converted into a fine-dining floating vessel for the occasion.
It was a stunning transformation with its giant hangar bay resembling a ballroom with ice sculptures melting over prawns and knifes sharpening as carvers waited for the ceremonial speeches to conclude before slicing beef off a roasted joint.
Everything is impressive about the USS Harry S. Truman (also known as HST within those in the navy). It measures 333m long, 78m wide and is as high as a 24-storey building, at 74m.
The super carrier can accommodate approximately 90 aircraft and has a flight deck 4.5 acres in size, using four elevators that are 3,880ft² (360m²) each to move planes between the flight deck and the hangar bay. Having taken a trip on one, without a doubt it’s as fast and dazzling a ride as anything any Disney imaginator could come up with.
With a combat load, HST displaces almost 97,000 tonnes and can accommodate around 6,000 crew members.
The invitation to come on board to celebrate the 240th anniversary of the Independence of the United States of America was issued by US ambassador to Bahrain William V Roebuck and Commander, US Naval Forces Central Command Vice Admiral Kevin M Donegan and their spouses, Ann and Debra, respectively.
Businessmen, school heads and journalists living in the kingdom somehow made it on the guest list and mingled with royalty, government officials, military top brass and diplomats.
Independence Day in the US, also referred to as the Fourth of July, commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, by the Continental Congress declaring that the 13 American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation, the United States of America, and no longer part of the British Empire.
The Americans don’t hold grudges for long it would appear (certainly not 240 years) as the British ambassador Simon Martin and his family were on board too, along with a number of other Brits, including yours truly and his good lady wife, Kathryn.
Why the party was staged months earlier is anyone’s guess but, then again, who knows when the super carrier will next be floating into Hidd’s Khalifa Bin Salman Port.
Independence Day, the country’s National Day, is commonly-associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government and traditions of the US.
The crew greeting guests on board were impeccably dressed in uniforms and incredibly polite and were perhaps grateful that female guests in their finery had adhered to the suggested dress protocol of comfortable, preferably flat or low-heeled shoes. There’s obviously no place on board a battleship for stilettoes.
And it would be rude to mingle with Americans without talking about presidents and presidential elections at this moment of time, especially on board a vessel named after one.
Current incumbent President Barack Obama last week attended a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council in neighbouring Saudi Arabia having held what were described as a ‘very open and honest discussion’ that included issues which were a ‘source of tension’, without specifying them.
The US apparently shares local concerns about what Obama called ‘destabilising activities by neighbouring Iran’, which agreed with major powers in July 2015 to curb its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of some sanctions.
Ironically, he then dropped into the UK to wish Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth a happy 90th birthday before warning that a trade deal between Britain and the US could take up to 10 years to negotiate if Britain votes to leave the European Union at a June 23 referendum.
Special relationships aside, both the Gulf and the UK are now playing a waiting game with the rest of the world to see who steps in to replace him in the White House.
At the same time, the crew on board HST will get a new commanding chief too and its various members willing to debate the issue seemed quite keen on a certain Hilary Clinton if she is capable of out-trumping her own Democratic Party rival Bernie Sanders and whoever wins the Republican nomination.
Rear Adm Bret Batchelder, Commander Carrier Strike Group Eight, welcomed the guests on board: “I’d like to thank you on behalf of the 6,000 sailors assigned to the Harry S. Truman Strike Group,” he said. “With Truman’s arrival here in Bahrain, we’ve now had each and every one of them ashore to enjoy your hospitality, your generosity and your partnership – so thank you so very much for allowing us to be here with you and to be your partners.
“I will also tell you, from the perspective of someone who actually lives here aboard USS Harry S. Truman, that the operations you facilitate certainly enable us to do the things we do when the ship’s not at the pier and we’re out in the Arabian Gulf conducting operations.
“The world is certainly a safer place because of it and it means a lot to have you aboard to share an evening with us tonight.”
One of the senior naval officers coming to the end of her time at sea has been rewarded for her many years of service with an impressive free education and qualifications which should set her up for a career in the legal profession when she starts a new life on land in her home city in a few months’ time.
The young crew members returning from shore leave in Bahrain, some looking barely old enough to have left school, will have the same opportunities after signing up for a life on the high seas.
But the current military operation they are engaged in was probably closer to their thoughts as soon as the anchor was lifted.
HST has been deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, maritime security operations and theatre security cooperation efforts in the US 6th and 5th Fleet areas of responsibility.
The president has authorised US Central Command to work with partner nations to conduct targeted airstrikes of Iraq and Syria as part of the comprehensive strategy aimed at degrading and defeating ISIS.
An eerily-lit flight deck which temporally stored the jets and combat helicopters as the party continued to swing below looked menacing – with painted bomb drops and scary names emblazoned on their sides.
The shadows were formed by the glow of a well-lit sign with 75 emblazoned on it. It is the hull number, based on all ships of this type that have been authorised for construction. Thus, USS Harry S. Truman is the 75th fixed-wing aircraft carrier authorised by the US Congress.
US and coalition military forces have been continuing to attack targets in Syria and Iraq this week. The strikes were conducted as part of the operation to eliminate the terrorists and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community.
“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand,” President Harry S Truman once said.
Truman will go down in history as the first – and one must hope, only – President to approve the use of nuclear weapons.
If that continues to hold true, it will be something for the whole world to celebrate.
