Deployed Task Group - San Diego
San Diego, 3-7 July
Our Task Group’s visit here was primarily an operational visit, but support was provided for diplomatic and business relationship-building as well as navy-to-navy relationships. The visit continued to help generate a positive diplomatic, trade, and military profile for our nation and the RNZN, within the USA.
The Task Group arrived on Saturday morning, and the events we took part in, or hosted, included:
- The CO and officers of USS PREBLE met TE KAHA on arrival.
- 123 officers and ratings from both ships’ companies, and in uniform, attended a San Diego Padres’ baseball game, among an ebullient crowd of 45,500. Numerous videos of our sailors were shown on the Big Screen in the stadium, with an attendant text banner “New Zealand Navy ships F77 (TE KAHA) and A11 (ENDEAVOUR)”; these shots were also broadcast on San Diego TV.
- 4th of July, US Independence Day; the celebrations ended with a fireworks display over the harbour, best seen from ENDEAVOUR’s flight deck.
- 4 and 5 July, TE KAHA was open to the public, attracting nearly 2500 visitors over the two days.
- 5 July, a group of seven from both ships supported our Ambassador and the Consul General, Mr John Mataira, at a handover ceremony of a Kiwi to the San Diego Zoo.
- Free entry to the zoo was also granted to our sailors in uniform, with most taking the opportunity to view this impressive Zoo.
- During the evening of 5 July, Channel 8 News (local TV station) conducted two live weather broadcasts from TE KAHA; they left the ship with a very positive impression of our Navy.
On Tuesday 6 July, our two COs made official calls on the representative of the Commander 3rd Fleet (Assistant Chief of Staff, CAPT Petersmith USN) and the CO of the San Diego Naval Base. Following that a naval luncheon was hosted in TE KAHA for representatives of COM 3rd Fleet, the Naval Base, with the CO, USS PREBLE and our Assistant Naval Attache, CDR Andrew Brown RNZN.
Concurrently, a ‘science luncheon’ was hosted in ENDEAVOUR with our Ambassador, supporting the NZ Ministry of Research Science and Technology, for San Diego area scientists and academic guests.
USS PREBLE hosted our officers to afternoon coffee and a Caps, Coins and Crests exchange.
The evening reception on TE KAHA involved some 150 guests from regional business and industry, along with VA Charles Wurster USN (rtd), President and Chief Executive Officer of the unified Port of San Diego) and three ‘2-star’ flag officers from the USN and USMC, five ‘1-star’ officers, and the Commanding Officers of USS NIMITZ, USS CARL VINSON and the USS PREBLE.
Highlights of the evening were the performance by Ngaru Kaha, and a presentation to our Ambassador, who was given a framed commissioning pennant and ships’ cap tallies, to mark his time aboard during our West Coast deployment.
On leaving San Diego during 7 July, TE KAHA refuelled from ENDEAVOUR before undertaking a readiness training activity with the USS PREBLE (see article Readiness Training with USS PREBLE). San Diego was our Task Group’s last port of call in the continental USA, before we undertake operational port visits to Honolulu, Hawaii (15-20 July) and Papeete, Tahiti (29 July–2 August) before returning to Auckland on 11 August.
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