I will continue my story about how we got to American territory for three hours, namely the destroyer USS JASON DUNHAM (DDG 109). The official website says that this is The Best Destroyer in the Fleet.
USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) is the 59th URO (guided missile) destroyer from a series of 62 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers planned for September 13, 2002, the construction of which was approved by the US Congress.
Jason Dunham, an American cruise missile destroyer, is named after Marine Lance Corporal Jason Dunham, who died from injuries he sustained while protecting his crew from an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Iraq. His mother, Deborah Dunham, maintains a relationship with the crew, which continues her son's legacy. Dunham's dress uniform hangs in the officer's cabin as a reminder of his commitment and dedication to the service. Construction of the destroyer began in 2008 in Bath, Maine and entered service in November 2010. The ship is 155 meters long and 20 meters wide. There are 325 people on board, including 35 officers and 290 sailors. The destroyer is equipped with two SH60B "Sea hawk" helicopters, 96 "Tomahawk" vertical launchers, "Asroc" vertical anti-submarine launchers, SM2 missiles.
The ship is based in Norfolk, Virginia and is currently the newest ship on the list of operational, ready for deployment. The destroyer is now on its first cruise.
All photos are clickable and available in 1600px resolution.
1) Wellcome aboard
2) Port side
3) Guards the American flag
4) The perimeter is set with such "machine guns"
5) Bridge
6) Full length
7) The brigade cruised around us throughout our stay on the ship
8) They are already waiting for us
9) The emblem of the squadron, which includes the ship
10) The head of the exercise, Captain First Rank D. Berezovsky, arrived, representatives of Qatar were also seen on the boat, Qatar is participating in the exercise for the first time.
11) Spy photo, part of the film crew of the US Navy, apparently, flew from Moscow on a Transaero flight from Domodedovo
12) Ben Wall is an American, works as a translator for these exercises, he is just excellent in Russian, I think any native speaker would envy him, for example me. The only one from the American side with whom I communicated a lot, as it turned out, he lived in Nizhny Novgorod for two years and was married to a Russian girl. For 8 years now he has been serving under a contract, constant business trips to Russia, as he is fluent in the language. The most vivid acquaintance for me in all the teachings. He translated almost all press conferences.
13) Everyone is in their place and ready for our reception
14) "Your mother, what are these Russians doing?" - thoughts out loud of the Americans who watched as we moored to them, pay attention to their faces
15) "Fuck, what have I done?" - thoughts out loud of a sailor at the sight of what we have done
16) That's how we soaked, a brand new American destroyer, with a concrete scratch on a freshly painted side. Our journalists immediately started joking that the Americans would bill us, I hope it was just a joke.
17) "Sir, this Russian is filming us!"
18) "Roger, take the nail puller and get out of the sight of the camera of this abnormal Russian journalist, have you never seen a Russian?"
19) There were also photographers among them
20) Girls in the US Navy are not uncommon, especially on a ship.
21) We moor on the sly
22) Film crew of the US Navy
23) Our journalistic brotherhood is ready to land on American territory.
24) "Give me your hand, don't be afraid, I don't bite"
25) The entire command staff of the destroyer. The inscription in Latin "SEMPER FIDELIS SEMPER FORTIS" means - "Always faithful always strong" - "Always faithful, always strong"
26) Scene photo
27) The bow of the destroyer with the main gun
28) Brave guys
29) Main weapon - close-up
30) And this is a doll imitating a man overboard, Americans with a sense of humor
31) At the post, against the background of one of the most recognizable buildings in Odessa.
32) On the captain's bridge, in the foreground - a guide to the destroyer
33) There are solid displays and touchscreens everywhere, since paper documentation is not used.
34) Here is such a steering wheel
35) Very comfortable chair
36) Navigation display
37) All the press barely fit on the bridge
38) "Machine Gun"
39) There are water coolers in the corridors
40) Signs hung along the entire route of our delegation
41) Officers' room, briefing room.
42) Head of the exercise, Captain First Rank D. Berezovsky
43) Jason Dunham dress uniform. It was handed over by the mother of the deceased hero.
44) The destroyer also contains a teak wooden plank from the legendary American battleship Missouri, on board of which the Japan Surrender Act was signed on September 2, 1945, ending World War II. As of April 2012, the battleship Missouri is permanently docked at Pearl Harbor.
45) The girls tell us about the history of the ship and about the heroic deed of Jason Dunham.
46) Delicious on the table
47) Photo of Jason at training camp
48) Helmets with the words "Dunham"
49) Literature on the ship, all from the US Navy library.
50) Certificates received by the ship, as well as a DVD. All parts of "Alien" and "Godfather", good taste.
51) Swords presented to the ship
52) Press conference
53) All conditions for viewing "The Godfather"
54) Painting by an unknown author in the briefing room
55) Who needs fresh juice?
56) Name Cups
57) Accidentally wandered into the dining room, I managed to make a shot
58) Special equipment everywhere
60) Skadovsk
61) The Americans immediately saw my games with grip and boke, and told me to move away from the machine gun and not take such provocative shots, but the photos turned out to be very good, it's a sin not to show this.
62) Commander David A. Bretz gives an interview, next to our friend Ben Wall
63) Again, I wandered into the wrong place, but managed to make a shot. As you can see, there are a lot of cameras on the deck, and from here you can monitor everything.
64) Interesting door stickers
65) An American diver gives an interview, has been in the Navy for 14 years, plans to reach 20.
66) Odessa sailor
67) Helicopter type SH60B "Sea hawk" in the hangar, as I wrote above, there are two of them on board.
68) Commander David A. Bretz says goodbye to us, until we meet again.
The visit to the destroyer made an indelible impression on me, leaving a lot of emotions and memories. An unprecedented fortune to visit the most modern warship of this type. The only thing is that I never saw the place where the cruise missiles are located, since the journalists were divided into 2 groups.
The Americans, of course, win over with their openness and sincerity.
Immediately after visiting USS Jason Dunham, we went to our Ukrainian flagship Hetman Sagaidachny, where a long-awaited meeting with Ka-27 awaited us.
