Posted on 07/03/2005 5:18:32 PM PDT by naturalman1975
MORE than 5300 sailors, airmen and soldiers from the USS Kitty Hawk carrier group descended on Sydney last night, determined to bleed up to $30million in back-pay over the next four days in "the most sought-after port".
"They haven't been paid for 40 days, so they'll be enjoying some great liberty," said Lieutenant Commander Terrence Dudley, the ship's media liaison boss.
Rear Admiral Jamie Kelly, the commander of carrier strike group five - which the Kitty Hawk or "Battle Cat" heads - said his people were "eager to take advantage of the local attractions".
"The strike group's visit is expected to boost the local economy with the sailors spending hard-earned money on local dining, retail businesses and recreational tours and activities," he said. "Australian port visits are among the most sought-after by US sailors and, with all the attractions offered by Sydney, we are looking forward to a memorable visit."
One crew member whose mind was fixed on "other activities" was Lieutenant Brennan Sweeney, whose day job is flying an FA-18C Hornet strike-fighter.
After being advised to avoid Kings Cross, the unattached 29-year-old veteran of the Iraq war said he was "not ruling out" meeting a nice Sydney girl.
Asked about his experiences in the Gulf, Lieutenant Sweeney said he had been "new to the squadron" back in 2003.
"I was really nervous and mainly interested in maintaining awareness of what was happening and the other members of my flight," he said. "When someone called for support on the ground it was good being able to help them out."
Commissioned in 1961, the 19-storey, 324m-long carrier is the US Navy's oldest active warship, and was the first of the modern super-carriers.
The conventionally powered carrier is a floating city with 1.7ha of flight-deck and four steam-powered catapults to hurl Kitty Hawk's 85 aircraft at the enemies of the US.
The ship has a 65-bed hospital, 2400 phones, 18 TV channels and distills 1.4million litres of fresh water daily. A single link of its anchor chain weighs 162kg and its crew devours 900 loaves of bread and up to 12,000 eggs a day.
The carrier group's crew is fresh from participating in exercise Talisman Sabre, involving 11,000 US and Australian troops in manoeuvres off Queensland.
The last time the Kitty Hawk stopped in Sydney, in 2001, thousands of people were allowed to tour the vessel. "Unfortunately the good old days are over," Rear Admiral Kelly said. "The world changed in a lot of ways on September 11."
The ship was drawn upon for Vietnam and Somalia and, more recently, was used as a staging base for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
I like the way he's phrased that -- it's a nice image.
Remember guys: Wear your umbrellas!
That's very true. I know a guy who signed up for years of duty with the Navy simply with the hope he'd get a port call in Australia.
I'm just glad my daughter got back from Sydney last night. :)
The fleet's in town. Madonna, Paris, Britney! On deck to service the fleet!
Uh, I mean serve the fleet. Yeah, that's what I meant to say.
-ccm
Yeah, basically the Cross is Sydney's red light district, and it's also the centre of Sydney's drug scene. Legal brothels in and around the area - but also quite a lot of illegal trade.
It's also got a lot of perfectly legitimate entertainment.
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