Greatest port calls I had while on seaduty were in Sydney and Perth; coming home from the Gulf and Somolia. The Australians, as a whole, are a great people, and some of the most gracious hosts I ever dealt with. The troops will have an awesome time.
Only place I ever went where a female (cute little Corporal in the Aussie Army Signal Corps)could drink me under the table:-)
If I had to pick a place to refugee to, Perth would be up near the top of my list.
Outstanding......and the perfect place for our young people on those ships to stretch out for a few days.......among TRUE friends.
The fixed wing Harriers you see on deck are VTOLs - vertical takeoff & landing.
Sydney haven for war-weary Yanks
By PENELOPE CROSS
21jun03
SIGHT-SEEING, shopping and bar-hopping were priorities for 6500 US troops who disembarked in Sydney yesterday but for one couple it was all about love.
Sergeant Joseph Gicewicz, 29, was met at Garden Island by his wife of five years Ulani, also 29, who took a holiday to coincide with her husband's Australian visit.
"It's been a long wait," she said tearily, after waiting for four hours for her husband to disembark from the aircraft-carrying assault ship USS Boxer.
"I got here yesterday morning and I'm here till the fourth of July – I'll go to Townsville as well, their next port."
Arriving on five US Navy warships, the sailors and marines are in town for four days en route to San Diego after deployment in the Persian Gulf.
They were serving alongside Australian and British forces in Iraq.
Lieutenant-Commander Terence Nealer, 40, the only Australian on board, was also given permission to disembark.
His family had travelled from Maitland to see him.
"It's a great opportunity to get back and see Australia," he said. "I didn't think I'd be back during my two years [secondment]."
The Lt-Cdr's wife and 11-month old daughter are still in San Diego so he will travel to Maitland for the weekend.
His fellow sailors and marines had other plans – beginning with retail therapy.
"Some of us were only given 24 hours and then we are back on the ship," Sergeant Michael Mink said.
"We were given a list and everything was basically military items [aside from] physical training gear like running shorts and a t-shirt. We can't go out on liberty in that kind of uniform so they give us a day to wear camis out in town and pick up something and bring it back to change over."
Lieutenant-Colonel Keil Gentry flew down from Darwin a week ago to ensure that the troops' stay runs smoothly – organising for stores such as R.M. Williams to offer them special deals.
"I've also been doing a good reconnaissance of the local pubs . . . just about any pub in The Rocks is good," he said.
With the help of e-mails from a US Navy Contact Office in Sydney, Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) and staff officers, many of the sailors and marines arranged accommodation, entertainment, mobile phones and hire cars prior to arrival.
"It's extraordinary how much goes into a port visit. Some of the guys booked a trip to the wineries from the ship," Major Bob Strong said.
Other popular activities planned for the weekend include the Blue Mountains, BridgeClimb and pub tours.
Choices of accommodation include the Sydney Harbour Marriott, Hotel Intercontinental and Holiday Inn Potts Point.
According to Major Strong, while some troops will remain on the ship to work or save money, single guys for example, will be staying in hotels.
"You can't bring a girl back on the ship," he said, laughing.
The sailors and marines left Iraq on May 27 after spending five months in the Gulf.
Their arrival in Australia comes just days after Sydney held a parade to welcome home our own troops.
US Navy commanding officer Kenny Golden said five marines from the company had been killed and four wounded during the deployment.
He said all his troops were looking forward to four days off.
"We are really happy to be here. There's a lot of happy faces today . . . to leave your home and family in January . . . and to work in [that] harsh environment, it really is tough.
"Could you think of a friendlier more pleasant place to be? Look at the sunshine here. There's not a better place in the world to come than Sydney."
http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6627121%255E21302,00.html