USA: Sailors Participating in FRUKUS 2011 Receive Firefighting Training

Sailors participating in FRUKUS 2011 received firefighting and damage control training at the Farrier Firefighting Facility at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., June 21.

FRUKUS 2011, scheduled for June 20 to July 1 in Norfolk, Va., is an invitational exercise designed to enhance communication and interoperability between the navies of France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Master Chief Damage Controlman Terry Wylie and his team trained more than 20 sailors from RFS Admiral Chabanenko (DD 650) from Russia and HMS Dauntless (D 33) from the United Kingdom.

“Damage control is universal,” said Wylie. “Engaging in this unique training opportunity allowed us to interact with the different nations, which in turn helps make us a more effective firefighting force.”

Preparations for the visiting sailors’ participation in the training began well in advance of their arrival for FRUKUS 2011.

“We have been anticipating their arrival for almost a month to ensure we were fully prepared to have this evolution run as smoothly as possible for everyone involved,” said Damage Controlman 2nd Class Jared Oakley. “Working together allows us to let our ideas mingle so we can all learn from each other.”

Training included classroom instruction and hands-on firefighting techniques for various scenarios.

“The biggest thing we learned today was that you can get past any language barrier when dealing with damage control,” said Wylie. “Even though we may approach things differently, we do things similarly.”

Sailors from FS Ventose (F 733) are scheduled to participate in the trainer tomorrow.

Participating forces from the U.S. Navy include Commander Carrier Strike Group 10, Destroyer Squadron 26, and USS James E. Williams (DDG 95). International participants include the FS Ventose (F 733) from France, RFS Admiral Chabanenko (DD 650) from Russia, and HMS Dauntless (D 33) from the United Kingdom.
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Source: navy, June 23, 2011;