Seventeen members of the Japanese House of Councillors (JHC), equivalent to the U.S. Senate, toured the submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) in Sasebo, Japan, March 2.
The delegation included the Honorable Satsuki Katayama, chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
The tour was designed to expand JHC members’ knowledge about the role and function of naval facilities and assets in Sasebo, which will help them when discussing issues related to the Japan-U.S. alliance with the committee.
Katayama thanked Frank Cable for the tour invitation and said the event was an opportunity to deepen the existing relationship between our two nations.
Commanding Officer of Frank Cable Capt. Mark Benjamin, greeted the group as they came aboard and provided them with a ship’s mission brief and tour of the ship to include its medical and navigation spaces and repair facilities including the machine, pipe fabrication, sheet metal, and carpentry shops.
“The delegation was impressed with the versatility of the ship and the wide range of repair functions performed onboard,” said Benjamin. “Additionally, by demonstrating Frank Cable’s significant warfighting support capabilities directly to the Japanese legislature, we showcase our readiness to conduct sustained combat operations throughout the theater, and we reaffirm our commitment to our strategic alliance with each other.”
Frank Cable, forward deployed to the island of Guam, conducts maintenance and support of submarines and surface vessels deployed in the U.S 7th Fleet area of responsibility and is currently on a scheduled underway period.
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Image: US Navy