USS Iwo Jima Crew and Technology Wow Civilian Leaders
September 21, 2008 at 05:00
by US Military News
SOUDA BAY, Greece - Loaded bow to stern with 26 combat aircraft and ready to deliver up to 1,800 Marines ashore on demand, USS Iwo Jima has a lot to bowl over a first-time visitor.But Navy Capt. Robert M. Irelan, Iwo Jima's commanding officer, said he has little doubt the civilian leaders who visited today were as wowed by the ship's crew members as by its technology and combat power.
"It's not the steel," Irelan told participants in the Defense Department's Joint Civilian Orientation Conference of Iwo Jima, one of the Navy's largest amphibious assault ships that honors the 6,000 Marines and Sailors killed during the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.
"It's the flesh and blood. It's the sailors and Marines who really are the Iwo Jima," he said. "They are a national treasure, and the reason they are out here is they are committed to what they do. They are proud of what they do, and they want to show off what they do."
The crew had a captive – and captivated – audience today as 47 business, civic and local government leaders boarded CH-46E Sea Hawk helicopters at Naval Support Activity Souda Bay and flew 15 miles off the coast of Crete to spend the day on Iwo Jima.
By Donna Miles
Posted on 09.21.2008 at 04:22PM
American Forces Press Service
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