NATO STAFF TAKE TOUR OF HMS BULWARK
"The Commander of Naval Striking and Support Forces at NATO (STRIKFORNATO), Vice Admiral Frank Pandolfe USN, paid a visit to the Royal Navy's Fleet Flagship HMS BULWARK. VAdm Pandolfe took the opportunity to visit the ship while she was alongside in Lisbon this week as part of the multi-national exercise Cougar 13. The aim of the visit was to evaluate the use of HMS BULWARK as a future Alternative Command Platform (ACP) to the current platform of choice - the USS MOUNT WHITNEY. (First commissioned in 1971)"
This news comes at a rather unfortunate time as USS Mount Whitney is flagship of the US Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean and we all know that our government has decided to keep out of the Syrian conflict. However, the very close cooperation between the RN and USN will doubtless continue unaffected.
USS Mount Whitney passed Dover a few weeks ago:
HMS Bulwark staged a remarkable amphibious landing in Dover in 2008, with the beach lined with landing craft, as the homeward stage of a Help for Heroes bike ride through France.