Falklands : IRON DUKE COMPLETES FIRST FALKLANDs PATROL
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 21.10.2008 (Article Archived on 04.11.2008)
Royal Navy Type 23 Frigate HMS Iron Duke, has anchored in East Cove on completion of her first security patrol off the Falkland Islands. Arriving in the area on Saturday 18th October, the ship has spent time patrolling to the West of the Islands.
Iron duke COMPLETES FIRST FALKLANDs PATROL
Royal Navy Type 23 Frigate HMS Iron Duke, has anchored in East Cove on completion of her first security patrol off the Falkland Islands. Arriving in the area on Saturday 18th October, the ship has spent time patrolling to the West of the Islands. It provided some excellent navigation training, around Bird Island and the ship sailed into the southern reaches of Falkland Sound ahead of a fast passage to East Cove. For many of the Ship’s Company it was their first sight of the Falkland Islands.
Iron Duke will now spend the next few days integrating into the Joint Force at Mount Pleasant and complete a Capability Day on Wednesday where the ship will demonstrate her broad range of capabilities to the Officers from the Headquarters at MPC.
Over the course of the next few weeks, the ship will spend time visiting Island settlements and attend the Port Stanley Remembrance Parade on 9th November. The deployment will also provide many training opportunities including Exercise Cape Bayonet which will allow HMS Iron Duke to integrate with the Army and RAF. The training benefit for all parties will be significant as Iron Duke is the first Type 23 frigate to be based in the Falklands for some years.
Commander Mark Newland, Iron Duke’s Captain has served in the Falklands twice before, initially as a Young Officer in HMS Endurance in the late 1980’s and secondly as the Captain of HMS Leeds Castle in 2001. He has a deep affection for the Falklands and is relishing the return. He said “To bring HMS Iron Duke to Falklands is a fantastic opportunity for my Ship’s Company, the islands have so much to offer alongside providing an excellent Tri Service environment in which we will gain much valuable training. HMS Iron Duke is an extremely capable platform and I look forward to show off just how capable she and my Ship’s Company are over the coming few weeks.”
Iron Duke’s time in the Falklands represents another chapter in a 7 month deployment that has seen the ship conduct operations across the Atlantic region. From providing Disaster Relief to the Caribbean in the wake of Hurricanes Ike and Gustav to interrupting the flow of up to 4 tones of cocaine heading toward Europe and now providing security to the Falkland Islands.
Reflecting on the ships operational success over the past few months Commander Newland went on to say that ‘Our deployment to the North and South Atlantic has been incredibly busy and rewarding. Our primary role to provide Disaster Relief in the Caribbean was truly tested in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. We now have the opportunity to contribute to the good work of British Forces in the Falklands. The range of our tasking over the last 7 months has been broad but it demonstrates the flexibility of the Royal Navy and my sailors have responded professionally to all the challenges that have been thrown at them.”
ENDS
Source – Media Section MPC
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