Newly upgraded US amphibious assault ship patrols Asia-Pacific

From Update.Ph (Aug 7): Newly upgraded US amphibious assault ship patrols Asia-Pacific

A newly upgraded United States Navy Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) has departed Commander, Fleet Activities Sasebo, Japan August 6 for scheduled patrol in Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

The US Navy said Bonhomme Richard completed a 4-month selective restricted availability (SRA) period, during which time the ship made renovations and repairs to combat systems, engineering systems and berthings. These upgrades were made to better serve the Sailors and Marines as they support the mission of security and peace in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

“We are very excited to get the ship back to sea after a successful maintenance period,” said Captain Jeffrey A. Ward, commanding officer, Bonhomme Richard. “The crew has put in a lot of hard work to make sure this ship is ready to return to sea and operate with our regional partners. I am confident in our ability to carry out any mission required of us.”

Bonhomme Richard is forward deployed to Sasebo as part of the Amphibious Force 7th Fleet.

Commander, Amphibious Force U.S. 7th Fleet, is the Navy’s only forward-deployed amphibious force, headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa in Japan.

http://www.update.ph/2016/08/newly-upgraded-us-amphibious-assault-ship-patrols-asia-pacific/8313