Speeches

Reception Aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln
Remarks by Ambassador Patricia L. Herbold
April 27, 2006

Thank you, Admiral Goodwin.  It’s a pleasure to be back on board the Lincoln.  On Tuesday, my husband Bob and I had the privilege of flying out and landing on the carrier when it was still at sea.  It was an amazing experience, and we thank all the crew members who made it possible.

As Ambassador, I am honored to welcome you and the sailors and aircrew of Carrier Strike Group Nine to Singapore.  Or perhaps I should say, “Welcome Back.”  I know that the Abraham Lincoln Strike Group was here a year ago after conducting relief operations to help Indonesian survivors of the Asian tsunami.  Your work made a tremendous impact on the region.  You saved lives and burnished the image of the United States.

We’re delighted to have you back in the region conducting theater security cooperation exercises.  Your activities, from conducting an exercise like “Full Eagle” with regional armed forces to rebuilding an orphanage in Thailand, show the world the capabilities and generosity of the U.S. military and American people.  We thank you for your service and for being gracious guests in Singapore.

To our Singaporean friends, we say “thank you” for sharing your tremendous hospitality.  We appreciate the access to facilities, supplies, and services that Singapore provides to visiting U.S. military ships and aircraft such as this Carrier Strike Group.  Our service men and women look forward to visiting Singapore as a highlight of any deployment in this region.

We value our strong security partnership with Singapore, which is based on shared interests.  Our two nations depend on safe and unobstructed international maritime trade.  The Singapore Defence forces and the U.S. military benefit from our close military-to-military relationship.  Our soldiers learn from each other by training together and participating in military exchange programs.  We appreciated the recent opportunity to host Singaporean officers on the USS Mobile Bay and we look forward to continuing contact in the future.

The benefits of our strong connections and interoperability extend far beyond our military establishments, as we saw during our relief operations in Asia and in the United States after Hurricane Katrina.  We thank you for your remarkable work in New Orleans, where Republic of Singapore helicopter crews worked together with the Texas National Guard to rescue survivors and rebuild levees.  We’re also grateful to Singapore for deploying assets to the Gulf to support the reconstruction of Iraq.

Before closing, I’d like to thank CAPT Andrew McCawley, the commanding officer of this magnificent ship, and the Lincoln’s Supply Department for hosting this reception.  A lot of work goes into a special evening like this, even though you make it look effortless.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for joining us on board tonight.  Enjoy the rest of the evening.