The Good Guys

As we near Veterans Day, let's hear it for some of the good guys.

POINTE NOIRE, Republic of the Congo. Guided missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) departed Pointe Noire, Republic of the Congo, after a four-day port visit Oct. 24 packed with activities intended to affirm a tone of trust between the U.S. Navy and the Congolese armed forces. [snip]

Forrest Sherman has been sailing in the Gulf of Guinea since the beginning of October as a part of Task Group 60.4, U.S. Naval Forces Europe's West and Central Africa detachment. The destroyer's crew has lent its expertise to help nations in the region improve their capacity to counter the banes of illegal drug and arms trafficking, oil smuggling, unlawful fishing, and piracy.

After working closely with Congolese military officials, U.S. naval and army officers on the ground in Congo, the staff of the U.S. embassy in Brazzaville, and members of the NGO International Partnership for Human Development (IPHD) posted to the country, Forrest Sherman departed Pointe Noire having edged closer to a goal shared by all of the players: heightened maritime safety and security in support of the region's stability and prosperity. [snip]

Thirty students from Alexis Makosso Primary School visited Forrest Sherman during a port visit here while 40 Forrest Sherman crewmembers refurbished five classrooms at the school during a three-day community relations project.