Guardians,
Happy Thanksgiving to you all. As we consider those things for which we are thankful, we took the opportunity while in Europe to visit those who are serving overseas and our partners and allies. Today we visited NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium. Master Chief Bowen met with senior enlisted personnel while I visited with General Sir John McColl, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Europe and Chief of Staff, General Karl-Heinz Lather, German Army. We finished our visit with a visit to the NATO Special Forces Coordination Center where our United States Forces were preparing to host our allied partners and their families in a traditional American Thanksgiving Dinner.
We give thanks to our Guardians who are serving in the United States and far from home. As posted previously, we were also honored to meet with our personnel serving in Activities Europe in Rotterdam.
Earlier today President Obama made calls to OS1 Daniel Adams who is stationed on USCGC MAUI and has deployed in the Arabian Gulf since May 2009. Petty Officer Adams is originally from Bakersfield, CA and his family currently resides in Semmes, AL (near Mobile).
The President also spoke to GM1 Nick Spence who is assigned to Maritime Safety and Security Team 91104 in Galveston, TX. Petty Officer Spence is currently deployed in Umm Qasr, Iraq where he is working to transition Iraqi forces to assume security operations in the Arabian Gulf. Prior to his deployment to Iraq, Petty Officer Spence participated in security operations on the Potomac River during President Obama's inauguration. He and his wife reside in Houston, TX.
I also had the chance to speak to BM1 Mike McGettrick who is stationed on USCGC BARANOFF in the Arabian Gulf as well. BARANOFF is moored at the Kuwait Naval Base (KNB) today. They had just finished Thanksgiving Dinner and were looking forward to the football games today. Petty Officer McGettrick had just reported aboard BARANOFF when I visited them last April. He and his wife reside in Key Largo, FL.
While the General Assembly of the International Maritime Organization has taken us away from home for Thanksgiving, we are grateful for all our Guardians who are serving around the world and our sisters and brothers in arms who are serving as well. This evening IMO Secretary General Efthimios Mitropoulus hosted us for dinner here in London and recognized our great partnership with a traditional turkey dinner.
ADM A
