US Ship Expeditionary Sea Base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4) arrived in Mombasa, Kenya for a port visit, February 8, 2021, in support of its 2021 African coast deployment.
The deployment has got tongues wagging, mumbling speculative nothings to explain the deployment.
However, the US Embassy in Kenya posted a statement on it’s website saying;
“Kenya is a close U.S. strategic partner in Africa,” said Capt. Michael Concannon, commanding officer, USS Hershel “Woody” Williams. “Our visit to Mombasa confirms our resolve and commitment to the preservation of security and stability in Kenya and Africa.”
“The visit of the USS Hershel “Woody” Williams is a mark of the deep and enduring relationship between the United States and Kenya,” said Eric Kneedler, Chargé d’Affaires a.i., at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. “We are grateful for our close military cooperation.”
According to The Diplomat, the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) matters a great deal to the United States. Robert D. Kaplan said as much a decade ago with his book “Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power.” Spanning from East Africa and the Middle East to South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australia, the IOR is the connective fabric, via sea lines of communication and telecommunications fiber optic submarine cables, linking the economies of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia, and Australia. It is also a priority route and theater for U.S. military global power projection capability and capacity.
The embassy statement adds that Williams is currently deployed to the eastern coast of Africa to demonstrate their growth in strategic partnerships and U.S. commitment to African countries through interoperability training, maritime security and safety to allow for freedom of navigation in the region. The ship’s rotational crew swap allows unlimited operations in the Africa area of responsibility.
Homeported in Souda Bay, Greece, the ship conducts U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) missions in the Mediterranean and the waters around East, South, and West Africa to include the southern Mediterranean, operating with regional partners. The ship supports security cooperation missions and operations in and around the African continent.
The ship was named in honor of Hershel W. “Woody” Williams in an announcement by then-Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, on 14 January 2016. Williams is a Marine who earned the Medal of Honor in the Battle of Iwo Jima, during World War II.
