Denhelder, Netherlands: July 10-14

As they say in the Netherlands…HALLO!!

We arrived in Den Helder (Netherlands’ main Naval base) for the Dutch “Navy Days” on 09JUL. We’re here participating in their Navy “open house” along w/ ships from UK, Belgium, Netherlands and many other Northern European countries. Since arriving we’ve been rolling out the hole “dog and pony” show for the people of Netherlands. So far we’ve had close to 5000 people onboard to tour the ship and engage w/ the 200 sailors (diplomats) of USS ELROD. It seems that our tours are a big success. Since we have to be wary of Force Protection issues that other countries don’t worry about, we have been running “guided” tours. We have around 10 static displays set up around the ship to show our guests the various mission USS ELROD performs for the US. From Damage Control (firefighting) demos, to the Gun Mounts, to the torpedo tubes, we have enthralled the public w/ our Subject Matter Experts (SME’s), showcasing the pride and expertise the US Navy brings to the table. I’ve had tours 2 of the 3 days we’ve been here, so I’ve only been out one evening for dinner and drinks in town. Below is a description of what I’ve seen so far though.

On Wed night (the day we arrived), I went out w/ my trusty liberty partner Joe, our Operations Officer. Joe and I headed out to take in the sights, get a good meal off ship and have a few “beirtje’s” (beer in Dutch). We went to a nice restaurant/hotel called Weinerhas Hotel. I had a hefty meal of flank steak w/ a mushroom gravy, salad, French fries (a popular side in Europe), and fresh baked bread (w/ warm garlic butter). Joe and I had a pint of Grolsh (Belgian beer) and talked w/ some of the locals. After that, we wandered back up the street and met up w/ some of the Officers of ELROD at a swank bar… There we met some Sailors from the British ship “LYME BAY”. They were here for the Navy Days as well, and we had some lively conversations about American politics. These were average “blue colar” deck hands onboard a big replenishment ship, and it amazed me that the British Sailors seemed to know more about the state of American politics than the average US Citizen! I suppose it shouldn’t have surprised me since I already have a keen understanding of America’s passing interest in the democratic process. At any rate we had a good evening of comradery and I celebrated the birth of CONNOR JAMES EWING in grand fashion!!

I had duty today and am pretty exhausted from the long tour hours, since we’re in our Summer Whites (yeah, you try and keep a white uniform clean walking around a dusty old ship all day!) and up on our feet entertaining guests throughout most of the day. Tomorrow, I’ll work till lunch, then I plan to hop a train back down to Amsterdam (about 1 hour south of Den Helder) for a days worth of tours w/ Brian (Azzy’s Cousin’s husband). Hopefully, I’ll end the day w/ a SKYPE call home to Azzy so I can see my beautiful wife and handsome SON!!

Hope all is well back home and I miss you all!

-J.R.