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A Harrier jumpjet lands on the large deck of assault ship USS Peleliu

Phuket Gains Visits by US Military Vessels

Wednesday, October 20, 2010
THREE US Navy vessels are due to anchor off Phuket over the next few weeks, indicating that Phuket has not been abandoned as a favored destination for shore leave by US military personnel.

A visit by a vessel carrying a large deployment of Marines would provide a real test of Phuket's commitment to ensure no further blockades of US personnel who wish to transfer from Phuket's east coast deep sea port at Cape Panwa to the west coast nightlife resort of Patong.

Three times during visits by US warships, local taxi and tuk-tuk drivers have barred the path of buses or vans in a demonstration of their desire to transport more US military personnel across Phuket at inflated fares.

Earlier this year, officials at Phuket's Provincial Hall administrative capital in Phuket City undertook to guarantee that blockades would be prevented in future.

The three vessels heading Phuket's way are single ships with the most interest focussing on the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu.

The Wikipedia entry for the USS Peleliu says: ''In August 2010, Peleliu was sent to Port of Karachi to enlist its 19 helicopters for the rescue effort during the 2010 Pakistan floods, the worst in Pakistan's history.

''During the deployment, Captain David Schnell, the ship's commanding officer, was relieved of command and reassigned for being 'unduly familiar' with several crew.

''Captain Mark E. Cedrun, chief of staff for Expeditionary Strike Group 3, replaced Schnell as commander of the ship.''

Phuket Navy League president Jimmy Madigan announced today that the cargo vessel USNS Richard E. Byrd will arrive on October 29.

Tentative dates have also been set for visits by the 39,96-ton USS Peleliu, which has Marines on board, from November 12-16, followed by the destroyer USS Shoup from November 17-20.

Larger contingents of personnel visited Phuket for MWR (morale, welfare, recreation) with the aircraft carriers USS Nimitz in January and the USS Ronald Reagan in September 2009.

Cruise ship companies have also complained about the excessively high cost of transport on Phuket.
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Comments

Comments have been disabled for this article.

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we will see if the Mxxxx can spoil Phuket's gain of a few hundred US navy personnel.

Millions of baht lost for the few bad apples, i think it is time to get some action.

Posted by Lord Jim on October 20, 2010 13:59

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"The three vessels heading Phuket's way are small ships and unlikely to generate great levels of competition among local taxi and tuk-tuk drivers."

You might want to check your facts before you start writing.

Posted by Lee on October 20, 2010 15:06

Editor Comment:

Thanks Lee, much appreciated. The reporter meant to write 'single' but it came out as 'small.' The USS Peleliu certainly has an interesting history.

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"Larger contingents of personnel visited Phuket for MWR (morale, welfare, recreation)" For one moment there I mistook 'Morale' for 'Moral'. Moral and Patong hardly mix, do they?

Posted by Sam W on October 20, 2010 16:22

Editor Comment:

No harm in a little shopping, Sam. The new generation of US sailors are better behaved on shore leave than previous generations. Attitudes are as variable as society in general. Much larger proportion of female sailors, too.

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Dear Mr Lee. When you are in business, any numbers help all the business people on the island, however big or small the ships are. Thank you the US navy, for putting up with the troubles here.

Posted by lord Jim on October 20, 2010 19:51

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"During the deployment, the ship's commanding officer was relieved of command and reassigned for being 'unduly familiar' with several crew."

I suppose that the bloke just couldn't wait until he got to Patong. But this could become a more widespread problem on board should officers and crew be confined to ship if there is another blockade by members of our hospitable transport community.

But all kidding aside, best wishes to the troops for a successful visit, with hopefully many more ships to come.

Posted by Treelover on October 20, 2010 20:35

Editor Comment:

Treelover, I'm fairly sure your sense of humor is not likely to be shared by officers and crew.

To be perfectly frank, I've always worried about your name and its true meaning.

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Why take two reasonable fares when I can ask for only one ridiculous fare and work so much less? Blocking a road is easier and lets me sleep more!

Posted by Philip on October 21, 2010 06:07


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