USS Momsen's Crew Visits School
By Syed Rory Malai Hassan

Bandar Seri Begawan - Eighteen naval officers from the USS Momsen paid a visit to the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Primary School where they had the opportunity to interact with the pupils and observe Brunei's system of education at work.

The USS Momsen (DDG-92), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy arrived at Muara Port on Wednesday for a one-week visit to the country.

The visiting delegation was led by Lieutenant JG Courtney Thraen who commented on the education system which she said was very interactive and more engaging for both teachers and students.

According to Lieutenant Thraen the visit was part of a community relations project called 'Project Handclasp' in which the crew contributed toys and learning materials (books and computer) to the schools they visited.

The officers were also taken for a tour around the school and treated to ambuyat, a well-known local delicacy made from sago.

During their one-week port call, crew members of the USS Momsen will also be given the opportunity to visit places of interest in the sultanate as well as to interact with local community through various community relations projects.

Their itinerary include a cleaning campaign of the drainage at Berakas Recreational Forest today, a city tour and a friendly softball match with local softball team Gunners.

USS Momsen, launched on July 19, 2003, is named after Vice-Admiral Charles B Momsen of Flushing, Queens, New York (1896 - 1967).

The launching was sponsored by the admiral's daughter, Evelyn Momsen Hailey.

Vice-Admiral Momsen had made many contributions to the navy and was involved in the first successful rescue of a crew of a sunken submarine and subsequently supervised the salvage of the ship USS Squalus.

USS Momsen was commissioned on 28 August 2004, at Panama City, Florida, with Commander Edward Kenyon as her first captain.

As of 2006, Momsen is serving in the Pacific Fleet, homeported in NAVSTA Everett, Washington, and assigned to Destroyer Squadron 9. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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