Navy plans yearlong presence off W. Africa

Above: The Gulf of Guinea (blue square)

The Navy’s top sailor in Europe said Thursday that the service plans to have a continuous big-deck presence in the Gulf of Guinea for the foreseeable future as part of its Global Fleet Station initiative.

“My aspiration is to have a ship there 365 days a year,” Adm. Harry Ulrich, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa, said after meeting with representatives of several West African nations at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.

But Ulrich said the final scope of the Navy’s presence there has not been decided...

The first amphibious ship to deploy to the Gulf of Guinea is scheduled to arrive in the region this fall and remain there until spring 2008.

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