ADF Staff
The Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary sea base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams completed its participation in Exercise Sea Lion 2024 alongside the Ghana Navy in the Gulf of Guinea in March 2024.
The ship, known as the HWW, hosted five Ghanaian Sailors, while two U.S. Sailors embarked on Ghana Navy vessels. During the personnel exchange, Sailors made their way to longitude and latitude 0 degrees, where the Greenwich Meridian meets the equator. The Sailors then swapped back to their own ships via two separate personnel transfers from an HWW rigid-hull inflatable boat crew.
Once the ships reached the coordinates, Sailors aboard the Ghanaian ships held a crossing-the-line ceremony.
The exercise was to test the endurance and combat readiness of selected Ghana Navy ships. It also was to train personnel in fleet maneuvers, test the interoperability of the three services of the Ghana Armed Forces and improve counterterrorism operations, according to a report in Business & Financial Times.
“It was an awesome experience to go out there and really learn their culture and crossing-the-line ceremony,” said U.S. Navy Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate Andrew Hill, one of the Sailors who embarked aboard the Ghana Navy ships. “It was really great to work together with them because they were absolutely amazing hosts to us while we were onboard.”
The HWW is forward deployed to Souda Bay, Greece, and serves as the first U.S. Navy ship assigned to U.S. Africa Command’s area of responsibility. The ship can conduct expeditionary missions, deter piracy, provide maritime security, and provide humanitarian and disaster relief.