THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 20, 1995 TAG: 9510200481
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
More than 500 South Korean sailors aboard three ships left today feeling a bit more a part of a world power following a stop here on their around-the-world cruise.
``They're sharp, good-looking sailors. I put them on the same caliber as ours,'' said Capt. Ronald L. Peterman, the commander of Destroyer Squadron 18, which worked with the South Korean ships in an exercise off the Virginia Capes.
The 180-foot frigates Chungju and Pusan, accompanied by the oiler Chunji, showed their nation's colors in Norfolk for the second time in three years as they made their way home on a westward cruise that began in August at their home port in Chinhae, South Korea.
With them were budding midshipmen, members of the South Korean naval academy class of 1995.
So far they have visited Bangkok, Thailand; Jakarta, Indonesia; Diego Garcia, an island in the Med; Jidda, Saudi Arabia; Suez and Port Said, Egypt; Constanja, Romania; Burgas, Bulgaria; Livorno, Italy; Toulon, France; Casablanca, Morocco; and Las Palmas, Canary Islands.
Their next stops will be Miami, then the Panama Canal, Los Angeles and Hawaii before returning home Dec. 20.
``This is their chance to establish themselves as a world power,'' Peterman said, adding that the trip was beneficial to both navies.
``Every time we work with other navies we find we have variances in our equipment, or the way we pronounce certain letters,'' he said. ``So it's good to have this to show how compatible we are.''
The Korean sailors got the chance to train in all warfare areas, including anti-air and anti-submarine exercises. Both sides began by trying to locate one another while out of radar range. F-14 Tomcat fighters from Oceana, along with the destroyers Brisco and John Rodgers and submarine Boise also participated.
``They're already looking forward to returning in another three years,'' Peterman said. by CNB