In addition to sightseeing around the island, crew members will be volunteering some of their time in community assistance activities.

Earlier this week, the Bradley conducted a series of at-sea Search and Rescue training exercises with the Armed Forces of Malta to support the AFM’s search and rescue and maritime security capabilities.

As part of the training, several members of the AFM Air Wing and Malta Sea Cadets embarked the Bradley in St. Paul’s Bay to observe the ship’s operations first-hand. The AFM personnel gained practical experience onboard the Bradley as it continued its journey to the Grand Harbour, and had the unique opportunity of spending the night onboard a U.S. Navy ship.

Commenting on the exercise, the U.S. Embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires, Jason Davis, said that the USS Bradley’s work with the AFM “supports our shared goal of keeping the Mediterranean safe for travel and trade.”

Following its port call in Malta, the Bradley will remain in the Mediterranean to participate in Phoenix Express 09, a multi-national naval exercise focused on combating illicit activities on the high seas such as drug and human trafficking. Last year, Malta participated in this exercise by hosting the exercise’s Maritime Interdiction Operations Center.

The USS Bradley, which is an Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate, has a crew of 215, commanded by navy Commander Clinton A. Carroll.

The ship was named after Second World War hero Robert G. Bradley, who lost his life along with 108 fellow crew members during a heroic attempt to save their ship, the USS Princeton, after a Japanese air attack at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines in 1944.