Capt. Jeff Bierley, commanding officer of the submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40), hosted a tour of the ship for leaders and participants of the German Capstone course, Nov. 15.

The German Capstone course was comprised of about 15 flag officers and equivalent grade civilian leaders from their Foreign Office, Ministry of the Interior, and Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The course was held on behalf of the German chief of defense.

Cmdr. Tony Pecoraro, executive officer assigned to Frank Cable, led the group through the ship, discussing its capabilities as a submarine tender. Pecoraro used the ship’s ability to load ordnance onto foreign vessels as an example of Frank Cable’s versatile functions.

In the bridge, Military Sealift Command Chief Mate Justin Griffith educated the tour group on the ship’s navigational capabilities and how Frank Cable’s crew, comprised of Navy Sailors and MSC civilian mariners, cooperate to complete the ship’s mission on a daily basis.

The tour also took the group through the ship’s medical ward, where Cmdr. Mickaila Johnston, senior medical officer assigned to Frank Cable, and Hospital Corpsman 2rd Class Edgar Garcia, explained the capabilities of the medical and dental professionals onboard.

“It was an interesting experience,” said Garcia. “I’m not sure how often they see submarine tenders, let alone an American one. It was cool to show them what we’re capable of.”

After touring Frank Cable’s galley and ship store, the tour stopped in the machine shop, where machinery repairmen fabricate mechanical parts from raw materials for Navy vessels. Cmdr. Jonathan Gandy, repair officer assigned to Frank Cable, explained what the ship’s repair department can do.

“I think they were really interested,” said Gandy. “They were curious to see if Frank Cable was incorporating new technologies, like 3-D printing, into our repair capabilities.”

After learning about repair capabilities, the tour stopped to learn from Chief Damage Controlman Cyprus Deguzman, damage control coordinator aboard Frank Cable, and Damage Controlman 2nd Class Kendreca Perkins about what goes into combatting casualties on a submarine tender.

Prior to departing the ship, the tour saw Frank Cable’s diver locker and learned about the recompression chamber.

The German Capstone course participants were in Guam as part of a Pacific tour to discuss the regional security situation, geostrategic relevance, take part in installation tours and meet local leadership.

Frank Cable, forward deployed to Guam, repairs, rearms and reprovisions deployed U.S. Naval Forces in the Indo-Pacific region.

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