Submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) hosted the flag officer, Goa Area during a scheduled port visit August 1.

Frank Cable's visit to India is aimed at building friendship and goodwill between the U.S. Navy and the people of India.

Rear Adm. Puneet Kumar Bahl toured the ship and viewed its medical and navigation spaces and repair facilities -- including the machine, pipe fabrication, sheet metal, and carpentry shops.

Frank Cable Commanding Officer Capt. Drew St. John led the tour and provided Bahl with information about the ship's mission as they walked through the various work centers, where Sailors took the lead in helping to build one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century.

"I was honored to have the opportunity to showcase the talents of our craftsmen in the machine shop and represent the world's finest machine shop," said Machinery Repairman 2nd Class Andrew Zeno, a native of Rocky Mount, North Carolina. "The admiral was fascinated with what we can fabricate from raw stock, and in what little time we are given to complete the job."

As the tour wound through the ship, Bahl engaged with Sailors, asked about training and capabilities, and listened to leadership as they explained how it tied into the mission of Frank Cable being a repair facility.

"It was a privilege to represent the sheet metal shop and be a representative of the Frank Cable crew," said Hull Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Caleb Bednarz, a native of Chesapeake, Virginia. "Not only will it be a memorable experience for me, but even greater, it was essential to our future relations and friendship with India."

St. John said it was an honor to host Bahl, and the pride and professionalism exhibited as part of the naval heritage of every Sailor being an ambassador is alive and well today.

"Watching the Sailors talk with pride about their ship and the role they play in executing our mission was the highlight of a great visit," said St. John. "The Sailors demonstrating the capabilities of Frank Cable to Adm. Bahl showed him the professionalism which is the hallmark of the Sailors of our Navy. These young Sailors were the best ambassadors I could have hoped for to help build the partnership between India and the United States."

Frank Cable is one of two forward-deployed submarine tenders and is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to conduct maintenance and support of deployed U.S. naval force submarines and surface vessels in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

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