Naval Support Activity Bahrain provided dynamic support to the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman during her scheduled port visit April 17-21.

The mission of NSA Bahrain is to provide operational support to U.S. and Coalition Forces operating throughout the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. NSA Bahrain is the only permanently established naval installation in the region that operates and sustains superior facilities and provides security to not only ships, but aircraft, detachments, and remote sites throughout the region.

Bahrain is a frequent stopping place for bigger ships such as aircraft carriers like Truman and amphibious assault ships on lengthy deployments to the region. There are no other ports in the region that can support a Sailor's liberty and provide their ship full pier hotel services all while keeping them in theater.

"This is great, there's a lot of people that look forward to going ashore to try some new food and even get their favorite food here [at NSA Bahrain]," said Interior Communications Electrician 2nd Class Jarrod Joseph, a Truman Sailor. "Getting Wi-Fi [on base] is huge for us as well as going out in town. It's little things like this when we pull into port that keep us motivated."

Little things like sleeping in a bigger bed and having Wi-Fi to call home are a huge priority by NSA Bahrain's Housing Office. Department Director Luis Rosario-Febus also mentioned that keeping track of the room reservations for an aircraft carrier crew is no small task.

"We did about 1,400 reservations for the Sailors and the whole trip went very well," said Rosario. "We spent a lot of time. We had to work overtime in order to ensure those reservations were in right away because we know it's a very important part of morale for our shipmates that are coming into port. We want to make sure that we are doing our very best to provide this service to them. It's worth it."

Truman Sailors also took their out-of-ship experience as a moment to simply enjoy just being outside. Joseph, who volunteered to help coordinate the 7k run for Truman crew members on base, highlighted one of the challenges of being at sea as not being able to unwind outdoors.

"A lot of our guys like to run and we haven't had any runs yet this deployment," said Joseph. "We've been going hard since we started deployment so now we can finally get out and run."

Truman's Afloat Fitness Director, Tina Nguyen, also spoke on how the 7k run, as well as other sports, could not have been made possible without the support and venues provided by the installation and NSA Bahrain's Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) office.

"They have been extremely helpful in setting up our competitions," said Nguyen. "We had the 7k run, a basketball tournament, a rugby match, football; we just really appreciate the support."

NSA Bahrain's Naval Security Force, nicknamed "The Guardians" and largest security force in the Navy, provided pier side and waterfront security with their Harbor Patrol Unit (HPU) to the Truman while deployed in their area of operation.

The task is known to be a challenge because NSA Bahrain is one of the busiest ports in the Navy. All of the ships depend on the HPU to provide security on the waterfront, whether they're based here or just visiting.
NSA Bahrain forward operates twenty-four hours, seven days a week and lives up to its name as a Naval Support Activity.

NSA Bahrain enables the forward operations and responsiveness of U.S. and allied forces in support of Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia's mission to provide services to the Fleet, Fighter, and Family.

For more news from Naval Support Activity Bahrain, visit www.navy.mil/