Members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Personnel Staff toured spaces aboard submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) as part of a visit to Guam, Aug. 16.

The purpose of the visit was to gain a greater understanding of Navy programs, equipment and facilities located within the Pacific area of responsibility (AOR).

"We are trying to get a better understanding of the naval assets on Guam," said Jeffrey Brabant, legislative director for U.S. Representative Tom MacArthur. "The general theme of the trip has been about ballistic missile defense and our defenses in the Pacific."

The tour route included spaces which house the capabilities to aid in the repair and maintenance of submarines and surface ships.

"I've always liked showing off our capabilities and what we bring to the fight, especially in this AOR," said Capt. Mark A. Prokopius, commanding officer of Emory S. Land. "It's good for the junior staffers to be able to bring back to their congressmen, especially to the House Armed Services Committee, what capabilities we bring and what we can do in the event that hostilities break out in this AOR."

This tour gave HASC Personnel Staff a closer look into the capabilities and the operation of commands based in Guam.

"When you come from [Washington], D.C., you hear a lot about things impacting readiness or our mission, but it's really impossible to put into perspective and remember it until you see it firsthand," said Brabant. "You can see how difficult it is to operate logistically on a small island like Guam where everything has to be imported. At the same time, it is impossible to understand how much is really here until you come and see it."

Emory S. Land is one of two forward-deployed expeditionary submarine tenders homeported in Guam, conducting maintenance on submarines and surface ships in the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operations.

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