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Pussers Visit New York City - Last Time was in '76 (What Did They Do?) |
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Saturday, 18 July 2009 |
 Two Australian warships, HMA Ships Sydney and Ballarat, will arrive in New York on Sunday for a four-day visit, as part of a round-the-world trip to promote Australia.
New York is giving the Australians the VIP treatment, inviting them to promote the tour on the ‘Astrovision Screen’ in Times Square.
The Australian sailors have been given two chances to star on the famous Times Square big video screen. Firstly, there will be a 15-second story promoting the ship’s open day. This short video will be seen four times every hour for the duration of the four-day visit. That's a total of 384 times.
Secondly, there will be a 30-minute live video feed of sailors from both ships. These feeds will be displayed in Times Square and be seen by around one-and-a-half million people.
HMAS Sydney’s Commanding Officer, Captain Peter Leavy, says the airtime was unexpected, but most welcome. “This is a great honour and a fantastic opportunity for both the Navy and the Australian people,” Captain Leavy said. “The last time a RAN warship visited New York was HMAS Hobart in 1976.”
The visit will also include a tour of the Twin Towers Tribute Centre, where both ships’ Commanding Officers will join Commander, Australian Fleet, Rear Admiral Nigel Coates AM, RAN and other dignitaries.
Rear Admiral Coates will lay a wreath on behalf of the Royal Australian Navy in memory of those who got killed on September 11, 2001.
New York marks the first of three Great White Fleet reciprocal port visits for Sydney and Ballarat. Following New York, the Australian ships will visit Baltimore and Norfolk before visiting the Caribbean for some real fun.
The Australian frigates will be open to the public at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal at Pier 88 on 21 July, giving Yanks the chance to mix genes and stories with some Aussies.
Northern Trident 09 is a six-month international deployment aimed at supporting Australian Government priorities in Western Europe, North America, and West and North Asian countries. Who knows what those priorities are.
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