Ambassador
Ambassador Event
AMBASSADOR WAYNE ESCORTS GOA OFFICIALS TO US AIRCRAFT CARRIER, VISITS BAHIA BLANCA
May 5, 2008
Ambassador Wayne escorted several senior officials from the Ministry of Defense, Armed Forces and Congress today to visit the aircraft carrier U.S.S. George Washington. Included in the group accompanying the Ambassador were the President of the Chamber of Deputies Defense Commission, the Chief of Staff of the Navy, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Subsecretario de Asuntos Tecnicos Miltares from the Ministry of Defense, the Mayor of Bahia Blanca and the Mayor of Punta Alta. The George Washington is conducting exercises with the Argentine Navy as it cruises south to transit to the Pacific Ocean following the annual UNITAS exercise. The group flew 150 nautical miles out and landed on the aircraft carrier using one of the carrier's transport aircraft. While on board the George Washington, the Ambassador and his guests observed the ongoing exercise with the Argentine Navy which included Argentine ships and aircraft. Additionally, the group was given an air demonstration by the various aircraft aboard the carrier, ate lunch, and received a briefing from the Carrier Strike Group commander.
Following the visit to the carrier, Ambassador Wayne stopped in Bahía Blanca where, at a meeting hosted by the President of Bolsa de Comercio, he was declared an Honorary Citizen of the city by the Mayor. The Ambassador had the opportunity to interact with a range of officials, entrepreneurs and community activists, including several who were part of a social responsibility program developed by Dow Chemical in Bahia Blanca. The Dow CSR project is aimed at improving the job skills of youth in the neighborhoods surrounding its facilities, thereby strengthening their chances to access the local labor market. Three of the 85 students who have completed the course were present. One of them, who learned welding techniques, now has a micro enterprise providing welding services to firms located in the Port of Bahía Blanca. A second one, formerly jobless, incorporated scaffolding assembly knowledge and now sells these services to Dow and other petrochemical firms in the city. The project had first identified the job needs of the local labor market and then designed and developed a training program with other local organizations and firms that can now hire qualified employees.
“I was really impressed by the dynamism in Bahia Blanca and by this wonderful example of a public-private partnership helping to empower young Argentines in this city”, said Ambassador Wayne.