US Consul General Kicks Off Visit of USS Scout to Baja

USS Scout to visit Baja waters
Us Consular General Kicks off USS Scout visit to Baja with Mexican School children

Tijuana, BC, September 11, 2018 – The Consul General of the United States in Tijuana, Sue Saarnio visited and gave a tour yesterday for the USS SCOUT vessel that will be in Ensenada, Baja California from September 8 to 11 on the occasion of the Independence Day celebrations in Mexico. The USS SCOUT will also visit other ports on the west coast of Mexico to strengthen ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

Information on the USS Scout

Scout was laid down on 8 June 1987 at Peterson Builders in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Launched on 20 May 1989, she was commissioned on 15 December 1990.

The Avenger-class ships were designed to have very low acoustic and magnetic signatures to avoid detonating mines. While most modern warships have steel hulls, the Avengers have wooden hulls with an external coating of fiberglass. They are equipped with sophisticated minehunting and classification sonar as well as remotely operated mine neutralization and disposal systems.

Specifications:
Displacement 1,253 t.(lt), 1,367 t.(fl)
Length 224′
Beam 39′
Draft 15′
Speed 13.5 kts.
Complement 82
Armament: Two M2HB .50 cal. machine guns; two M60, 7.62mm machine guns and two Mk19 grenade launchers
Propulsion: Four 600bhp Isotta Fraschini diesel engines, two controllable reversible pitch propellers, two electric light load propulsion motors
Auxiliary Systems: Three Isotta Fraschini ship service diesel generator sets, one solar gas turbine generator and one omnithruster bow thruster system
Electronic systems: One AN/SSN-2 Precise Integrated Navigation System (PINS), one AN/SQQ-32 Mine Hunting Sonar, one AN/SPS-55 Surface Radar and one AN/WSN-2 Gyro Compass
Mine Countermeasure Equipment Suite: One AN/SLQ-48 (V) Mine Neutralization System

The USS SCOUT is on a three-month mission in the eastern Pacific, and is currently conducting training exercises. Its primary mission is to maintain maritime communication lines and commercial routes open and free from the indiscriminate threat posed by naval mines.

As part of their community activities, sailors of the boat offered a tour to a group of high school students and their teachers from the School of the Americas of Ensenada, where they had the opportunity to know the facilities and operation of the visitor ship

Based in San Diego, California, the SCOUT has a crew of 90 sailors. The “Avenger-class” anti-mine mine measures 68 meters in length or length, 12 meters in width, and 4 meters in draft. After being commissioned in 1990, the USS SCOUT has supported operations around the world, including NATO missions during the Kosovo conflict in the Mediterranean, and Operation “Iraqi Freedom” in the Persian Gulf.

“Both geographically and culturally, Mexico is one of the closest partners of the United States, and the crew of the USS SCOUT looks forward to further strengthening these ties between our two great nations, their citizens and their naval forces,” said the official. commanding the ship, Commander Eric Bloomberg.

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