On board the guided-missile frigate B.A.P. Villavicencio (FM-52), 67 cadets in the Peruvian Navy are participating in foreign instructional tour VIEX-2015.
The Peruvian Navy’s guided-missile frigate BAP Villavicencio (FM-52) departed on May 2 for VIEX-2015, a foreign instructional tour through the Americas that will extend until July 14.
Carrying 67 Peruvian Navy Cadets and 231 crew members on board, the Lupo Class, FM-52 frigate has already visited Colombia (Bahía Málaga) and Mexico (Acapulco), and will continue on to the United States (San Francisco, San Diego, and Seattle), Canada (Vancouver), Panama (Balboa), and Ecuador (Guayaquil) with the goal of providing practical experience for the fourth-year Cadets, said Captain Carlos Saz García, chief of the Academic Instruction department of the Peruvian Naval School.
“This training will complement the theoretical knowledge the Cadets gained during their academic coursework, and will allow them to obtain the skills necessary to perform their duties after their graduation, in operational and administrative roles, as officers assigned to a Naval unit.”
That knowledge includes information about operating principles; the characteristics and criteria for maintenance, systems and equipment; the language the Navy uses on board a vessel; and training in leadership skills.
“Naval Officers must also acquire knowledge about the shipboard routine of a combat unit at port and at sea, techniques and procedures for navigation, naval kinematics, and ship maneuverability to navigate safely with the support of electronic equipment, instruments, publications and nautical maps, as well as knowledge about the functional organization of a combat unit and guard duties at sea and in port.”
Activities planned at each host country
The Cadets will practice a wide array of skills during VIEX-2015, including administrative tasks.
“They will also perform operational functions such as rotating coverage of guard posts at sea and in port, and emergency and operational battle stations,” said Capt. Saz García. That rotation will move through one post under each of the Naval Unit’s departments.
Cadet Ensign Diego Bartra Cerna, commander of the Angamos Battalion, said the instructional tour offered a chance to put what he had learned into practice. “We are a combat unit, so these trainings are routine, and the tour shows us the day-to-day demands of life at sea.”
The Cadet Ensign acknowledged he misses his home and family while participating in the tour, but also that every seaman needs to learn to be away from their loved ones while on Naval duty. They’ll have plenty to keep them busy in the meantime: when they arrive at each port, the Peruvian Cadets and host countries will participate in ceremonies, greetings, sports and other social activities, with receptions provided by host nation authorities.
A learning experience
“Here we are learning to apply everything we learned in the classroom; we are shown what real life is like during maneuvers, how demanding they are, what relationships with the crew are like, and it gives us a broad overview of the place where we will soon be working,” Cadet Ensign Bartra said.
The comprehensive training provided by the Peruvian Naval School places its Naval Cadets on par with their counterparts in the most important navies in the region, Capt. Saz García said.
“During their coursework, the knowledge they obtain gives them intensive training in Naval Sciences, complemented by their knowledge of engineering and the humanities.”
The Peruvian Navy’s guided-missile frigate BAP Villavicencio (FM-52) departed on May 2 for VIEX-2015, a foreign instructional tour through the Americas that will extend until July 14.
Carrying 67 Peruvian Navy Cadets and 231 crew members on board, the Lupo Class, FM-52 frigate has already visited Colombia (Bahía Málaga) and Mexico (Acapulco), and will continue on to the United States (San Francisco, San Diego, and Seattle), Canada (Vancouver), Panama (Balboa), and Ecuador (Guayaquil) with the goal of providing practical experience for the fourth-year Cadets, said Captain Carlos Saz García, chief of the Academic Instruction department of the Peruvian Naval School.
“This training will complement the theoretical knowledge the Cadets gained during their academic coursework, and will allow them to obtain the skills necessary to perform their duties after their graduation, in operational and administrative roles, as officers assigned to a Naval unit.”
That knowledge includes information about operating principles; the characteristics and criteria for maintenance, systems and equipment; the language the Navy uses on board a vessel; and training in leadership skills.
“Naval Officers must also acquire knowledge about the shipboard routine of a combat unit at port and at sea, techniques and procedures for navigation, naval kinematics, and ship maneuverability to navigate safely with the support of electronic equipment, instruments, publications and nautical maps, as well as knowledge about the functional organization of a combat unit and guard duties at sea and in port.”
Activities planned at each host country
The Cadets will practice a wide array of skills during VIEX-2015, including administrative tasks.
“They will also perform operational functions such as rotating coverage of guard posts at sea and in port, and emergency and operational battle stations,” said Capt. Saz García. That rotation will move through one post under each of the Naval Unit’s departments.
Cadet Ensign Diego Bartra Cerna, commander of the Angamos Battalion, said the instructional tour offered a chance to put what he had learned into practice. “We are a combat unit, so these trainings are routine, and the tour shows us the day-to-day demands of life at sea.”
The Cadet Ensign acknowledged he misses his home and family while participating in the tour, but also that every seaman needs to learn to be away from their loved ones while on Naval duty. They’ll have plenty to keep them busy in the meantime: when they arrive at each port, the Peruvian Cadets and host countries will participate in ceremonies, greetings, sports and other social activities, with receptions provided by host nation authorities.
A learning experience
“Here we are learning to apply everything we learned in the classroom; we are shown what real life is like during maneuvers, how demanding they are, what relationships with the crew are like, and it gives us a broad overview of the place where we will soon be working,” Cadet Ensign Bartra said.
The comprehensive training provided by the Peruvian Naval School places its Naval Cadets on par with their counterparts in the most important navies in the region, Capt. Saz García said.
“During their coursework, the knowledge they obtain gives them intensive training in Naval Sciences, complemented by their knowledge of engineering and the humanities.”
It’s good to read the latest news The training of our future naval officers in Peru is good. My congratulations and for the opportunities of their lives these youths of the future have in our excellent Navy. Constant training of our military personnel is the best national security policy.