ABOARD THE USS GEORGE HW BUSH // They call it a “city at sea”.
But though many aspects of daily life here look familiar – going to work, lifting weights in the gym, calling Mum and Dad – just one night on the USS George HW Bush is enough to know that this is no ordinary city.
The thunderous whooshing sound of the "catapults" being tested throughout the night on the flight deck above is hardly conducive to a good night's sleep; they are a reminder of the combat jets that these devices help launch from the aircraft carrier. And these jets in turn are a reminder of the air strikes being launched from this ship on ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria – and the civilians caught up in wars being fought in cities on land, less than 2,000 kilometres away.
It can be easy to forget all that aboard this vast vessel, where nearly 5,000 members of the US navy are busy keeping the ship and its two nuclear reactors running – many on very little sleep and struggling with hardships much closer to home.
Missing home
Take Petty Officer First Class Marshall Tripp, 23, a diesel mechanic. He was married for just two months before the USS George HW Bush set sail from Norfolk, Virginia, on January 21. Since then, he has become a father.
“One-month-old Evelyn Grace, she was born February 11, seven-and-a-half pounds. I wasn’t there [for her birth] unfortunately. So that’s definitely hard,” says the San Diego native. He will not meet his baby until the carrier returns to the United States in the summer.
“[My wife] emails me all the time saying, you know, she’s having a hard time,” he adds.
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More on the USS George HW Bush
■ Avoiding civilian deaths 'highest priority' says US pilot fighting ISIL
■ Life inside the aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush – in pictures
■ Iran 'harassed' US aircraft carrier in Strait of Hormuz
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If his tone seems matter-of-fact, it’s only a reflection of the general culture on board ship, where banter, optimism and structure are the order of the day. Command Master Chief Huben L Phillips, the most senior enlisted sailor on board, says a lot of work goes into increasing the resilience of young and new sailors, as well as making them “feel tough” and “exceptional” – no small task given that most of those on board are younger than petty officer Tripp, and that this deployment to the Arabian Gulf is their first anywhere.
Like many of the young people aboard the carrier, Yeoman Third Class Juliana Brito has missed important life milestones during her deployment. On the day the ship left port in the US she turned 21.
“It was hard for [my family when I left],” says Yeoman Brito, a New Yorker who joined the navy straight out of high school. “They didn’t really understand what it is, they’re foreign, they’re from another country [the Dominican Republic] as well so they don’t really get being out to sea. Why do we have to go several months?”
But so far, she says, being away from home is “surprisingly, not as bad as I thought it would be”, thanks to the camaraderie on board.
The carrier bubble
The physical distance from home and land is exacerbated by non-existent mobile phone signal and Wi-Fi, while the carrier’s satellite internet is extremely slow. Crew members say the bandwidth for the entire carrier is about 50 per cent of the service for an average UAE apartment.
There are payphones on board but one of the pilots, who recently turned 30, has been trying out more old fashioned methods of communication; he is sending postcards home, some illustrated with his own watercolour paintings.
The notion of writing letters provokes a chuckle from one of the ship’s older servicemen, an oral surgeon in his 60s who is already past the navy’s official retirement age. Most of the mail delivered to the ship by aircraft is Amazon orders, he says.
So how does a new father who has not yet seen his baby cope with the communication hurdles?
“I see pictures of her every day and get to FaceTime her when I can, when we pull in [to port] which is good,” says Petty Officer Tripp. After family, the food at home and his own bed are the things he misses most, he adds.
On board ship, he shares a room of bunks with 15 other men. “Close quarters definitely,” he says. “Got to … change in front of each other ... I mean, definitely not a lot of personal space”.
But in true navy style, he immediately puts a positive spin on it: “It’s definitely a good way to interact with people, you meet people from different areas of the world and you get to know their way of life and where they’re coming from.”
Huge responsibility, little sleep
Yeoman Brito likes to exercise in the evenings so she gets by on around six hours of sleep a night. Even this is generous compared to some on board. “Lights out” are at 10pm, following a short non-denominational prayer played on the ship’s intercom, but that doesn’t mean everyone can go to bed. One crew member says his job in the supply department only permits him to sleep for around three or four straight hours a night, although he tries to snatch naps during the day.
The low priority given to sleep is all the more surprising given the weighty responsibilities that even the youngest on board must bear. The US$6.2 billion (Dh22.8bn) ship is often steered by 18 and 19-year-olds, while the sailors working on the flight deck are operating on 1.82 hectares “of the most dangerous property in the world”, according to the carrier’s executive officer, Captain Gavin Duff.
So what do the sailors do for fun?
“I work out,” says Yeoman Brito. “I like to write sometimes but mostly it’s working out. Just lifting [weights], going to the gym for an hour or two [every day] just helps my mind get clear.”
There are seven gyms on board, including an outdoor gym with a sea view, and up to seven fitness classes are scheduled every day – everything from spin and yoga to crossfit and circuit training. Some crew members recently ran a marathon on the flight deck in solidarity with family members taking part in a marathon back home in Virginia. There’s even a full-time fitness coordinator, who, in keeping with the US navy’s love for nicknames, is known as “Fit Boss”.
A “Fun Boss”, meanwhile, takes care of other extra-curricular pursuits – from board games and cupcake decorating to tours when the ship is in port. The carrier holds slam poetry and improv comedy nights and has its own gospel choir and official band, reinforcing the notion that this really is a “city at sea”.
And, as in every city around the world, the ship is also a place where some of the crew meet their future wives and husbands.
Petty Officer Tripp actually met his wife on the ship, during his first deployment. “Our first date … [was] just eating dinner where everybody else is eating dinner so it’s not exactly a candlelit dinner,” he says.
“[Dating is] something that we’re not supposed to do on the ship but it’s something that you can’t control, I believe … You can’t help the way you feel about somebody.”
lmackenzie@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
F1 2020 calendar
March 15 - Australia, Melbourne; March 22 - Bahrain, Sakhir; April 5 - Vietnam, Hanoi; April 19 - China, Shanghai; May 3 - Netherlands, Zandvoort; May 20 - Spain, Barcelona; May 24 - Monaco, Monaco; June 7 - Azerbaijan, Baku; June 14 - Canada, Montreal; June 28 - France, Le Castellet; July 5 - Austria, Spielberg; July 19 - Great Britain, Silverstone; August 2 - Hungary, Budapest; August 30 - Belgium, Spa; September 6 - Italy, Monza; September 20 - Singapore, Singapore; September 27 - Russia, Sochi; October 11 - Japan, Suzuka; October 25 - United States, Austin; November 1 - Mexico City, Mexico City; November 15 - Brazil, Sao Paulo; November 29 - Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi.
THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Monster Hunter: World
Capcom
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
UAE%20medallists%20at%20Asian%20Games%202023
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
MATCH INFO
Argentina 47 (Tries: Sanchez, Tuculet (2), Mallia (2), De La Fuente, Bertranou; Cons: Sanchez 5, Urdapilleta)
United States 17 (Tries: Scully (2), Lasike; Cons: MacGinty)
