The United States navy’s destroyer ship the USS Oscar Austin returned to Cyprus on Tuesday, this time docking in Larnaca.

US ambassador in Nicosia Julie Davis Fisher hailed the ship’s arrival, saying it had stopped in Larnaca for a “port call” before pointing out its capabilities.

“Ballistic missile, anti-submarine and anti-surface welfare capable, the Oscar Austin continues its mission to advance security in the Mediterranean and beyond,” she said.

The ship is named after Oscar Palmer Austin, a US marine who posthumously received his nation’s highest military honour after sacrificing his own life in the Vietnam war by jumping on a grenade which landed near a wounded man before jumping between a Vietnamese shooter and the man.

It previously visited Limassol in December for a “New Years port call”.

The ship’s arrival is one of a growing number of US navy ships docking in Cyprus, with the guided missile destroyer the USS The Sullivans having docked in Larnaca for a “liberty call” – the US navy’s term for a stop-off to give sailors free time with their families – earlier this month.

Earlier, the USS Oak Hill had made multiple stops on the island, most recently at the end of October.
It had previously arrived in Cyprus to conduct scheduled maintenance, with commanding officer Jason Nowell saying at the time that the marines would conduct “routine bilateral training exercises” with Cyprus’ National Guard both in Paphos and Larnaca.

In August, it had taken part in joint exercises with the USS Wasp and the Turkish navy’s amphibious assault ship the TCG Anadolu, and fellow Turkish navy ship the TCG Gokova.

The USS Wasp’s presence in Cyprus had also generated controversy on the island, with Akel accusing the Cypriot government of dragging Cyprus into the middle of extremely heightened tensions by consenting to the “continuing concentration of foreign military forces on our island”.

The USS Wasp’s official social media page at the time had said the exercises had taken place “in a demonstration of enduring cooperation and mutual commitment to maritime security”.

After those exercises had taken place, the USS Wasp docked in the Turkish Aegean city of Izmir, but this was met with controversy after two sailors from the ship were attacked by 15 people while walking down the city’s central Cyprus Martyrs Street.

In addition to deepening naval ties, Cyprus last month was authorised to buy military hardware directly from the United States government after joining three programmes run by the country’s department of defence.

The country was incorporated into the US defence security cooperation agency’s foreign military sales (FMS) programme, its excess defence articles (EDA) programme, and will be allocated resources under the US’ ‘Title 10’ security assistance provisions.

It is the inclusion into the FMS programme which will allow the government to purchase military hardware directly from the US government, with the country previously having only been able to buy US military hardware from private companies.

The Cyprus Mail understands that being able to circumvent private companies will allow the government to buy weapons and other hardware at cheaper prices than before, given that the US government typically acquires its apparatus in bulk, and is thus able to sell it on for cheaper prices than what private companies would offer to a military of the National Guard’s size.