US Warship Docks, Begins Humanitarian Mission

The US warship USS Mustin arrived in Preah Sihanouk province on Friday for a five-day visit, officials said.

Troops from the Mustin, which is commanded by an American-Cambodian who left with a US Embassy official prior to the fall of Phnom Penh, will conduct humanitarian missions, such as medical checks at orphanages and schools. Other exercises include training with Cambodian military personnel and visits to Angkor Wat.

For Commander Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz, the visit is a homecoming to a country he left nearly 40 years ago. Misiewicz said he expected to meet with family members who had remained in Cambodia, in what he predicted would be an emotional visit.

Over the past few years, he said, the US has increased its visits to Cambodia and other countries across Southeast Asia, “to assure all the nations in the area that the US is there to help promote peace and stability.”

The arrival of the warship comes on the heels of a visit here by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in November.