A US naval ship has docked in Dublin ahead of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic between Notre Dame and Navy on Saturday evening.
The USS Mesa Verde, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock vessel, arrived in Dublin Port early on Friday morning after carrying out training exercises with the Irish Naval patrol vessel the Samuel Beckett.
The Mesa Verde is part of the three-ship Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and is tasked with deploying, landing, and supporting a marine landing force.
Known as "the Ghost Gator", the Mesa Verde traveled to Ireland from Norway, where it had been conducting training exercises with its NATO ally.
The ship can carry four state-of-the-art V-22 Osprey aircraft, which are primarily tasked with transporting troops. Each aircraft is capable of carrying 23 troops.
An Osprey onboard the USS Mesa Verde. Credit: Shane O'Brien
Three Ospreys will fly over the Aviva Stadium just before the start of the College Football Classic on Saturday evening.
The Mesa Verde, which can carry roughly 900 personnel, carries members of the Navy and Marines and boasts state-of-the-art medical facilities, including six intensive care beds and two dedicated operating rooms.
The combat capabilities of the ship are purely defensive in nature.
Machine Gunner Cpl. Nathaniel Weir with his M240 Bravo on board the USS Mesa Verde. Shane O'Brien
The ship assisted in rescue efforts after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti in 2010.
Captain Marc Davis said the ship would remain in Dublin for about a week and added that he has not issued any specific advice to his crew after a spate of recent violence in Dublin.
"There are issues all over the world. We deploy worldwide and give lots of talks and training on how to handle ourselves," Davis said.
"I think most of our warnings are the typical ones - (look out for) pickpocketers, don't keep your wallet in a place where it could get pickpocketed, and all the other standard stuff that you experience all over the world."
Davis said the Mesa Verde carried out small-boat exercises with the Samuel Beckett at 3 a.m. on Friday morning before swapping personnel with the Irish vessel and conducting ship-handling exercises.
The Mesa Verde crew later joined the Irish Navy for a social event on-board the Samuel Beckett on Friday night.
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