Sal Island, Cabo Verde. (March 22, 2023): In this photo by Lance Corporal Mary Linniman, students from Zeca Ramos Elementary School pose for a photo with U.S. Marines during a visit to the USS Bulkeley at Sal Island, Cabo Verde. The kids joined the Marines for ship tours, sports and games, and a concert by the U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa Brass Band featuring a mixture of Afro-Portuguese and traditional songs.

The Marines landed in Cabo Verde for the African Maritime Forces Summit, a strategic-level forum that brings African maritime and naval infantry leaders together with their international partners to address transnational maritime security challenges within African waters including the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea.

The visit included ship tours for more than 80 delegates from 38 nations who witnessed shipboard firefighting demonstrations, joint U.S. Coast Guard and Cabo Verdean boarding drills, and simulated bomb-disposal robotics conducted by U.S. Marines.

The Bulkeley, homeported in Rota, Spain, is assigned to U.S. Navy Forward Deployed Naval Forces-Europe which operates throughout the waters of Europe and Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Arctic Circle. The ship’s motto is "Freedom's Torch”, and her crew has won both the Navy Unit Commendation and the Battle “E” award. The Bulkeley has a ship’s complement of 33 Officers, 38 Petty Officers, and 210 enlisted personnel.

Commissioned on Dec. 8, 2001, the ship is named in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Rear Adm. John Duncan Bulkeley, who’s 55 years of naval service included action in both the Pacific and Atlantic theaters during World War II and the Korean War. Bulkeley was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions as commander of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 in Philippine waters from December 7, 1941, to April 10, 1942. He died on April 6, 1996, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.