Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Gregory Johnson | EAST CHINA SEA (May 31, 2023) – An MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the Royal...... read more read more
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EAST CHINA SEA (May 31, 2023) – The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) along with maritime forces assigned to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), Republic of Korea Coast Guard (ROKCG), Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN), Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and U.S. Coast Guard concluded Eastern Endeavor 2023, May 31.
The multi-national exercise was led by ROKN and consisted of a series of pre-sail activities in Busan, South Korea followed by a simulated maritime interdiction operation at sea.
“Eastern Endeavor provided us an opportunity to work together at sea with some of our closest allies and partners during a realistic training scenario,” said Cmdr. Leif Gunderson, Milius’ commanding officer. “Training together to enhance our information sharing and integrated capabilities helps us operate together more effectively and is demonstrative of our collective commitment to ensuring maritime security and a free flow of commerce in the Indo-Pacific.”
Integrated maritime domain awareness was a major component of the exercise as participating assets collected and shared information through a multinational coordination center while tracking a simulated vessel of interest.
“Effectively sharing information in real time is imperative to our ability to act quickly and decisively,” said Lt. Cmdr. Devin Laviano, Milus’ planning and tactics officer. “Not one entity can build maritime security and maritime domain awareness alone – it requires mutual cooperation from everyone involved.”
Eastern Endeavor 2023 culminated with a series of insertions aboard the vessel of interest involving integrated visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) teams composed of JMSDF, ROKCG, ROKN, and U.S. Navy and Coast Guard personnel. The RAN Anzac-class frigate HMAS Anzac (FFH 150) acted as an interdiction ship during the VBSS phase of the exercise.
“The VBSS scenarios were designed to be as realistic as possible while maintaining a safe training environment,” said Ensign Ryan Le, a VBSS team lead assigned to Milius. “There’s absolutely no substitute for live-action training especially when it’s playing out on an unfamiliar vessel.”
According to Cmdr. Koga Naoki, commander of the Asagiri-class destroyer JS Hamagiri (DD 155), said the exercise was extremely valuable for everyone involved.
"In addition to the JS Hamagiri, the U.S., Australian, and ROK naval and coast guard forces and aircraft participated in this maritime interdiction operation exercise” said Naoki. “Through this multinational exercise, we were able to acquire knowledge and capabilities related to PSI activities, improve our PSI capabilities, strengthen cooperation with the participating countries and deepen mutual understanding."
Milius is assigned to Commander, Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest forward-deployed DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force.
U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
| Date Taken: | 05.31.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2023 02:35 |
| Story ID: | 446198 |
| Location: | EAST CHINA SEA |
| Web Views: | 403 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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