Photo By Paul L Archer | 151017-N-DM308-476 PACIFIC OCEAN (Oct. 17, 2015) Aircraft carrier USS George...... read more read more
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By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Omar Powell
USS George Washington Public Affairs
PACIFIC OCEAN – Aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) and Carrier Strike Group Nine (CSG 9), conducted a photo exercise (PhotoEX) as part of UNITAS Pacific (PAC) Oct. 17.
UNITAS is a sea exercise and in port training involving countries in North, South and Central America conducted by the U.S. since 1959.
The PhotoEx is a multinational coordinated event that allows each country to come together and act as one unit off the coast of Valparaiso, Chile.
“These exercises give us a chance to improve our communication and maneuvering techniques while fostering our relationships with foreign countries,” said Lt. Katherine Smith, Anti-Submarine Weapons Tactics Instructor.
Four of the eleven ships were U.S., one Colombian, one Mexican and five Chilean. They worked in close proximity to form up for the PhotoEx. The distances from each ship ranged from 500 to 1,000 yards when in place. Washington stood at the center as the guide for the formation.
“The whole process took six hours from communication checks in port to the breakaway formation,” said Senior Chief Operations Specialist James R. Hampton. “These exercises are good for all countries to build a stronger ability to assist during natural disasters or combat illicit trafficking and terrorism.”
The annual UNITAS exercise series supports the U.S. Maritime Strategy by bringing partner nation navies together to improve interoperability and build working relationships at sea.
UNITAS 2015, the U.S. Navy’s longest running annual multinational maritime exercise, is part of the Southern Seas deployment planned by U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/ U.S. 4th Fleet. This 56th iteration of UNITAS is conducted in two phases: UNITAS Pacific, hosted by Chile, Oct. 13-24, 2015, and UNITAS Atlantic, hosted by Brazil scheduled for November.
| Date Taken: | 10.17.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 10.18.2015 19:14 |
| Story ID: | 179236 |
| Location: | USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, PACIFIC OCEAN |
| Web Views: | 196 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
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