Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class William Hardy | 190723-N-RG171-1118 RED SEA (July 23, 2019) The guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul...... read more read more
USS McFaul Joins Regional Partners for ES19
By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Will Hardy
AT SEA -- The guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74) sailed alongside regional partners Saudi Arabia, Egypt and United Arab Emirates to conduct drills in air defense, surface warfare and subsurface warfare in the Red Sea as part of exercise Eagle Salute (ES) 2019, July 22-24, 2019.
The drills were conducted as a part of ES19, an annual partnership training between multiple nations in order to increase interoperability and strengthen capabilities across all lines of maritime security operations.
“Eagle Salute is an amazing opportunity to work with and build strong regional partnerships,” said Cmdr. Rusty Williamson, commanding officer of McFaul. “The exercises really advanced both the McFaul and Egyptian teams, but also helped build the commitment and connections with our maritime partners from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.”
McFaul served as the exercise lead for several events including the Search and Rescue (SAR) exercise, the visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) exercise, and several other at sea exercises.
The subsurface warfare portion was a strong success due to advanced planning with regional partners who participated in the event. There are many lessons learned for training exercises in the future, according to Chief Sonar Technician (Surface) Lowell Smith.
“We will be conducting an exercise with an Expendable Mobile Anti-Submarine Warfare Team Trainer (EMATT)”, said Smith. “The exercise will allow each ship the opportunity to locate, track, and conduct constructive kills.”
Lt. Robert Fuentes, a Liaison Naval Officer (LNO) assigned to the McFaul looked forward mostly to the Air Defense exercise (ADEX). “As an Air Warfare subject matter expert, I will be especially involved in the ADEX,” said Fuentes. “I will work to ensure interoperability for every exercise during Eagle Salute.”
Eagle Salute 19 is a surface exercise designed to enhance interoperability and war-fighting readiness, fortify military-to-military relationships and advance operational capabilities of all participating units. Eagle Salute 19 also incorporates Eagle Response 19, an explosive ordnance exercise, to provide opportunities for participating nations to collaborate on an even wider range of maritime security operations.
McFaul is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and the Pacific through the Western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points.
| Date Taken: | 07.25.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 07.26.2019 04:16 |
| Story ID: | 333123 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 117 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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