GULF OF OMAN – The Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG60) hosted the commanding officer the French Cassard Class anti-air warfare frigate Jean Bart and executive officer of the Pakistani Zulfiquar class frigate Shamsheer as part of International Maritime Exercise (IMX) 2019.
IMX is a bi-annual maritime exercise designed to bring cooperative training across multiple warfare areas. USS Normandy has partnered with ships from three other countries to form an operational task force in the gulf of Oman. The ships have been testing their execution of air, surface and subsurface warfare, as well as maritime security operations.
USS Normandy hosted the two senior officers for lunch and a tour of Normandy while all three ships participated in an anti-submarine warfare exercise.
“Fostering relationships is what IMX is all about,” said Capt. Chris Stone, USS Normandy’s Commanding Officer. Stone’s crew truly took that to heart by opening their ship to the partner nations. Throughout the week Normandy has embarked guests from several participating nations, to enhance operational relationships with regional partner nations. These relationships are crucial in the effort to ensure the free flow of commerce and enhance security throughout the region.
The day before Normandy hosted these officers, Stone and USS Normandy’s operations officer, Lt. Cmdr. Greg Tornambe, joined the commanding officer of PNS Shamsheer for a similar event. They toured the vessel and partook in a meal of traditional Pakistani food.
“Building cooperative capability is paramount with our partner nations,” Stone added. “The lessons learned will prove invaluable as we continue to enhance regional security as one nation cannot do it alone.” Stone also stated that he hopes to see IMX continue to grow. “This year was the sixth iteration of the IMX series, and the complexity and training value has continued to increase. We are proud to be a part of this exercise.”
USS Normandy, homeported in Norfolk, Virginia, is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility as part of a scheduled deployment.
If you would like to learn more about Normandy, visit www.public.navy.mil/surflant/cg60/Pages/default.aspx.
| Date Taken: | 11.09.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 11.11.2019 10:32 |
| Story ID: | 351293 |
| Location: | U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY |
| Web Views: | 216 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, USS Normandy hosts Pakistani and French Naval Officers as part of IMX, by LT Brian Weinhardt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
