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PORT LOUIS, Mauritius –The multinational exercise Cutlass Express 2023 (CE23), sponsored by U.S. Africa Command and conducted by U.S. Naval Forces Africa, occurred March 5-17, 2023.
This year’s exercise was based in Djibouti, Kenya, and Mauritius, with multiple shore-based and at-sea training events along the eastern coast of Africa. In Mauritius, participants from Comoros, Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles, participated in the in Port Louis and at the Coast Guard Training School.
Ambassador Henry Jardine, U.S. ambassador to Mauritius and Seychelles, welcomed everyone to the commencement of CE23 during an opening ceremony in Mauritius.
“First, let me offer a warm thank you to the government of Mauritius, the Mauritius Police Force, and the Mauritius Coast Guard for their efforts in hosting the exercise this year,” said Jardine. “Hosting an exercise of this magnitude requires many resources and months of planning and I’m grateful for Mauritius’ willingness to take on this responsibility to make sure this exercise is a success.”
Exercise Cutlass Express is an annual, large-scale, multinational maritime exercise designed to assess and improve combined maritime law enforcement capacity and promote national and regional security in East Africa and to increase interoperability between the U.S., East African nations, Western Indian Ocean nations, and other international partners.
The first week consisted of tabletop exercises, maritime operation center exercises, and Sea Vision training to prepare for the second week which was focused on a field training exercise .
“Moving on to week two, we really went from the crawl to the walk phase,” said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Koachar Mohammad, officer in charge of the Tactical Law Enforcement Team Pacific supporting CE23. “We started with pier-side boarding scenarios on the Mauritius offshore patrol vessels and also utilized a ‘ship in a box’ to further conduct boarding scenarios. At the end of week two was the culminating event in which we conducted two days of at-sea boardings for the five partner nation countries.
The training scenarios aimed to increase combined tactical proficiency to counter illicit trafficking and maritime smuggling and to promote information sharing and overall cooperation among participating nations.
“My favorite part was working with partner nations and learning from their experiences,” said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Austin Cook, an instructor with Tactical Law Enforcement Team Pacific supporting Cutlass Express 23. “We were able to gaining knowledge from their side of the world and correlate that with knowledge from our side of the world and develop tactics so that we are able to work better together in the future.” .
Mauritius National Coast Guard Capt. Vipin Gupta, commandant of Mauritius, expressed the importance of the relationships and security built during this CE23.
“Our participation over the past 12 days is a key to help us strengthen our relationships and recommit to the principles that guide this partnership, adherence to the rule of law and primarily to disrupt illicit maritime activity,” said Gupta.
This year marked the 13th iteration of Cutlass Express, which started in 2011. The U.S. shares a common interest with African partner nations in ensuring security, safety, and freedom of navigation on the waters surrounding the continent, because these waters are critical for Africa’s prosperity and access to global markets.
“[CE23] was a perfect example of partner nations coming together to accomplish a mission,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Adrian Lai, officer in charge of CE23 in Mauritius. “We proudly see that working together enhances our joint capabilities and contributes to increased maritime security and regional stability.”
The 14 nations that participated in CE23 include Canada, Comoros, Djibouti, France, Georgia, Greece, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Tanzania, United Kingdom, and the United States.
| Date Taken: | 03.18.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 04.13.2023 07:38 |
| Story ID: | 442123 |
| Location: | PORT LOUIS, MU |
| Web Views: | 99 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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