USS Carney Arrives in Aksaz, Turkey#News247WorldPress

NOVEMBER 19, 2016 AT 8:11 AM UTC

Petty Officer 3rd Class Weston Jones

AKSAZ, Turkey (Nov. 19, 2016) – The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) arrived in Aksaz, Turkey, to attend pre-sail and planning conferences for Exercise Mavi Balina 16.

Mavi Balina 16 is a Turkish-led maritime exercise involving NATO and regional forces in the Eastern Mediterranean to improve interoperability and proficiency in anti-submarine warfare scenarios.

“Exercises such as Mavi Balina are extremely beneficial for everyone involved. It provides each participating ship an opportunity to build professional relationships and train together in a vital warfare area. We are thrilled to be representing U.S. 6th Fleet and look forward to honing our anti-submarine warfare capabilities by extensive practice at sea with Allied submarines and surface vessels.”

-Cmdr. Peter Halvorsen, commanding officer, USS Carney (DDG 64)

Participating nations for Mavi Balina 16 include Pakistan, Romania, Turkey, Canada and the United States. NATO Maritime Group 2 and observers from Algeria, Nigeria, and Georgia will also participate.

Participating units from the U.S include guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) and a P-8A Poseidon from Patrol Squadron 45, both currently in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations.

The ship’s presence in the Mediterranean is a demonstration of the U.S. Navy’s continued commitment to NATO and the collective security of the European region.

USS Carney, forward-deployed to Rota, Spain, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

We filed this under: