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US, Russian navy to conduct assistance, disaster relief drill
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Posted on Mar 27 2006
SANTA RITA, Guam—More than 1,300 U.S. and Russian Federated Navy personnel will take part in a bilateral humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and passage exercise March 27 to March 30 on and off the coast of Guam.
This exercise is designed to increase interoperability between the two navies while enhancing the strong cooperative relationship between Russia and the United States and the two navies. The exercise will be highlighted by at-sea interaction and ashore with a humanitarian assistance/disaster relief scenario.
The U.S. Navy will be represented by guided missile cruisers USS Cowpens and USS Chosin. The Russian Federated Navy will be represented by destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov, tank landing ship BDK-11, oiler Pechenga, and tug SB-522.
During the exercise, the navies will work together in a variety of functional skills areas including surface and air events as well as cross decking of helicopters and personnel exchanges.
This is the first PASSEX with the Russian Federated Navy this year. Both navies participated in several PASSEX opportunities last year in both Seventh Fleet and Sixth Fleet areas of responsibility.
USS Cowpens is commanded by Capt. J.J. Sorce and is forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan. USS Chosin is commanded by Capt. D.J. Venlet and is home ported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
U.S. Navy ships participating are part of the U.S. Seventh Fleet. Operating in the western Pacific and Indian Ocean, the U.S. Seventh Fleet is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, composed of approximately 50 ships, 120 aircraft and 20,000 Sailors and Marines assigned at any given time.
For more information, visit the U.S. Seventh Fleet web site at www.C7F.navy.mil. (PR)
