The U.S Navy began the active portion of the regularly-scheduled multinational exercise Noble Dina, along with Greece and Israel in the Mediterranean Sea, on March 26.
Noble Dina is a combined exercise designed to increase interoperability by developing individual and collective maritime proficiencies of participating nations, as well as promoting friendship, mutual understanding and cooperation.
Noble Dina was designed to help create an environment that promotes maritime safety and security in the region, and interoperability among allied military forces. The overall goal of this training is to promote cooperative solutions between participating nations to support regional security and stability.
U.S. 6th Fleet units scheduled to participate in the exercise are the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) and USS Ramage (DDG 61), Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Lenthall (T-AO 189) and P-3 aircraft from Patrol Squadron 9, homeported at Marine Corps Base Hawaii and currently forwarded deployed to U.S. 6th Fleet.
Noble Dina is an annual exercise and serves as an example of how teamwork among different nations with common goals can help increase stability, diminish threats to peace and strengthen relationships.
U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts a full range of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation missions in concert with coalition, joint, interagency, and other parties in order to advance security and stability in Europe and Africa.
[mappress] Press Release, March 27, 2014; Image: US Navy