The U.S. 6th Fleet command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) departed Batumi, Georgia, Oct. 18 after completing a successful port visit.
While in Batumi, Sailors had the opportunity to participate in community relation projects, provide tours of Mount Whitney, participate in multiple sporting events and engage with Georgian coast guard members during military-to-military engagements.
Capt. Mark Colombo, USS Mount Whitney, commanding officer, said: “The opportunity to engage and interact professionally, socially and athletically with our Georgian counterparts was invaluable towards advancing an enduring bilateral partnership; a partnership committed to security and stability in the region.”
Mount Whitney, forward deployed to Gaeta, Italy, operates with a combined crew of U.S. Navy Sailors and Military Sealift Command civil service mariners. The civil service mariners perform navigation, deck, engineering and supply service operations, while military personnel support communications, weapons systems and security. It is one of only two seaborne Joint Command Platforms in the US Navy, both of which are forward deployed. 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.
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Press Release, Image: US Navy