Allied nations’ warships concluded their participation in the international exercise Joint Warrior 16-2, October 21.
The United Kingdom-led and -hosted Joint Warrior series is run by the Joint Tactical Exercise Planning Staff (JTEPS) from exercise headquarters aboard Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde in Faslane, Scotland. The exercise is designed to improve interoperability between allied and partner navies while preparing participants for a role in a joint maritime environment during deployments.
Conducted in the coastal waters off the United Kingdom, the semi-annual training exercise, is designed to provide NATO and allied forces with the opportunity to train in a multinational, multiplatform, multi-warfare environment.
The United Kingdom’s advanced naval certification course is comprised of numerous scheduled training scenarios, including small boat attacks, boarding operations, air defense, antisubmarine warfare and ship maneuverability tasks.
In addition to the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Porter, the other U.S. Navy contributed fleet replenishment oiler USNS Leroy Grumman (T-AO 195) and P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft from Patrol Squadron (VP) 45 to the exercise.
JW 16-2 included air, sea and ground assets from NATO and partner countries, including Belgium, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Cmdr. Andria Slough , Porter’s commanding officer, said Joint Warrior proved an exceptional opportunity to train with NATO allies and other partner nations throughout a myriad of warfare areas.
“The operational proficiency of Porter has certainly increased, and the interoperability between the participating nations has definitely been enhanced by this challenging, large-scale exercise,” Slough said.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Powell said the highlight of the exercise was the ability to train in a complex environment alongside and up close with a variety of international participants.
“The people who came out for this exercise got to work with not only live aircraft, but with small boats, submarines and warships, and they had the ability to fire actual weapons on a firing range,” Powell said. “Overall, Joint Warrior was a success, and the crew is looking forward to future opportunities to participate.”