NORFOLK, Va. — Navies from multiple NATO countries, including the U.S., have wrapped up a big training exercise. Leaders held a news conference Monday at Naval Station Norfolk to discus the exercise and why it's important.
Aerial video shows ships in formation in the Atlantic Ocean participating in the largest international maritime exercise in the western Atlantic in the history of the U.S. Navy.
This was also the first time this particular exercise has been held in Hampton Roads.
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“The freedom of action of a potential adversary is through the maritime. That is how the world works. We have to contest freedom of action by potential adversaries to secure what we believe in," U.S. 2nd Fleet Commander VADM Doug Perry.
The exercise included anti-air and anti-submarine training among other things.
“It’s been a great week. We’ve done all sorts of [training] from boarding and maritime interdiction operations to defending our task group while it refuels from a variety of different tankers," Royal Navy Commodore Maryla Ingham said.
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After Monday’s news conference, reporters were offered a tour of one of the German ships that participated in the exercise.
With the ongoing tension between the U.S. and Iran, and Norfolk-based ships and sailors being deployed to the region, News 3 asked if what’s going on factored into the exercise.
“From a knowledge of we will be attacked by drones, you will be attacked in swarm scale, those informed the general development of the exercise," said Perry.
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For sailors, the exercise was more than just an opportunity to practice tactics, though.
“What did we learn? I think sailors the world over are really similar people and they enjoy the same things. They all want to learn and get better at their jobs. We’ve done cross-polls. We’ve swapped sailors between ships, so they get to learn about different cultures and different ways of doing things, even different food on board," Ingham explained. I think what that’s done is made them realize we’ve got more that unites us than divides us.”
With the exercise complete, the ships were preparing Monday to head to New York for an International Naval Review.
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