Daily Update - 28 October

Norwegian Sea – Exercise Trident Juncture continues, as ships sail north of the Arctic Circle.

The Combat Enhancement Training/Force Integration Training (CET/FIT) programme is ongoing at sea and ashore. This phase of the live portion of exercise Trident Juncture enables the different assets to learn to work together, in order to improve common procedures and build interoperability.

As part of the CET/FIT, ships and crews continue to be tested in a wide range of warfare areas. In the third day of the exercise, the Mine Countermeasure units assigned to the Norwegian Task Group, led by Commodore Rune Andersen, Norwegian Navy, had to respond to multiple threats in a simulated asymmetric attack.

Meanwhile, USS Iwo Jima and USNS Leroy Grumman conducted replenishment-at-sea operations in the challenging Norwegian Sea.

Ashore, Lieutenant General Mark A. Brilakis, Commander of Marine Forces Command, observed the activities of the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF), established in Vaerness, Norway.

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Photo1: USNS Leroy Grumman steams alongside USS Iwo Jima during a replenishment-at-sea (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Joe J. Cardona Gonzalez/Released)

Photo 2: Lt. Gen. Mark A. Brilakis, the commander of Marine Forces Command, visits with U.S. Marines during Exercise Trident Juncture 18. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Deanna C. Gonzales/Released)