By Ensign Rebecca Lawrence, USS Carney Public AffairsUSS Carney (DDG 64) welcomed aboard 13 members of the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG) on April 16 to participate in a series of training evolutions as part of the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) theater security cooperation efforts.
Comprised of seamanship and maritime security exercises, this was the culminating event during Carney’s visit to Trinidad, while the ship is deployed under the operational control of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility.
The TTCG Sailors embarked Carney to observe the ship getting underway. Upon completion of a towing exercise conducted with the TTCG vessel Crown Point, Carney’s Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) Team demonstrated hand-to-hand security techniques, boarding procedures and small boat operations.
TTCG Lt. Dane Daniel was the senior officer on board Carney for the exchange.
“It is always a good opportunity for us to work with foreign navies. When our Sailors get to interact and rehearse during exercises like these, it makes the actual in-theater cooperation much easier,” said Daniel.
Senior Chief Fire Controlman Ron Cagle, a senior member of Carney’s VBSS team, was also pleased with the execution of the exercise.
“Our teams use a lot of the same techniques,” he said. “The biggest difference in our forces is the mission we are trained to execute: Our focus is counter-terrorism, theirs is counter-narcotics.”
Carney, homeported in Mayport, Fla., is operating throughout the Caribbean area conducting similar theater security cooperation exercises that include community relations projects, military-to-military exchanges, diplomatic port visits and multinational training exercises.