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UNITAS 47-06 Units Sortie for Exercise Execution

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS051026-02
Release Date: 10/26/2005 12:31:00 PM

By U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command, Public Affairs

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (NNS) -- Led by Brazilian Rear Adm. Carlos Augusto, commander of Brazil’s 2nd Fleet Division based at Mocangue, embarked in BNS Rademaker, units of the multinational force assembled for UNITAS 47-06 set sail Oct. 21 for the underway portion of the Atlantic phase of this exercise.

The five countries participating in this year’s exercise assembled this week at Mocangue, the main naval base in Brazil. The force was brought together for UNITAS to test and enhance interoperability during multinational operations at sea. It consists of 11 surface ships with embarked helicopters, two submarines, eight fixed wing aircraft, and includes joint participation by the Brazilian Air Force. More than 2,500 military personnel from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, United States and Spain make up this multinational force.

“It has been a pleasure working together,” said Augusto during the pre-sail conference, as the ships prepared to get underway. “Since we began planning for this exercise in June, we have had the opportunity to get to know each other better and refine planning. Now that we will get underway it is time to see if the planning was good.”

The pre-sail conference included a review of the underway schedule of events, meteorological forecast, logistics plan and final battle problem, presented by the Brazilian Navy leads for each area.

Through both classroom sessions and hands-on walk-through practice, a detachment of U.S. Coast Guard personnel from Yorktown, Va., prepared the force to board exercise suspect vessels. Led by Coast Guard Lt. j.g. José Diaz, originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, this is one of several teams from the Coast Guard that provides boarding team training.

Diaz explained how the training supports UNITAS objectives by “providing just-in-time training to each ship’s boarding team, preparing them to conduct Maritime Interdiction Operations.” Asked about the distinction between interdiction and interception, Diaz said, “when you launch a board team to a vessel, it becomes an interdiction.”

Daiz explained the main goal of the four-day boarding officer course is to have standardized training for everyone on the multinational force. No small task for a force that communicates in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Along with an observer from Coast Guard International Affairs, the five-person detachment provided four-days of classroom and hands-on training that covered enforcement of laws and treaties, boarding methods and procedures from pre- through post-evolution, and occupational hazards; all this was done in both English and Spanish.