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SEACAT Shows Benefits of Cooperation Ashore, At Sea

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS090821-02
Release Date: 8/21/2009 9:30:00 AM

By By Lt. Mike Morley, Task Group 73.5 Public Affairs

SINGAPORE (NNS) -- The eighth annual Southeast Asia Cooperation Against Terrorism (SEACAT) exercise ended on a successful note Aug. 20, with Sailors from five Southeast Asian nations tracking three mock 'vessels of interest,' and conducting nine successful at-sea boardings.

From Aug. 13-20, the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard teamed up with armed forces representatives from the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia for a command post exercise at Changi Naval Base, followed by a field training exercise in the South China Sea.

SEACAT, which began in 2002, is designed to highlight the value of information sharing and multinational coordination within a scenario that gives participating navies practical maritime interception training opportunities.

"We approached this year's exercise a bit differently," said Capt. Rich Clemmons, commander, Task Force 73.5, noting how liaison officers (LNOs) from participating navies spent two days training together at Changi's Command and Control (C2) Center followed by a command post exercise (CPX) to sharpen their skills at operating C2 systems. Clemmons said the CPX helped the LNOs get comfortable working with one another and training to a common standard.

"It laid a solid foundation of skills and a spirit of cooperation, which they built upon throughout the exercise," he said.

Once those skills were set, the liaison officers moved aboard the SEACAT flagship, U.S. Navy dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49), to monitor the at-sea training events that were to follow.

During the span of three days, the guided-missile frigate USS Crommelin (FFG 37) and the Military Sealift Command ships USNS Safeguard (T-ARS 50) and USNS PFC Dewayne T. Williams (T-AK 3009) were transformed into simulated vessels of interest for tracking and possible maritime interception operations (MIO) by the Republic of Singapore Navy, Philippine Navy, Royal Malaysian Navy and Royal Thai Navy.

While U.S. Navy Sailors trained in visit, board, search and seizure demonstrated their techniques and observed those of their counterparts, U.S. Coast Guard teams on Crommelin, Safeguard and Dewayne T. Williams monitored operations based on the direction of the liaison officers aboard Harpers Ferry.

As the exercise progressed, liaison officers worked with their U.S. Navy counterparts on MIO planning considerations and the development of interception plans in the scenario.

SEACAT participants conduct the annual exercise to demonstrate the ability of navies to cooperate and work together to address issues of shared concern, including transnational crimes at sea.

For more news from Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training, visit www.navy.mil/local/carat/.