Crew members of the US Navy Destroyer, USS McFaul (DDG 74) welcomed aboard several partner nation navies to kick off Sea Breeze 2008 exercise in Ukraine July 15, according to the Exercise Sea Breeze Public Affairs.
Sea Breeze, in its 11th year, is a joint and combined maritime exercise with the goals of enhancing multinational interoperability, developing Black Sea-nation maritime security capabilities, and improving involvement in the larger Black Sea Theater Security Cooperation strategy.
McFaul crew members worked with nations including the United Kingdom, Georgia, Greece, Turkey, and host nation Ukraine on a variety of shipboard damage control techniques during the training session.
"This training is an important part of the Sea Breeze exercise," said Navy Cmdr. Tim Schorr, McFaul commanding officer. "Today, my crew was able to demonstrate how U.S. ships manage their damage control operations."
McFaul crew members also demonstrated a `full-dress` mock training evolution that simulated the rescue of an injured helicopter crew member. The event involved two hose teams, a damage control scene leader and full use of the ships damage control announcement systems.
"This training not only provided McFaul`s damage control teams with the opportunity to provide training to the sailors from the other ships, but allowed us to learn how the other crews handle damage control aboard their ships," said Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class John Ravins, a damage control specialist aboard McFaul.
The exercise is composed of a comprehensive training agenda to provide participants with numerous opportunities to operate together and develop productive relationships. While specific training will vary by country, the main scenario will include a non-combatant evacuation operation as well as search and rescue operations, live fire exercises, and maritime security activities.
Sixteen nations are participating in Sea Breeze 2008 exercise, including host country Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Canada, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Macedonia, Norway, Romania, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
