ARLINGTON, Virginia — The U.S. Navy must improve its workforce training, maintenance and surge capability to meet peer adversaries such as Russia and China, and is taking new steps to accomplish that goal, said Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command.

Speaking at the Surface Navy Association’s 36th National Symposium, Caudle said today’s joint force was shaped by a two-decade land war following a sustained peace after the end of the Cold War, and military leaders are now trying to “get the rudder over” to a multi-domain, high-speed, long-range warfare against potential enemies such as Russia and China, or both together.

“When we need to turn the volume up quickly on delivering combat power, the hardest spigot I own is and will always be inextricably related to building and developing human capital — our most precious resource — our warriors,” he said.

Caudle said he is focusing on Contingency Response Forces, those required to be ready to flow for combat within 30 days. “This is where I am applying my efforts. Readiness cannot be left at the pier, delayed in the shipyard, or undelivered on a production line. Further, it can’t be driven by empty recruiting stations or empty repair lockers.”

The Navy’s current Optimized Fleet Response Plan, or OFRP, “was not built to generate combat ready ships and air wings to meet the demand signal against peer adversaries,” Caudle said. “During peacetime force generation, the OFRP provides a steady supply of ready naval forces for a wide range of global presence operations. But it is not optimized to shift into high gear and generate, deploy, and regenerate a large surge of combat ready maritime forces.”

To help with that surge, Caudle’s office is developing the Global Maritime Response Plan, intended to give the chief of naval operations “a way to shift the Navy from peacetime to wartime” by bolstering some key organizations within the service, combining others and devolving or shutting down lower-priority commands and functions. It will also include having shell contracts in place, ready to fill out and execute.

“The Global Maritime Response Plan development is well under way,” Caudle said. “We are currently building out the Decision Support Matrices and the Response Conditions, or RESCONs, [think like DEFCON] that will be used to control how our Navy will be put on the required warfighting footing level to best support operational commanders.”

In some cases, he said, the effort simply involves compiling and codifying plans already in place at Navy organizations.

Working with Industry

The defense industry has gained traction in getting armaments and supplies to the fleet, Caudle said, one year after chastising the industry for falling behind in meeting defense needs.

“Despite the significant challenges we face with long-lead time parts, shipyard delays, less than optimal living conditions during maintenance periods, and personnel shortages across many rates and NECs, you all are just crushing it,” Caudle told SNA attendees. At last year’s event, he delivered a blunt warning to industry that he wouldn’t tolerate ordnance delays blamed on COVID or supply chain issues.

“To be honest, after I spoke at SNA last year, I wasn’t so sure how my remarks would be received, and even more important, acted on by the defense industrial base,” he said. “After voicing my displeasure about our inability to produce and deliver ordnance on time and in sufficient quantity, complete maintenance availabilities with modernizations efforts on time and on cost, and the need to be at flank speed to improve productivity, efficiency and build rates from our public and private shipyards to deliver new construction and overhauled ships to our fleet … instead of an adverse reaction, I think it really struck a chord with industry leaders, leaders within the Department of Defense, and with many congressional members who see the problems I identified in the same way.”

Caudle said he has been impressed with how many industry partners have reached out to his office and Navy program managers to step up production “through improvements using a ‘Get Real, Get Better’ approach in which we embrace the red together, self-assess together, and correct identified challenges together. Truly assessing weak areas and shifting rudder hard over and revving the gas to get back on PIM [plan of intended movement].”

In a separate interview with media, Caudle said after last year’s speech he worked with Vice Adm. Francis Morley, the principal military deputy assistant secretary of the Navy (research, development and acquisition) to bring in industry leaders that build munitions such as the Standard Missile and anti-ship missiles to “actually hear their perspective on places where we as the government could help them.”
Some solutions include multi-year contracts, how the Navy works with industry on quality control tests and test equipment improvements that need to be done.

“I probably overstated some things and got educated on some things, and I think they understood that we need these weapons, and their motivation to do that at pace was illustrated to me in spades,” he said.

In his remarks this year, Caudle cautioned that “while we have made some gains since my remarks last year at SNA, I would argue that we have not achieved the level of readiness, production, and deliveries required in both capabilities and capacity to claim we are ‘up on plane’ with a winning trajectory. Make no mistake about it — we face formidable threats on the horizon. And, while the nature of war never truly changes, these threats are fundamentally changing the character of how we prepare our Navy to fight.”

ARLINGTON, Virginia ꟷ Shipbuilding giant HII had higher than usual growth through the third quarter of fiscal 2023, but a potential delay in contracting for two new aircraft carriers could lead to supply chain disruptions, the company CEO said in a media briefing on Jan. 8 in advance of the Surface Navy Association symposium this week.

“The company’s actually doing pretty great,” said CEO Christopher D. Kastner, who took over the company reins in March 2022. HII racked up 5% growth through Q3 of fiscal 2023, higher than its historical average of 3%.

“We’ve had a very solid 2023, we’ve grown at about 5% year-over-year through Q3, raised guidance on our top line for sales and free cash flow on our Q3 earnings call, so … we’re kind of at an inflection point from a growth standpoint,” he said.

Kastner said some company priorities appear to be supported in the pending fiscal 2024 defense authorization, including the LPD 33 amphibious warship. “Keeping the amphib line is very important to Ingalls” shipbuilding, Kastner said.

The company’s two shipyards have 41 ships in production and its Mission Technologies division, which builds and develops unmanned systems, AI systems and others, had more than $5 billion in awards during the year, including a $350 million contract for small unmanned underwater vehicles.

Seventeen submarines will go under contract in the next year to 18 months, and progress is being made on the AUKUS program to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.

“We expect revenue to flow in 2024,” Kastner said. “We don’t believe it will be financially material in ’24, but there could be revenue flowing in ’24.”

Carrier Schedule

One potential fly in the ointment is the possibility of the next two-ship aircraft carrier buy being shifted by a year or two, from 2028 to 2029 or even 2030. In 2019, the Navy contracted for two carriers, CVN 80 and 81, the future Enterprise and Doris Miller.

“I think there’s a broad understanding that the supply chain is a material risk to achieving the production schedules on future Navy programs. And our job as shipbuilders is to manage risk,” Kastner said. “If we can eliminate one of those risks, or significantly reduce one of those risks by getting advanced procurement in place, well ahead of the ship being ordered, it only makes sense to do it. We know the ships are going to be built, they have broad support, so let’s eliminate risk, let’s get the major suppliers under contract early enough so they can plan and they can make their production schedules.”

A Newport News Shipbuilding executive, who asked not to be named, said the company is promoting a 2-3-4 concept for USS Gerald Ford-class aircraft carriers to create a “stable, predictable and consistent cadence within our industrial base.” That means a two-ship buy; at least three years of advanced procurement funding; and four-year build intervals between ships. “I believe the 2-3-4 strategy needs to be codified as the standard moving forward,” he said.

A delay in the procurement of CVN 82 is “extremely disappointing,” and could break the momentum of a rebuilding carrier production line “and have a detrimental impact on the entire nuclear shipbuilding industry, including submarine construction,” he said.

On June 1, the Coast Guard made history with the ascension of Adm. Linda Fagan to its top position as commandant, relieving outgoing commandant Adm. Karl Schultz. She took over as the first woman to head the Coast Guard and the first woman to head any U.S. military service.

Fagan arrived at that position at a time when there are still a few Coast Guard cutters afloat where women can’t serve due to a lack of rack space. That’s an issue the service has been work­ing to eradicate for years and is on the cusp of doing so, a move expected to help boost women’s careers in the service and increase retention.

Of the service’s approximately 260 cutters, only 50 are male only, according to the Coast Guard, and those cutters are slated to be replaced. All new cutters coming online are able to accom­modate male and female crewmembers.

“With the modernization of our fleet, that will all be taken care of. All the newer cutters are being built with mixed crews on board in mind,” said Senior Chief Petty Officer Ramona Ma­son, the enlisted women afloat coordinator at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C. “All these new ones are already mixed-gender berthing.”

Even before all the cutters are ready, “We have gotten extremely creative, to create more op­portunities for female enlisted members to serve underway,” she said.

“With all these creative ways that we have come up with, our afloat numbers for enlisted women afloat has gone up. We have way more females serving on afloat platforms now than we ever did before, and the numbers have gone up every year,” Mason told Seapower. “And it’s all be­cause they are choosing, they wanted to go afloat. We’re giving them the opportunities now.”

“Today more women are remaining in our service lon­ger,” Schultz said in his annual State of the Coast Guard speech in 2022. “Today we have 375 more women in the service at the critically important E6/E7 and O-4 mid-grade leadership ranks than we had five years ago in 2017… that’s a 28% increase of women at these mid-ca­reer pay grades, and a trend that outpaces their male counterparts.”

He also said the service is “making progress” on the acquisition of 30 Waterways Commerce Cutters, tenders that will maintain 28,000 aids that mark more than 12,000 miles of navigable inland waterways.

“And, for the first time in history, our entire inland fleet will be able to accommodate mixed-gender crews, pro­viding all junior enlisted members these unique afloat experiences,” Schultz said.

President Joe Biden spoke at the Coast Guard change of command ceremony when Fagan took the service’s top spot.

“When Admiral Fagan commissioned in 1985, only five years after the first women graduated from the academy, she was one of just 16 commissioned female ensigns — only 8 percent of her graduating class.  She was the only woman aboard Polar Star for the first set of orders,” Biden said.

“Currently, the Corps of Cadets at the Academy — more than 1,000 cadets strong — 40 percent are women. 

Forty percent are women.”

Even as more women enter the service, keeping them there can be a challenge.

A recent study by the RAND Corp., “Why Do Women Leave the Coast Guard, and What Can Be Done to Encourage Them to Stay?” listed a variety of issues that answered the title question, among them the lack of berthing.

“Female focus groups cited issues with advancement, including the percep­tion of bias in subjective evaluations, as influencing decisions. Furthermore, participants noted that berthing restric­tions for women can limit opportuni­ties,” the study says.

Mason said it’s important to provide as many afloat op­portunities as possible to female Coast Guard members, as it can affect their career.

“Certain rates have requirements that you have to have a certain amount of years afloat, so it is a requirement for advancement. It’s a requirement for certain ratings or certain competencies that you can only earn afloat,” she said.

And while anyone in the Coast Guard can go afloat at any point in their careers, and are encouraged to do at least one tour afloat, “in order for advancement, in cer­tain rates you have to receive the afloat time at a certain point in your career,” she said.

Making even smaller Coast Guard cutters able to accom­modate mixed crews has other benefits that can aid in retention, Mason said.

“We’ve opened up a lot of the smaller cutters with enlisted females, which have always been in higher de­mand for the females due to the shorter underway time and the family life you can have when you’re only away for two to three weeks versus two to three months,” she said. “With us opening the smaller space to females, it has helped with retention, because they now see they can get under way on small platforms and not be such a family burden.”

Making Room

Part of Mason’s job is to find room on Coast Guard cutters for women even if they aren’t designed with separate living quarters. She does that by some­times repurposing space.

In a 2021 post to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, Chief Petty Officer Ryan Burger recounts how he got a call from Mason after he was appointed officer in charge of the Coast Guard Cutter Wire, a 65-foot ice-break­ing tug. She asked if he could accept a female Boatswains Mate Third Class. He said yes. When she asked if he could accept another female as well, he said they had to do some work.

They ended up removing a convertible fold-out rack that had been used for ex­ecutive petty officers and revamping it to hold two racks. They then proceeded to make a similar change to two other 65-foot cutters operated by Sector New York.

“We’ve assigned women to these cutters in command cadre positions in the past, however, assigning a third-class boatswains mate aboard is new,” Mason told writer Daniel Henry. “For the first time, a woman in a non-command position has received orders to the Coast Guard Cutter Wire.”

Petty Officer Third Class Hailey LaRue, a boatswains mate who was then able to serve on the Wire and reported there in the summer of 2020, said the move broadened the learning opportunities available to her, which wouldn’t have been possible on the 87-foot cutter she had served on previously.

“I knew I wanted to go afloat out of A-school to get rated sea time so that it would help me in my fu­ture career,” LaRue said. “It’s smaller and it’s a tight knit crew. There are tons of learning opportunities on both deck and engineering side so you’ll become a better-rounded individual in your [rating]. There are opportunities you’ll get here that you won’t necessar­ily get on a bigger cutter where you’re focused on a specific area.”

 Cmdr. John Singletary, Chief of Waterways Manage­ment for Sector New York, told Henry, “providing this mixed gender berthing gives those members the oppor­tunity to start their careers out early. They get to lead as a BM3 or a BM2. Eventually that path will lead to XPO positions on the new waterways commerce cutters that are being commissioned in late 2024.”

Not Just Afloat

The need to create berthing space for female Coast Guard members isn’t just for the water. In late Septem­ber 2021, Coast Guard Station Morro Bay in California, part of Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach, made such an addition, according to the Coast Guard.

The station is home to 27 Coast Guard members and two 47-foot motor life boats. The station constructed a one-story, 806 square foot addition to the existing facility, creating room for up to six additional crew­members and allowing overnight duty crews to be made up of men and women.

Women had been assigned to Morro Bay previously, but couldn’t always be accommodated for some of their duties due to a lack of berthing.

“We needed a dedicated accommodation for [women] and we now have that with the building expansion,” Petty Officer 1st Class Joshua Sheppard said in a My CG blog post. Women “can now be completely integrated as a member of the unit without being excluded from mis­sions or opportunities and without posing a significant burden to the operational readiness.”

Mason wasn’t part of that effort — her duties extend only to women who serve afloat — and said the part of her job devoted to finding female berthing is coming to an end as the Coast Guard continues its modernization.

“The coordination part will go away, but the advocacy for women afloat will stay. My job is somewhat more transitioning into a women afloat career counseling position as well,” she said.

“I do year-round career counseling with all the females in the Coast Guard that are interested in afloat assign­ments,” working on resumes and timetables for them to go afloat, “when should they get underway, when do they have to get underway.

“So, the counseling part will stay around for the enlist­ed women of the Coast Guard.”

SAN DIEGO — Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9, embarked aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), returned from a seven-month deployment to the U.S. 3rd and 7th Fleet areas of operations on Aug. 9, USS Abraham Lincoln public affairs said in a release. 

CVW-9 is the first carrier strike group to deploy with a U.S. Marine Corps F-35C Lightning II squadron, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, and the second to deploy with a Navy CMV-22 Osprey squadron, Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30.

During the deployment, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 executed more than 21,307 fixed-wing and helicopter flight hours comprising of 10,250 sorties, 8,437 launches and 8,487 aircraft arrestments.

“Carrier Air Wing 9 Sailors and Marines worked together over the last seven months, providing a credible deterrent to any potential adversary in the Pacific,” said Capt. Lew Callaway, commander, CVW-9. “Naval aviators culminated 100 years of aircraft carrier aviation history operating fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft from a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier at sea. We are grateful for the chance to serve, and celebrate our return to home port, family, and friends.”

CVW-9 participated in dual carrier operations in the South China Sea with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, as well as joint exercise Valiant Shield in June 2022, and bilateral exercises Noble Fusion in February and Jungle Warfare in March, both with the Japanese Self-Defense Force. Most recently, CVW-9 trained alongside 26 participating nations during Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2022 in July.

“Words cannot express just how proud I am of the Sailors and Marines attached to CVW-9,” said Master Chief Petty Officer Craig Vavruska, command master chief, CVW-9. “They expertly applied their training and faced each mission with strength and resilience. Their families have a lot to be proud of.”

CVW-9 and Lincoln deployed Jan. 3 as part of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. Along with CVW-9 and Lincoln, the ABECSG also consists of the embarked staffs of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 3, and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21; the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53), and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS Gridley (DDG 101), USS Sampson (DDG 102) and USS Spruance (DDG 111).
   

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy will commission its newest amphibious transport dock, the future USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28), during a 10 a.m. EDT ceremony Saturday, July 30, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Defense Department said July 29.

The future USS Fort Lauderdale is the first naval ship to honor the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

“Tomorrow we commission the future USS Fort Lauderdale, bringing a powerful war ship with a dedicated and determined crew to life,” said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. “This ship will play an integral part in strengthening America’s partnerships and protecting our country’s security abroad.” 

The future USS Fort Lauderdale is the 12th San Antonio-class ship, designed to support embarking, transporting, and bringing elements of 650 Marines ashore by landing craft or air-cushion vehicles. A flight deck hangar further enhances the ship’s capabilities, which can support the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.  

The ceremony will be live streamed at: USS Fort Lauderdale Commissioning. The link becomes active approximately 10 minutes prior to the event (9:50 a.m. EDT). 

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA — After a 40-day voyage, and after more than year of delay due to a mechanical problem, the Mayflower autonomous ship arrived in North America, at Halifax, Nova Scotia on June 5, announced program partners IBM and ProMare.

The ship has been dogged by mechanical problems even as its artificial intelligence guidance system was able to guide it across the ocean.

The catamaran traveled from Plymouth, United Kingdom, to Halifax, and later is expected to make appearances in the Washington, D.C. area. According to IBM, it’s the first nautical vessel to complete an unmanned, crewless voyage across the Atlantic.

Mayflower was intended to reach Plymouth, Massachusetts. Over the May 28-29 weekend, the Mayflower developed an issue with the charging circuit for the generator starter batteries, according to IBM.

On May 30, the team had to switch to the back-up navigation PC. ProMare decided to divert to Halifax, Nova Scotia, as the closest viable port, to investigate and fix these issues.

The ship was designed and built by marine research nonprofit ProMare, with IBM acting as lead technology and science partner.

Artificial intelligence and edge computing technologies underpin the ship’s AI Captain, which uses six cameras, more than 30 sensors and 15 edge computing devices to help make decisions.

“This makes it possible for the AI Captain to adhere to maritime law while making crucial split-second decisions, like rerouting itself around hazards or marine animals, all without human interaction or intervention,” IBM said in a blog post.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Transportation and military officials observed the annual National Maritime Day on May 24, saying the Merchant Marines were the unsung heroes of the second world war and continue to be heroes by shipping vital supplies during the ongoing pandemic.

“We have always been, and always will be, a nation whose destiny is connect to the sea,” Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said during the ceremony at the Department of Transportation headquarters.

The ceremony especially honored the Merchant Mariners who helped win World War II, losing their lives at a higher rate than any other services. On May 18, congressional leaders revealed a new Congressional Gold Medal for American Merchant Mariners.

During World War II, they delivered an average 17 million pounds of cargo to the armed forces every hour, and “often they did so without protection against U Boats, destroyers and the aircraft that menaced the waters,” Buttigieg said.

Now, during a pandemic, “you have kept America afloat,” he said.

Daniel Maffei, chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, said the COVID pandemic put current mariners to the test again, and “they put their lives on the line for our country.” Americans stayed home to help fight the spread of the virus, but “thanks especially to the workers in our ports, America was never cut off.”

Retired Navy Rear Adm. Ann Phillips, sworn in as the 20^th administrator of the Maritime Administration on May 16, also cited maritime bravery during World War II and said, “today, our mariners continue to navigate historic challenges” such as the pandemic and supply chain disruptions.

Strengthening the maritime services is critical, said outgoing Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz.

Maritime officials like to talk about ships and boats and ports, he said, but “it’s really the mariners. It’s not the steel, it’s not the concrete … mariners deserve the best support we as a nation can provide,” including updated technology, streamlined induction processes and a renewed fight against sexual assault to create a safe environment for all mariners.

Rear Adm. Michael A. Wettlaufer, command of Military Sealift Command, said his service is also embarking on modernization to improve the environment for the maritime fleet. He cited the 2021 delivery of a component from a Navy ship and Coast Guard vessel as an example, and said in the future “I expect to be able to deliver key components between ships” at distances of up to several hundred miles.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy will commission the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS 21) as the newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony Saturday, May 21, in Duluth, Minnesota, the Defense Department said May 20. 

USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul is the second naval ship to honor Minnesota’s Twin Cities, although each city has been honored twice before. 

The principal speaker is U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum. Additional speakers include Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz; U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar; U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber; Undersecretary of the Navy Erik Raven; Vice Adm. Scott Conn, deputy chief of naval operations for warfighting requirements and capabilities; and Jon Rambeau, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Integrated Warfare Systems and Sensors. The ship’s sponsor is Jodi Greene, principle at the Mabus Group and former deputy undersecretary of the Navy for policy. She will give the first order to “man our ship and bring her to life.” 

“It is fitting that a littoral combat ship is named for Minneapolis-Saint Paul, honoring the rich history, hard work, and contributions of the people there,” said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. “I am certain the crew who will man this ship will carry on the legacy of the Twin Cities and will play an important role in the defense of our nation and maritime freedom.” 

The first U.S. Navy warship named Minneapolis-Saint Paul was a Los Angeles-class submarine launched in 1983 that participated in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (SSN 708) was the first submarine to carry Tomahawk missiles specifically designed for use in strikes against Iraq during the Gulf War. Having served for over two decades with distinction, the Navy decommissioned the submarine in 2007. 

USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul will homeport at Naval Station Mayport, Florida. 

The ceremony will be live-streamed at USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul Commissioning. The link becomes active approximately 10 minutes before the event (9:50 a.m. CST). 

HERNDON, Va. — L3Harris Technologies is one of three companies selected to provide preliminary designs for the next generation submarine tender, a support vessel that will provide expeditionary maintenance and repairs for U.S. Navy submarines, the company said May 17.  

L3Harris will support the development of the AS(X) ship specifications, interface specifications, ship cost estimates and construction schedules under the base AS(X) Concept Refinement and Preliminary Design contract. The nine-month concept refinement and preliminary design study includes options for an additional nine-month concept refinement and preliminary design update and an overarching 36-month period for special studies.  

“We are excited to participate in the design study for the AS(X) submarine tender,” said Rosemary Chapdelaine, president of Maritime at L3Harris. “In the coming months, we will work closely with our customer and industry partners to bring innovative solutions to advance the technology that will inform and define the future capabilities on this new class of ships.”  

The AS(X) will be capable of providing support and maintenance for up to four submarines, replacing the U.S. Navy’s two aging tenders, the USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) and USS Frank Cable (AS 40), commissioned in 1979. The current tenders provide intermediate-level maintenance and repairs, hotel services and logistics support at sea to nuclear-powered guided missile and attack submarines deployed in the 5th and 7th fleets areas of responsibility.  

L3Harris’ Herndon, Virgina, facility will perform the program management and engineering design tasks and is partnered with Philly Shipyard Inc. and VARD Inc. for design development. 

MANAMA, Bahrain — A U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutter seized illicit narcotics from a fishing vessel while conducting patrols in the Gulf of Oman, May 15, Combined Maritime Forces Public Affairs said May 15. 

USCGC Glen Harris (WPC 1144) seized 182 kilograms of heroin, 182 kilograms of methamphetamine, 27 kilograms of amphetamine pills and 568 kilograms of hashish with a total estimated U.S. street value of $17 million. 

Glen Harris was operating as part of Combined Task Force 150, one of four task forces within the Combined Maritime Forces. The international naval force has increased regional patrols to locate and disrupt unlawful maritime activity. 

On May 12, USCGC Emlen Tunnell (WPC 1145) interdicted a separate fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman and seized methamphetamine and hashish worth $10,000, following the seizure of $4 million in heroin May 5 by United Kingdom frigate HMS Montrose (F 236).  

Combined Maritime Forces is the largest multinational naval partnership in the world. The organization includes 34 nations and is headquartered in Bahrain with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and U.S. 5th Fleet.