The littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) wrapped up its participation in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercises with both Indonesia and Malaysia following an Aug. 21 closing ceremony held in Sandakan, Malaysia.
In deepening navy-to-navy relationships, Fort Worth visited Surabaya, Indonesia, for the first time in her 16-month rotational deployment to U.S. 7th Fleet. This port visit is particularly significant for Fort Worth, as she was part of the Indonesian-led Air Asia search efforts in the Java Sea.
CARAT is a model of how the TNI-AL and U.S. Navies can cooperate and work together to enhance interoperability, develop relationships and address shared maritime security priorities, as in the visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) exercises. TNI Sailors conducted their first VBSS boarding of Fort Worth during this year’s CARAT.
U.S. units participating in the exercise included the littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), the amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42), a P-3C Orion, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5, Coastal Riverine Group (CRG) 1, and U.S. Marines assigned to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (III MEB).
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Image: US Navy