The aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) arrived in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations to begin the Southern Seas 2015 deployment and participate in UNITAS 2015, from late Sept. to mid Dec. 2015.
George Washington, Carrier Strike Group 9 (CSG9), Carrier Air Wing 2 (CVW-2), USNS Bighorn (T-AO-198), USNS Guadalupe (T-AO-200), USS Chafee (DDG 90) and USS McFaul (DDG 74) are deployed to the waters surrounding Latin America and the Caribbean to conduct Southern Seas 2015.
Sailors and Marines, as well as Military Sealift Command civilian mariners will join together to conduct the deployment to circumnavigate South America as George Washington transits to Norfolk, Virginia to begin a scheduled refueling.
Southern Seas 2015 is a U.S. Southern Command-directed operation planned by commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. Fourth Fleet and carried out by George Washington task group.
As part of Southern Seas 2015, the multinational forces exercise UNITAS 2015 will be conducted in two phases.
The eighth deployment of its kind, Southern Seas 2015 seeks to enhance interoperability, increase regional stability, and build and maintain regional relationships with countries throughout the region through joint, multinational and interagency exchanges and cooperation.
George Washington will visit Peru, Chile, and Brazil.
Image: US Navy