CARAT 2016 moves over to Indonesia

The annual bilateral exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) will see U.S. and Indonesian navies come together from August 2-8.

The exercise will take place on the ground in Surabaya and in the waters and airspace of the Java and Bali Seas.

More than 500 U.S. Sailors will participate in CARAT Indonesia alongside their counterparts from the Indonesian Navy, known as Tentera Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Laut (TNI-AL).

The exercise will feature at-sea training in surface and anti-submarine warfare, visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) drills, mobile dive and salvage training, a gunnery exercise, maritime patrol operations, and exchanges between explosive ordnance disposal technicians.

“The United States and Indonesia share a common vision for maintaining a peaceful and prosperous environment at sea,” said Rear Admiral Brian Hurley, commander, Task Force 73.

Additionally, personnel from both nations will exchange best practices on naval tactics during a series of military seminars ashore. Numerous civic action projects, aviation seminars, sports exchanges, military law, and submarine warfare symposia are also planned during the shore phase of the exercise. The U.S. 7th Fleet band, Orient Express, will also conduct numerous cultural outreach engagements with the TNI-AL Eastern Fleet band for local citizens of Surabaya.

U.S. units participating in the exercise include the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111), a Los Angeles Class submarine, the rescue and salvage ship USNS Salvor (T-ARS 52) with an embarked Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU), the expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Millinocket (EPF-1), the expeditionary transfer dock USNS Montford Point (T-ESD-1), a P-8A Poseidon from Patrol Squadron (VP) 8, and civil engineers and technicians from Navy Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5 and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5.

Indonesia has been part of the CARAT exercise series since it began in 1995. After more than two decades of annual training events between the armed forces, CARAT Indonesia remains a model for cooperation that has evolved in complexity and enables both navies to refine operations and tactics in response to both traditional and non-traditional maritime security challenges.

CARAT Indonesia is part of a broader bilateral exercise series the U.S. Navy conducts with nine partner navies in South and Southeast Asia to address shared maritime security priorities, strengthen maritime partnerships and enhance interoperability among participating forces.