US destroyer visits Turkey for exercise Mavi Balina

U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) arrived in Aksaz, Turkey, to attend pre-sail and planning conferences for exercise Mavi Balina 16.

Mavi Balina 16 is a Turkish-led maritime exercise involving NATO and regional forces in the Eastern Mediterranean to improve interoperability and proficiency in anti-submarine warfare scenarios.

Participating nations for Mavi Balina 16 include Pakistan, Romania, Turkey, Canada and the United States. NATO Maritime Group 2 and observers from Algeria, Nigeria, and Georgia will also participate.

The U.S. will be represented by USS Carney and a P-8A Poseidon from Patrol Squadron 45, both currently in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations.

“Exercises such as Mavi Balina are extremely beneficial for everyone involved. It provides each participating ship an opportunity to build professional relationships and train together in a vital warfare area,” Cmdr. Peter Halvorsen, commanding officer, USS Carney, said. “We are thrilled to be representing U.S. 6th Fleet and look forward to honing our anti-submarine warfare capabilities by extensive practice at sea with allied submarines and surface vessels.”