Malabar 07-01
US, Indian commanders meet to plan Malabar exercise
[7th Fleet Public Affairs, 09 April 2007]
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class John L. Beeman
PHILIPPINE SEA – US Navy Captain Robert Girrier, the Destroyer Squadron 15 Commander and Indian Navy Rear Admiral Robin Dhowan, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet along with the commanding and operations officers from ships participating in the US-Indian Navy bilateral exercise, titled Malabar 07-01, met aboard INS Mysore D60 on 06 April 2007, to plan the daily details of the exercise, being held off the Japanese Island of Okinawa. The Operations Officer of USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54), Lieutenant Dave Sigler commented on what the experience of working with the Indian Navy means to him. "I am very excited to be working with the Indian Navy. It's a great opportunity for the United States to build relations with a very professional and capable Navy, as well as learn some new techniques and procedures," said Lieutenant Sigler. Malabar exercises all major warfare areas, specifically, sea control operations, maritime interdiction and maritime operations. "This flows from what we did last year, and we certainly hope this will increase in both scope and magnitude as we move on to increase focus and progress in other areas beyond tactics, and beyond exercise centric, to perhaps operational or even strategic areas of cooperation," said Captain Girrier. This is ninth Exercise Malabar and the first to be held outside the Indian Ocean. "What makes this years exercises unique is that we have the opportunity to come down into the Okinawa operational area, as opposed to the U.S. ships coming down and exercising in our area. So this makes this year’s exercises truly unique and we are very happy to be here and mix around with your ships and interact over the coming few days," said Rear Admiral Dhowan. Seven U.S. ships and 6,500 U.S. Navy personnel are taking part in the exercise located in the U.S. Seventh Fleet area of responsibility.
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Exercise Malabar 07-01 Begins
[7th Fleet Public Affairs, 06 April 2007]
YOKOSUKA, Japan – More than 6,500 US Navy Personnel will take part in Exercise Malabar 07-01 off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, in conjunction with an Indian Navy port visit to Yokosuka. Exercise Malabar 07-01 is a key element of the Pacific Fleet's exercise schedule and is designed to increase interoperability between the Indian and US Navies while enhancing the cooperative security relationship between India and the United States. The at-sea training will include sea control operations, maritime interdiction maritime operations, and will exercise all major warfare areas. The participants will conduct personnel exchanges and professional discussions both at sea and ashore. The US Navy will be represented by USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), USS Mustin (DDG 89), USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54), USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS Stethem (DDG 63), USS Gary (FFG 51), USS Greenville (SSN 772), three SH-60B helicopters, one SH-60F helicopter and a P-3C maritime patrol & reconnaissance aircraft. Indian Naval vessels participating in Malabar 07-01 include INS Mysore D60, INS Rana D52, INS Ranjit D53, INS Jyoti A58, INS Kuthar P46 and various Indian Naval aircraft.
During the exercise, the two nation's ships will work together in a variety of functional skill areas, including visit boarding search and seizure (VBSS), surface exercises, formation steaming, coordinated surface fire support, air defense exercises and antisubmarine warfare training. This is the ninth iteration of the Malabar Exercise series, which was last held in September 2006 off the coast of India. The Arleigh Burke-Class guided missile destroyers - John S McCain, Mustin, Curtis Wilbur, Fitzgerald and Stethem - are multi-mission platforms capable of supporting anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine warfare. The 9,600-ton warships can support carrier strike groups and amphibious forces, and can operate independently. USS Gary is a 4,100-ton Oliver Hazard Perry Class frigate capable of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) to protect amphibious expeditionary forces, underway replenishment groups and merchant convoys. USS Greenville is a 6,900-ton Los Angeles-Class attack submarine homeported in Pearl Harbor. Attack submarine mission areas include anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, special operations and strike warfare. Commander, Destroyer Squadron 15 will be embarked in USS John S. McCain. Destroyer Squadron 15 and its ships are part of the forward-deployed naval forces located in Yokosuka, Japan. Operating in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, the U.S. Seventh Fleet is the largest of the forward-deployed US Fleets, composed of approximately 50 ships, 120 aircraft and 20,000 Sailors and Marines assigned at any given time.
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Indian Navy radio operators embark with US Navy
[7th Fleet Public Affairs, 09 April 2007]
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class John L. Beeman
PHILIPPINE SEA – Indian and US Navy radio operators are trading places to handle tactical communication aboard USS Mustin (DDG 89) and INS Mysore D60 throughout the ninth Exercise Malabar 07-01 off the coast of Okinawa, Japan. Tactical radio operators and equipment from the guided-missile destroyer INS Rana D52 were brought aboard USS Mustin, and information systems technicians from Mustin went aboard INS Mysore with their communication equipment. "Basically it's (the Sailor exchange) to get us familiar with the way each Navy operates," said Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Justin Johnson. "There are always some types of conflicts between communications between two different navies, so this way it provides better mission effectiveness when we operate at the same level." According to Leading Radio Operator (Tactical) Akhilesh K. Nair, one of the Indian Navy radio operators aboard USS Mustin, he uses the equipment to communicate with nearby Indian ships, INS Ranjit and INS Mysore. "As soon as my Indian counterpart gives me the information, I pass it on to the Captain, then the tactical action officer and then, if I need to, I maneuver the ship or make decisions based on the information given," said Ensign Justin Whipple, officer of the deck. "You work the same way that we do. Only the watch keeping roster is different, that's all," Nair said of the US Navy. Malabar 07-01 is a US–Indian Navy bilateral exercise designed to strengthen friendship and improve cooperation between the Navies in the US 7th Fleet area of responsibility.
Images Courtesy - United States Navy
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