Nimitz to Participate Alongside Canadian, Japanese, other US Ships in Task Group Exercise

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelly Agee, USS Nimitz Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Canadian, Japanese and U.S ships will participate

in a U.S. 3rd Fleet-led Task Group Exercise (TGEX) off the coast of Southern California, Oct. 20-31.

The TGEX will serve to train independently-deploying units in air defense, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, and maritime-interdiction operations while building cooperative relationships with partner nations.

Units participating include Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 15, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 11, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 23, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11, aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), guided-missile cruisers USS Lake Champlain (CG 57) and USS Chosin (CG 65), guided-missile destroyers USS Milius (DDG 69), USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60), USS Kidd (DDG 100), USS Pinckney (DDG 91) and USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110), and a submarine, Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigates HMCS Calgary (FFH 335) and HMCS Winnipeg (FFH 338), Kingston-class coastal defense vessels HMCS Brandon (MM 710) and HMCS Yellowknife (MM 706), and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JS) Teruzuki (DD 116).

Simultaneously, CSG 15 will lead and evaluate training across multiple warfare areas for Milius, Paul Hamilton, Fort Worth and Freedom, as these ships will use TGEX as their final opportunity to certify prior to deployment.

Specific events Nimitz will conduct include: flight operations, tracking different ships, conducting underway replenishments, and communications exercises.

"This is an opportunity to test our ability to work in a coalition environment," said Cmdr. Darrell Lewis, future operations officer for Carrier Strike Group 11. "There are some language barriers, and how we do things is slightly different from how the other nations do things. So, we are taking them into our task group and working with them and proving we can do it."

According to Lewis this exercise will benefit new personnel on Nimitz by giving them the chance to experience a more sophisticated level of operations.

"It is going to be a great opportunity," said Lewis. "Everything you do in these exercises you can learn from. It is a taste what it was like during deployment for those people who haven't seen it."

Joint interagency and international relationships strengthen U.S. 3rd Fleet's ability to respond to crises and protect the collective maritime interests of the U.S. and its allies and partners.