The sun rises on a clear and quiet mid-Atlantic morning to the sound of waves crashing against the skin of the ship.

A few Sailors discuss radar blips while another Sailor scans the horizon with binoculars.

Moments pass and, with an excited call to the lieutenant, a Sailor spots the periscope of fast-attack submarine USS Montpelier, which means the Royal Norwegian Navy frigate HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen has made visual contact.

Nansen is participating in a composite training unit exercise with the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group to foster a stronger partnership and integration with the U.S. Navy.

Although language barriers and different exercise procedures can make communication and
coordination difficult, Cmdr. Odd-Erling Furu, Nansen's commanding officer, said these exercises
help ensure that both navies are familiar with the operations and procedures of both countries.

Before any continued cooperation between the two countries' navies, including possibly working together on future deployments, Furu said his crew will have to adapt to working with the U.S. Navy and how they conduct certain exercises while at sea.

"It's a challenge, but we're working on it, and it's getting better and better each day," Furu said.

Nansen is also coordinating with aircraft they are not accustomed to working with to help them look for submarines during the exercise.

"The U.S. Navy has very good exercises with submarines because they have all of these air resources," Furu said. "We were lucky the ship got to participate in the anti-submarine warfare part of it while having all the helicopter support.

The U.S. has also been very friendly and open for us in trying to get this working. It hasn't always been easy because of some U.S. restrictions, but we have tried to work around them and have found workable solutions, and that's good."

Lt. Amund Johansen said Nansen's main goal has been to integrate the frigate with the Ike CSG to better communicate and understand one another for future endeavors.

"We've had plenty of Sea Hawks on the deck here," Johansen said. "The helicopter attachment is pretty integrated, and they are familiar with several versions of the Sea Hawk."

Norway depends on its allies to conduct replenishment-at-sea procedures for their ships while underway. With a crew of only 120 people, it is necessary for Nansen to have sufficient supplies and fuel on the ship during extended at-sea periods.

"I think we are pretty integrated with conducting a regular RAS (replenishment at sea), which is an asset we don't have in the Norwegian navy," Johansen said.

Nansen also participated in the Rim of the Pacific exercise in 2014, and Furu said his crew is looking forward to working with the U.S. Navy again in the future. He said the communication between Nansen and U.S. ships is getting better and that he believes the two navies can learn a lot from each other.

"I think we will try and come back to participate in this kind of exercise again," Furu said. "We have done it twice before, and I think that will continue in the future as well."

For more news from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), visit www.navy.mil/local/cvn69/