Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG
78) began the at-sea portion of exercise Sea Shield 2017, Feb. 8, in the Black Sea.

Sea Shield is an annual, Romania-led multinational exercise in the Black Sea designed to improve interoperability and combat proficiency of participating units.

The U.S. participation in this exercise demonstrates the commitment to deploying leading technology and combat capability in support of allies and partners and collective defense of the Black Sea region.

Quote:

"We've already strengthened our interoperability through the in-port planning phase of Sea Shield 2017, and Porter in particular is looking forward to the operational phase at sea. Advanced exercises like Sea Shield provide us with an opportunity to work across all warfare areas, ultimately improving our combined readiness and naval capability with our Black Sea allies and partners." - Cmdr. Andria Slough, commanding officer, USS Porter (DDG 78)

Quick Facts:

The exercise is taking place in the Black Sea, in the vicinity of Constanta, Romania, Feb. 1-10.

Participating units from the U.S. are Porter and one P-8A Poseidon from Patrol Squadron 45, both currently operating in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations.

Porter, forward deployed to Rota, Spain, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe. The ship deployed from Naval Station Rota Nov. 30, 2016.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint, and interagency partners in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet, visit http://www.navy.mil/.