U.S. and international military leaders came together to discuss the state of the global maritime environment at the annual Sea, Air & Space (SAS) exposition in National Harbor, Maryland, April 3. Founded in 1965, the Navy League-sponsored, three-day SAS brings together the U.S. defense industrial base, comprised of private-sector companies and military decision makers, for an annual innovative, educational, professional and maritime exposition at National Harbor's Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center. SAS is the nation's largest maritime expo. During a joint service sea services panel, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. William F. Moran said the significant level of participation from international partner nations at the expo would prove important to the future of the maritime environment. "We have got to stay close," Moran said. "We've got to continue to operate and train together and make it as easy as possible for us to work in an environment that we all know how to operate in and to be able to deliver the effects that we want as freedom-loving countries around the globe. "I think our collective insurance policy is the partnerships that we have together," Moran added. At the final event titled "Strengthening Partnerships Through Innovation, Experimentation and Interoperability," Rear Adm. Lars Saunes, chief of the Royal Norwegian Navy, also stressed the need for maritime partners to continue to work together. "As the chief of this navy, there are two perspectives I look at every day-that's the near future and the long future," Saunes said. "In the near future, it's all about manning, preparing, being operational, and we do that together with our key allies like we do with the U.S., the UK, the German navy and others. So we have to collaborate about innovation, how to develop not as a separate navy, but as part of an allied organization." In addition to the U.S. and international naval representatives, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard leaders also spoke at panels throughout the day, addressing a broad range of topics including logistics, transportation, cyber operations, and nuclear deterrence.