Sailors from the United Kingdom Royal Navy trained alongside U.S. Navy Sailors and Marines on the flight deck of USS Wasp (LHD 1), beginning June 25.

The Royal Navy sent six Sailors, from Navy Command Headquarters in Portsmouth, England, to integrate into Wasp's flight deck operations to prepare them for their upcoming Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

Quote:

"Living with one another is good for integration, so when we work together, when we have your aircraft come to our flight decks, and vice versa, we'll have a bit more awareness of how we each operate. It helps us work with you better on different platforms when we need to."

"This is the first group of guys who are not first classes. Some of them have never been on a ship before, so for the younger guys, it's good for them to get experience."
- Royal Navy Chief Richard Clark

Quick Facts:

HMS Illustrious (R06) was the last carrier in British service before being decommissioned in 2014 and will soon be replaced by its advanced counterparts HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) and HMS Prince of Wales (R09).

The Royal Navy stopped working with fixed wing aircraft in 2010, so the reintroduction of carriers in the British fleet requires personnel who can safely run a flight deck. The two new carriers are expected to operate the short take-off and vertical landing variant of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, with flight trials expecting to start in 2018.

Wasp is deployed with the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group to support maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations.

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 news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet, visit http://www.c6f.navy.mil/.

For more news from USS Wasp, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/lhd1/ or join the conversation at http://www.facebook.com/USSWasp.

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