"Driving a ship is the best job in the world," said Royal Navy Lt. Cmdr. Maryla Ingham, commanding officer of the HMS Middleton. "It's magical being at sea."

"On the voyage to Bahrain we saw amazing stars, sunsets, northern lights, whales, dolphins, and six storms," said Ingham.

Ingham, from Portsmouth, England, and her crew are at sea to support the International Mine Countermeasures Exercise (IMCMEX), which is being held from April 4-26 in the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea and Gulf of Oman.

IMCMEX includes navies from more than 30 countries spanning six continents training together across the Middle East. The exercise is focused on maritime security - from mine countermeasures, maritime infrastructure protection, and maritime security operations - in support of civilian shipping and freedom of navigation.

Ingham commands a mine hunting ship that arrived at Bahrain on Christmas day, last year. She certainly has the experience to find mines and protect freedom of navigation - in her 17 years in the Royal Navy, 14 have been at sea.

"I wanted to drive ships and always had an affinity with the sea," said Ingham. "From anywhere in England you are within 65 miles of the sea. I've been all over the world. It's magical."

Ingham spent her early years obtaining a law degree, but after meeting her boyfriend's father, who spent a career in the Navy, she decided to attend the Britannia Naval College in Devon, England, she said.

Seventeen years later Ingham is the only female lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy commanding a ship.

"We want more women, there is nothing to say you can't do it," said Ingham. "Don't be limited by lack of confidence - it's there if you want it."

The ship she commands is a Hunt-class minehunter. HMS Middleton was commissioned on July 4, 1984, and is constructed from glass-reinforced plastic. The hull type allows her to have a minimal magnetic signature and is strong enough to withstand the explosive shocks likely to be encountered during mine hunting activity. Middleton's class of ship is the largest in the world to be built from glass-reinforced plastic.

Armed with a 30mm cannon and 50mm machine guns, the ship also has a secondary role as a patrol craft, supporting maritime security operations. She can also use her advanced sonar and dive teams to search for missing vessels or aircraft.

"One of my favorite things to do is recover mines," said Lt. Byron Linn, Ingham's navigator aboard HMS Middleton.

Together with the advanced sonar, HMS Middleton is equipped with two other dedicated capabilities to find, recover or destroy mines. They include the remote controlled mine disposal system, more commonly known as SeaFox and an Explosive Ordnance Disposal dive team.

SeaFox is an unmanned underwater drone that can detect, classify and destroy mines and sea objects.

"It's really like 20,000 leagues under the sea," said Ingham. "So far we have found and destroyed four [training] mines. Next week we will focus on recovering them so we can learn more about their capabilities."

Despite the advanced mine hunting technology, the divers and navigators find that old methods have their advantages.

"All the navigation is still done by angles and math. We don't rely on GPS," said Linn. "It worked in World War II, and it works now."

Like traditional navigation, the explosive ordnance disposal dive team uses hand signals to communicate.

"Divers have comms in their masks, but they don't use them - it builds capacity," said Ingham.

This is Linn's second deployment to the Middle East.

"I trained with 120 international cadets to build interoperability so coming to IMCMEX is like coming back to new friends," said Linn.

IMCMEX is also about enhancing cooperation, maritime capabilities and interoperability between international partners.

Nations from in and outside the region - each with mutual economic and security interests - have traveled here to strengthen working relationships and enhance their collective capabilities.

"When you look across the water, you know they are going through the same ordeals and successes as you," said Linn. "A lot is based on personal relationships here."

"Every Sailor has a story about a shared stories," added Ingham. "Everyone has comradery and shared experiences. It does not matter that we don't speak the same language - we understand."

One key component of the relationship Sailors develop with their international partners are the those that tie each Sailor to his or her home.

"The man and women at home allow my Sailors to function," said Ingham. "They send them love, food and hold the fort so we can focus on missions like IMCMEX."

Her husband of 10 years is also in the Royal Navy and previously commanded HMS Middleton.

Ingham and her team cannot stress enough the importance of IMCMEX.

"The opportunity to work with other nations to learn and understand is tremendous," said Ingham. "You're not going to win the world cup if you don't train together as one team."

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/5th Fleet, visit www.cusnc.navy.mil/.