The Chilean Minister of Defense visited the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) at-sea, Oct. 18, to observe carrier operations as part of UNITAS Pacific (PAC).

This year's UNITAS PAC is hosted by Chile and includes participation from 11 countries: Australia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, South Africa and the U.S.

Capt. Timothy C. Kuehhas, Washington's commanding officer, greeted Chilean Minister of Defense Jose Antonio Gomez, Commander of Chilean Navy Adm. Enrique Larrañaga, and U.S. Ambassador to Chile Michael Hammer upon their arrival to the ship during a distinguished guests (DV) visit.

After being welcomed aboard, Gomez observed flight operations as aircraft were launched and recovered aboard Washington's flight deck. Kuehhas and Gomez then discussed goals and strategies in the shared commitment of all countries in the region.

"Regional challenges require cooperative solutions," said Kuehhas. "UNITAS PAC provides opportunities for USS George Washington and its crew to train to our capabilities in a cooperative effort with partner nations."

During the DV tour they saw the ship's navigation bridge, flight deck, and control and combat direction center.

Rear Adm. George Ballance, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command, U.S. 4th Fleet, reflected on the importance of maintaining strong relations with Chile and other nations within the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations.

"Anytime we have a chance to engage with our partners in South America is time extremely well spent," the admiral said. "It's an opportunity for the Chilean government to see the professionalism of our Sailors and their capability of accomplishing our mission."

The annual UNITAS exercise series supports the U.S. maritime strategy by bringing partner nation navies together to improve inter-operability and build working relationships at-sea.

UNITAS 2015, the U.S. Navy's longest running annual multinational maritime exercise, is part of the Southern Seas deployment planned by U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet. This 56th iteration of UNITAS is conducted in two phases: UNITAS Pacific, hosted by Chile, October 13-24, and UNITAS Atlantic, hosted by Brazil and scheduled for November.

For more news from USS George Washington (CVN 73), visit http://www.navy.mil/.