Coast Guard cutters join Navy destroyers in exercises

June 14 (UPI) -- Five Navy ships joined two Coast Guard cutters in interoperability exercises in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said on Monday.

Guided-missile destroyers USS O'Kane, USS Howard, USS Chafee, USS Kidd and USS Michael Murphy are operating with U.S. Coast Guard cutters USCGC Midgett and USCGC Oliver Berry in support of the Pentagon's Tri-Service Maritime Strategy.

The strategy, involving the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, was unveiled in 2020 in a 36-page report demonstrating a significant update to modern U.S. maritime defense and security thinking.

It concentrates largely on the growing effect of strategic competition, notably from China, and calls for greater integration among the naval services to prevail across every phase of day-to-day competition, conflict, and crisis situations.

"These operations enable the Navy-Coast Guard team to maintain our nation's advantage at sea," Cmdr. Scott Maloney, the USS Michael Murphy's commanding officer, said in a press release.

"Working with our Coast Guard counterparts has allowed us to expand interoperability between our AEGIS weapons system and their unmanned systems. The Coast Guard is an indispensable partner in an integrated, all-domain naval force," Maloney said.

Another joint operation, concentrating on maritime law enforcement, began in April 2020 when three U.S. Coast Guard cutters left Puerto Rico to join NATO allies and the U.S. Navy's 5th and 6th fleets in Europe and the Middle East.

The Legend-class national security cutter USCGC Hamilton and the Sentinel-class fast response cutters USCGC Charles Moulthrope and USCGC Robert Goldman transited the North Atlantic Ocean.

The Hamilton deployed with the 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, while the Moulthrope and the Goldman sailed to Manama, Bahrain, to join the 5th Fleet.