Chittagong, Bangladesh: Bangladesh and US navies have begun an eight-day joint exercise on maritime safety and security under the first-ever Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Bangladesh programmed, said a press release of the US embassy.
U.S. Embassy, U.S. Navy and Bangladesh Navy representatives attend the opening ceremony of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Bangladesh 2011.
The event began yesterday at a ceremony at BNS Issa Khan in Chittagong. It is the first time Bangladesh has participated in the 17-year-old CARAT exercise series, which the US Navy conducts with navies of seven other Southeast Asian nations.
CARAT participants now include Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
There are four US Navy ships and approximately 500 US personnel participating in the exercise. The ships include the guided missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100), frigate USS Ford (FFG 54), mine countermeasures ship USS Avenger (MCM 1) and the dive and salvage rescue ship USNS Safeguard (T-ARS 50).
CARAT Bangladesh combines training events ashore and at sea, with shore events focused on diving training, riverine warfare, ship boarding training, and medical and community service projects.
The Bangladesh Navy Band performs on the pier as USS Defender (MCM 2) maneuvers to arrive in Chittagong for exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Bangladesh 2011.
Training events at sea will take place between the US and Bangladesh Navy ships, and includes helicopter operations, shipboard communications and maneuvering drills, surface gunnery exercises and tactical free play events.
"The fact that CARAT attracts navies from the region is a particularly important point," said the US Navy's Rear Admiral Tom Carney, Commander, Task Force 73 and the executive agent for the exercise.
"I look upon 2011 as the first of many successful years of engagement between the US and Bangladesh navies."
"We've got a challenging schedule to complete over the next eight days, including an aggressive range of at-sea events," Admiral Carney added.
"The friendship, understanding and trust we develop between the next generations of naval leaders are equally important to what we learn and exercise at sea," he said.
