Philippine-US joint Naval exercise ends

SUBIC BAY, Philippines - The week-long Philippine- US joint Naval exercise ended with a closing ceremony on board the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) on Tuesday.

During the exercise, called the 19th Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), US Sailors and Marines trained with their counterparts in the Philippine Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps in a series of shore-based and at sea events.

Shore-based training events covered several naval competencies, including jungle warfare and marksmanship; tactical combat casualty care; riverine small boat operations; visit, board, search and seizure; and diving and salvage.

During exercises near Subic Bay, Fitzgerald conducted maneuvering, communications and gunnery exercises with the Philippine Navy frigate BRP Gregorio del Pilar and the Philippine coast guard salvage and rescue vessel BRP Edsa. ?

Attending the exercise from the US side included more than 600 Sailors and Marines, the guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) with embarked Commander, Task Group 73.1/ Destroyer Squadron (DESRON), and the diving and salvage ships. ?

CARAT is a bilateral naval exercise series between the US Navy, US Marine Corps and the armed forces of nine partner nations in South and Southeast Asia.