The ship’s presence within the Baltic Sea is an illustration of the U.S. Navy’s continued dedication to collective protection of the European area and reinforces the sturdy bond between the US and Estonia.
Whereas inport Tallinn, the ship and her crew could have the chance to partake in a number of Morale, Welfare and Recreation excursions and see many historic sights and expertise the wealthy tradition of Estonia and its residents.
“We’re grateful for the prospect to see Estonia and to boost our relationship with a key NATO ally,” mentioned Cmdr. Joe Hamilton, Porter’s commanding officer. “This can be a nice alternative for our crew to expertise Estonian tradition and meet the folks of Tallinn.”
The ship has performed earlier port stops in Funchal, Portugal and Rostock, Germany whereas on its present deployment.
Porter’s deployment to the NAVEUR-NAVAF space of operations comes months after a homeport shift from Naval Station Rota, Spain to Naval Station Norfolk in October 2022. Porter spent seven years in Spain as a part of the Ahead Deployed Naval Forces-Europe power, conducting eleven patrols in that point interval. The patrols took Porter all through the U.S. Sixth Fleet space of operations, together with the Baltic, North, Norwegian, and Mediterranean Seas, in addition to the Jap Atlantic Ocean, in assist of U.S., allied, and associate pursuits.
“Porter’s crew has carried out fantastically since our return to the area for this deployment,” mentioned Hamilton. “We have realized and loved our coaching with our allied and associate Navies. We’re wanting ahead to this interoperability coaching with the Estonian Navy.”
The ship’s go to to Tallinn follows a number of port calls from U.S. Navy ships in recent times, together with the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) in Might 2022 and guided-missile destroyers on deployment from the US East Coast and on patrol from the Ahead Deployed Naval Forces-Europe (FDNF-E) power stationed at Naval Station Rota, Spain.
The U.S. and Estonia are dedicated to working collectively and enhancing interoperability via port visits, operations, and workouts like Siil and Baltic Operations (BALTOPS).
For over 80 years, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-U.S. Naval Forces Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) has cast strategic relationships with our allies and companions, leveraging a basis of shared values to protect safety and stability.
Headquartered in Naples, Italy, NAVEUR-NAVAF operates U.S. naval forces within the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) areas of accountability. U.S. Sixth Fleet is completely assigned to NAVEUR-NAVAF, and employs maritime forces via the total spectrum of joint and naval operations.
