Kicking off Southern Seas 2012

By Cmdr. Peter T. Mirisola, Commanding Officer, USS Underwood (FFG 36)

We are embarking from Mayport, Fla. and heading south to the Caribbean, Central and South America on SOUTHERN SEAS 2012. SOUTHERN SEAS is an annual collaborative deployment in the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of responsibility where a task group deploys to conduct a variety of exercises and multinational exchanges. SOUTHERN SEAS seeks to enhance interoperability, increase regional stability, and build and maintain regional relationships with countries in the region through joint, multinational and interagency exchanges and cooperation.

During SOUTHERN SEAS, U.S. and South America forces will participate in three major exercises including UNITAS PAC, UNITAS LANT and SIFOREX.  This year our ship will be working with a vast array of other navies during these three exercises.

I look forward to this deployment for a number of reasons. First, our partners bring diverse experiences and skills to the mission.  We can learn from them and they from us and together prepare for future events by understanding each other better. Southern Seas is a great opportunity for navies of the Western Hemisphere to conduct navy-to-navy exercises, build military relationships and enhance multinational force interoperability. It’s designed to emphasize interoperability and cooperation through various training opportunities at sea and ashore.

At the end of our mission, we hope to walk away having learned more about our partner nations and foster friendships and understanding among the nations of the Western Hemisphere. I know this ship and the Fighting Devils are ready to work with our partner nations over the next few months.

Over the course of our mission, I ask that you become a fan and follow us on Facebook. Tune in to this blog, which will be published at least once a week to learn about what we’re doing and about the people on this mission.  Sometimes I’ll be the blogger.  Sometimes I’ll have a guest blogger, such as a junior Sailor, a division chief, or a department head.  I welcome any comments and suggestions that you may have, so feel free to share them.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. The next blog post will be up in a few days.

Sincerely,
Cmdr. Peter T. Mirisola, USN

Cmdr. Peter T. Mirisola is the commanding officer of USS Underwood (FFG 36)

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