The Kearsarge is the first Wasp-class ship to participate in international training in the Baltic in at least two decades.
“This is the first time we’ve been involved in recent times and it’s been very exciting,” said Captain Tom Foster, the Kearsarge’s commanding officer.
Along with other US Navy ships, the Kearsarge has been training for several months with the armies of Sweden and Finland, which formally applied to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
The training mission is to promote security in the region.
“Over the last few months, we have been operating in the Baltic and in the Mediterranean,” said Capt. Aaron Kelley, commander of Amphibious Ready Group Kearsarge.
“We will continue to operate in those areas. And the goal there is always to promote security in those regions and in international waters,” Kelley said.
The USS Kearsarge allows the training of aircraft such as AV-8B Harriers, UH-1 Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper helicopters, as well as MV-22 Osprey aircraft.
The Baltic Sea countries are Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and Denmark.
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