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http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=10927 Servicemembers from 12 nations exercise teamwork in NATO drill By Anthony Burgos, Stars and Stripes European edition, Wednesday, October 9, 2002 -The aircraft carrier USS George Washington, its air wing, one fast-attack submarine and three other U.S. ships are part of the 61 warships and 100 aircraft involved in the exercise. -Countries involved this year include Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, Sicily � More than 8,000 servicemembers from 12 nations started testing their ability to work together as a single NATO sea force on Tuesday during the exercise Destined Glory. Different battle groups formed off Italy�s western and southern coasts. Amphibious task forces will land at Monte Romano, north of Rome, and at Capo Teulada in southern Sardinia. �It�s a very important exercise,� said Allied Forces Southern Command spokesman Capt. Mark Oden. The maritime forces will drill in the Tyrrhenian Sea at the beginning of the exercise, then later in the Ionian Sea. The aircraft carrier USS George Washington, its air wing, one fast-attack submarine and three other U.S. ships are part of the 61 warships and 100 aircraft involved in the exercise. According to Oden, the exercise tests NATO troop readiness and their ability to respond quickly to a maritime crisis. Sailors at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily, are making sure a remote site in Larissa, Greece, gets vital exercise information. A signal from an E-3 AWACS surveillance aircraft flying over Sardinia is being received and translated by Sigonella�s mobile universal link translator system (MOLTS) unit. �It�s really pushing the limits of the technology,� said Petty Officer 2nd Class Jon Dimuro, an operations specialist with the naval center for tactical systems interoperability detachment at Sigonella. �The system�s optimal range is about 250 miles, but we are easily doubling that,� Dimuro said Tuesday. The $4 million system receives secure and unsecured UHF, data and voice signals, translates them for other NATO ally systems and relays them to remote sites such as the one in Larissa. The entire unit is loaded into a modified Humvee, making Sigonella�s NTSCI unit the only one of its kind with mobile deployment capabilities. The exercise, which started Saturday, runs until Tuesday. �Last year�s exercise was cut short because of the Sept. 11 attacks,� Oden said. Planning for an exercise of this scope takes the better part of a year. The exercise took part in Spain last year and it will be in Turkey next year. Countries involved this year include Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
