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161009-N-JI086-297 - MEDITERRANEAN SEA (Oct. 9, 2016) Military Sealift Command sailors standby during a refueling of an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft aboard the U.S. 6th Fleet command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) Oct. 9, 2016. Mount Whitney is underway conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations to engage with key allies and partners in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Ford Williams / Released)

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Photo by: Seaman Ford Williams 

BOSPHORUS STRAIT – The U.S. 6th Fleet command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) entered the Black Sea, Oct. 10, 2016, in order to conduct theater security cooperation and key leader engagement events with allies and partners in the region.

The ship’s operations in the Black Sea are meant to enhance maritime security, stability, readiness, and strengthen partnerships with our allies and partners. 

USS Mount Whitney is operating in the Black Sea in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. All DoD efforts in support of our continued commitment to the collective security of our NATO allies and European partners fall under the umbrella of OAR. 

While operating in the Black Sea, Mount Whitney will conduct theater security cooperation and key leader engagement events with allies and partners in the region.

Elements of the U.S. 6th Fleet staff are currently embarked aboard USS Mount Whitney to provide planning support to U.S. European Command’s (USEUCOM) computer-assisted exercise, Austere Challenge 17. 

The U.S. Navy routinely operates in the Black Sea consistent with the Montreux Convention and international law. 

USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) departed Gaeta, Italy October 7, 2016.

Mount Whitney, forward deployed to Gaeta, Italy, operates with a combined crew of U.S. Navy Sailors and Military Sealift Command civil service mariners. The civil service mariners perform navigation, deck, engineering and supply service operations, while military personnel support communications, weapons systems and security. It is one of only two seaborne Joint Command Platforms in the U.S. Navy, both of which are forward deployed.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests, and security and stability in Europe and Africa.