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During the visit, Deputy Commander Naval Special Warfare
Command Rear Adm. Garry Bonelli showed Adm. Gheorge Marin
key aspects of training and partnership building efforts
taking place in these facilities.
"Creating and sustaining relationships is a vital part of
our mission," said Bonelli. "Reaching out to other navies
and sharing visions for the future, and how to get there, is
a fundamental way to strengthen those bonds."
The mission of NAVSCIATTS is to provide partner nation
security forces with the highest level of riverine and
littoral craft operations and maintenance technical
training. The school, which usually runs ten courses
simultaneously for members of up to 20 countries, is
adjacent to SBT-22, U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM)
premiere riverine command. Both are operated predominantly
by Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen, SOCOM's maritime
mobility experts and some of the best mariners in the world.
"I was impressed with the facilities and the range of
specialized training the curriculum covers," said Marin. "It
would be very interesting to continue training for our
special units of the Romanian Navy at such a professional
and highly qualified training command. This kind of
partnership would be beneficial for the Romanian Navy in its
endeavor to maintain security in the Black Sea region."
NAVSCIATTS has been conducting security force assistance
since 1963 to prepare partner nation forces to conduct small
craft operations in riverine and littoral environments, as
well as develop and professional and personal relationships.
The affiliation with Romania included eight students who
attended in-resident courses from 2003-2005. Also in 2003, a
mobile training team visited Romania to provide in depth
follow-on training.
This mission is closely aligned with the Navy's maritime
strategy of increasing security and alliances in waterways
across the globe. With this waterborne mission, it is
natural for NAVSCIATTS to fall under NSWG-4, U.S. Special
Operations Command's (SOCOM) maritime mobility component.
During the visit, Marin walked through the school house
and observed a variety of classes, received briefs on the
functions of both commands and participated in a capability
demonstration of the Special Operations Craft-Riverine,
operated by SBT-22.
For more news from Naval Special Warfare Group 4, visit
www.navy.mil/local/nswg4/. |
