4th Fleet Hosts UNITAS Planning Conference

Maritime representatives from eleven countries gathered in Mayport for the UNITAS Gold 2009 Initial Planning Conference Nov. 3-7.

U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (NAVSO)/ U.S. 4th Fleet hosted the conference to plan for UNITAS 50-09, the 50th iteration of the annual multi-national maritime exercise series.

"2009 marks the 50th iteration of the UNITAS exercises, in which the U.S. Navy and our partner nation navies train together to enhance interoperability and Theater Security Cooperation (TSC)," said Rear Adm. Joseph D. Kernan, NAVSO/4th Fleet Commander. "This exercise, planned with a multitude of unique training venues, offers all of the participating nations an opportunity to enhance a cooperative maritime strategy that is in all of our best interests."

"We, as well as the City of Jacksonville, are excited to be able to host the UNITAS Gold celebration here and we welcome all of our visiting partner nations to Mayport," added Kernan.

UNITAS 50-09 is scheduled to begin in late April 2009 off the coast of Mayport with participants from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Mexico, Peru, and the United States.

The purpose of the conference was to define the schedule of events, topics, activities, and delegate responsibilities in support of UNITAS Gold. The training exercises focus on logistics, communications, combat doctrines, and other inter-service interests between the partner nations.

"It's very important (for us) to be here, because you can see each other and the eyes of our friends and to specify all the details of this huge operation, UNITAS Gold," said Brazilian Navy Rear Adm. Carlos Alberto Guimaraes De Almeida e Albuquerque, the Brazilian Navy Division 2 Commanding Officer. "It's very important for the friendly ships to work together. This operation is very important in this aspect to increase interoperability, and to standardize the procedures among us and of course, to increase the friendship among the countries, mainly among men of the sea, the Sailors."

The annual UNITAS exercise series, which consists of two phasesAtlantic and Pacific, supports the U.S. Maritime Strategy, by bringing partner nation navies together to improve interoperability and build working relationships at sea. However, for UNITAS Gold 2009, both phases will be combined into one two-week exercise.

During the week's events, Kernan hosted several face-to-face meetings with maritime representatives from partner nation countries at NAVSO/4th Fleet Headquarters in Mayport. Kernan met with Guimaraes, as well as Argentine Navy Rear Adm. Jose Luis Perez Varela, the Naval Attach to the Argentine Embassy in Washington, D.C., and Uruguayan Navy Rear Adm. Federico Oscar Lebel Baptista, Chief of the Armed Forces Mission of Uruguay in Washington, D.C. and Defense Attach.

NAVSO, the Navy component command of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), oversees maritime operations throughout Latin America, including exercises and deployments, counter illicit trafficking support, and TSC events.

U.S. 4th Fleet is the numbered fleet assigned to NAVSO exercising operational control of U.S. Navy units temporally operating in the SOUTHCOM area of focus, which encompasses the Caribbean, Central and South America and surrounding waters.