Drills

U.S. Navy kicks off military drills with NATO on Russia's doorstep

The destroyer Porter and a P8-A Poseidon sub hunter on Wednesday kicked off the at-sea portion of a Romanian-hosted exercise with NATO forceson Russia's doorstep. 

Exercise Sea Shield is an annual maritime drill designed to get the countries used to working together in the event of a conflict, according to a Navy release. 

“We've already strengthened our interoperability through the in-port planning phase of Sea Shield 2017, and Porter in particular is looking forward to the operational phase at sea,” said Cmdr. Andria Slough, the Porter’s skipper. “Advanced exercises like Sea Shield provide us with an opportunity to work across all warfare areas, ultimately improving our combined readiness and naval capability with our Black Sea allies and partners.”