 The Mediterranean Sea is vital to global trade, particularly for North African and European nations. The U.S.-Africa Command's sponsored maritime exercise, Phoenix Express, is designed to improve cooperation among participants in order to increase maritime safety and security in the Med. Captain Mike McClintock, the Phoenix Express 2014 officer of tactical command, gives us the reason for this exercise. The purpose of Phoenix Express was regional cooperation amongst our partner nations. From the African side, from the U.Com side, from the United States Navy side, we bring that diverse group together. We learn from each other. So now we have various nations all around the Mediterranean working in tandem to accomplish a singular objective. The partnering of these nations strengthens regional cooperation and helps to address challenges that no one nation is capable of tackling alone. Their ability to work through problems together and learn as a group helped them to better synchronize responses to potential real-world scenarios. Now that Phoenix Express is over, the knowledge gained from this exercise will not only enhance the security of the Mediterranean maritime environment, but also set the bar for next year's exercise. We are a learning organization, continually learning. Knowledge acquisition is the only investment you can't lose on. So when you take things like decision-making, emission analysis, communications, leadership, assertiveness, and situational awareness, and you continue to work on those skills, it leads to process improvement, and that's the direction we're heading for Phoenix Express 15. For Naval Air Station Sigonella, I'm Petty Officer Donovan Patubo.