 It's a windy day on the Black Sea, as the flags of the USS Vicksburg wave violently. Since December of last year, the USS Vicksburg, along with other ships assigned to the Standing NATO Maritime Group, are conducting training exercises in the region. We'll be conducting communications, maneuvering some gunnery and some air defense exercises with them. And what we really hope to do is to build the integration and the interoperability among the units. The Standing NATO Maritime Group is a multinational integrated maritime force. As a member of that team, the USS Vicksburg is working diligently with its counterparts to ensure mission success. Are coming here to train with them is just as important as training with any of the member nations of the Alliance. From shape Belgium, I'm Army Sergeant Vincent Pettikin, AFN News.