 The amphibious landing dock ship USS Ashland recently returned to its home port in Sasebo, Japan, after completing this year's cooperation afloat readiness and training or carrot exercise. We combine with our partner nations of Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia for bilateral as well as one multilateral exercise of both Navy and Marines ashore. They also set aside a time to foster relationships with the local communities they visited. What better example than our own blue-green team with the Navy Marine Corps and very proud of what we did in carrot as well as our operations in the South China Sea. The completion of the 22nd annual carrot exercise marks another year of improved cooperation and enhanced interoperability among partner nations. FETI officer Claire Farin, Fleet Activities, Sasebo, Japan.