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17 Jan 2025

High Praise For Black Sea Mine Warfare Exercise

High Praise For Black Sea Mine Warfare Exercise
The Mine Countermeasures (MCM) Black Sea Task Group sailing in formation in the Black Sea on Exercise Poseidon 24. Image: US Navy

The U.S. Navy has hailed the success of Exercise Poseidon, a recent Black Sea mine countermeasures (MCM) training operation with three NATO partners.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians from the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group were invited to join Exercise Poseidon, staged in Bulgarian territorial waters off Burgas.

As per a recent U.S. Navy press statement, as well as the divers participating in the exercise, EOD liaison officers were also invited advise and observe aboard Bulgarian, Romanian, and Turkish ships during the activities late last year. The ships form part of the new trilateral Black Sea MCM Task Group activated by Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania in July 2024.

“We share our NATO allies' commitment to a safe and prosperous Black Sea,” said Capt. Jeremy Wheat, commodore, Task Force 68 Navy Expeditionary Forces Command Europe-Africa, which oversees EOD Mobile Unit 8, the team taking part.

He added: “Poseidon is a demonstration of that collective commitment.”

The annually held Exercise Poseidon is led by Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey, and takes in a series of live-munition missions involving search, location, diving and demolition tasks.

The press statement noted: “Poseidon is an inherently defensive exercise that aims to reduce maritime threats for all mariners, while advancing NATO ally interoperability and capability.”

"We achieved various MCM training objectives with our highly capable Bulgarian, Romanian, and Turkish Allies," said Cmdr. John P. Kennedy, commanding officer, EODMU 8. "I am personally grateful to Bulgaria for hosting this iteration and to all three nations for inviting us aboard their MCM ships."

Bulgaria assumed control of the Black Sea MCM Task Group at the start of 2025, taking over from Turkey, which had held the command since July.

The U.S. Navy said via CTF 68, which tracks floating mines, more than 120 had been found in the Black Sea since March 2022, more than three-quarters of them near Ukraine.

“We are proud to participate in Poseidon and our NATO Black Sea Allies’ MCM Task Group, because both of these initiatives really get after the dangerous but noble and life-saving mission of de-mining the Black Sea,” said Capt. Wheat.

“Advancing MCM interoperability in this region is crucial at time of unprecedented risk from floating mines as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.”

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