United States European Command

NEWSCapacity Building

By Navy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Gary M. Keen Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-CoAug 26, 2011

SOUDA BAY, Greece — Navy Senior Chief Intelligence Specialist Matthew Skaggs (right), reviews a training plan on non-commissioned officer development with Master Chief Petty Officer Gediminas Zabitis, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy of Lithuania (middle), and Senor Chief Petty Officer Andreas Baroutsos, Greek Navy (left), at the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operations Training Center at Marathi Pier
as part of Eurasia Partnership Capstone 2009 (EPC 09). Military forces from 11 countries will participate in a conference for maritime forces in Souda Bay, Greece Sept. 19-26. Annually hosted by the U.S. Navy, EPC 09 aims to increase maritime safety and security through open and transparent sharing of information in a non-formal environment such as workshops and seminars. Nations participating in EPC '09 will include Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Ukraine, and the United States. (Department of Defense photo by Navy Ma

1 photo: SOUDA BAY, Greece — Navy Senior Chief Intelligence Specialist Matthew Skaggs (right), reviews a training plan on non-commissioned officer development with Master Chief Petty Officer Gediminas Za

Photo 1 of 1: SOUDA BAY, Greece — Navy Senior Chief Intelligence Specialist Matthew Skaggs (right), reviews a training plan on non-commissioned officer development with Master Chief Petty Officer Gediminas Zabitis, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy of Lithuania (middle), and Senor Chief Petty Officer Andreas Baroutsos, Greek Navy (left), at the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operations Training Center at Marathi Pier as part of Eurasia Partnership Capstone 2009 (EPC 09). Military forces from 11 countries will participate in a conference for maritime forces in Souda Bay, Greece Sept. 19-26. Annually hosted by the U.S. Navy, EPC 09 aims to increase maritime safety and security through open and transparent sharing of information in a non-formal environment such as workshops and seminars. Nations participating in EPC '09 will include Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Ukraine, and the United States. (Department of Defense photo by Navy Ma Download full-resolution version

SOUDA BAY, Greece — The Eurasia Partnership Capstone 2009 (EPC 09) kicked off on Naval Support Activity here, Sept. 19, with the arrival of 70 military personnel from 11 countries.

Over the next eight days Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Ukraine and the United States will work together in non-formal environments such as seminars and workshops aimed at increasing maritime safety and security in the Eurasian littorals.

This is the third EPC event sponsored by Commander, U.S. Naval Forces EuropeeCommander, U.S. Naval Forces Africa/Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet, formerly known as Black Sea Partnership Cruise (BSPC).

"With ECP 09 we are broadening our efforts to increase the cooperation, capability and capacities in the Eurasian littoral regions," said Navy Cmdr. Lawrence Ollice, lead planning officer for EPC 09. "We have two new countries participating this year, Kazakhstan and Norway. Norway, with Latvia and Lithuania, are taking on instructor roles making this the most robust conference to date."

The majority of workshops and seminars will be held at the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operations Training Center (NMIOTC), located at Marathi Pier.

"We were forced to find a new location for the EPC 09 since the Mount Whitney [USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20)] was not available," said Ollice. "Last year we had Greek instructors from the NMIOTC participate in BSPC and they indicated that NMIOTC would be interested in hosting next year's event. NMIOTC was very excited about the idea, and many of the topics they teach are inline with regional interests." Workshops and seminars will include noncommissioned officer development, maritime operational language, oil spill and environmental preparedness scenarios, and maritime interdiction operations to include ship boarding.