Rear Adm. Scott Gray, commander of Navy Region Northwest, visited Cordova Sept. 13-14 while in Alaska for an Arctic expeditionary exercise.
Approximately 3,000 U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel are participating in Arctic Expeditionary Capabilities Exercise 2019 in areas of the Aleutian Islands and Southcentral Alaska from Sept. 1-28.
“Alaska is a strategic location, and Navy exercises and operations here are essential to the nation’s commitment to maintaining a stable, free and open region, particularly as we look to the Arctic,” said Gray, who oversees an 11-state region including Alaska. “We appreciate all the Alaskan communities and their residents for their continued support of joint military training.”
Gray met with Mayor Clay Koplin, leaders of Native Village of Eyak and leaders of the Cordova District Fishermen United. Discussions touched on the effects of recent Navy exercises in the Gulf of Alaska and on Cordova’s relationship with the fishing industry.
“It really is an honor to serve in the military and serve great folks like you,” Gray said at the band’s Sept. 13 performance at the Cordova Center. “And thanks to Cordova and Alaska for your support of our armed forces.”
Navy Band members also performed to more than 200 students at Cordova Jr./Sr. High School and the Mt. Eccles Elementary School, and participated in clinics with music students.
AECE is one in a series of 2019 U.S. Indo-Pacific Command exercises preparing joint forces to respond to crises in the Indo-Pacific region. AECE will test joint expeditionary force logistical transfer capabilities in the Arctic environment, including wet logistics over the shore, expeditionary mine countermeasures, and mobile diving and salvage.
“This exercise provides training to ensure our forces are interoperable and deployable on short notice,” Gray said. “AECE will continue to improve our ability to plan, communicate and conduct complex amphibious and expeditionary combat support operations globally. These are some of the same skills that would be critical to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.”
The U.S. Pacific Fleet Band “Harbor Brass” quintet joined Gray while in Cordova to perform for the community. Navy Band members performed to more than 200 students at the Cordova Jr./Sr. High School and the Mt. Eccles Elementary School, and participated in clinics with music students.
