Gunston Corridor is likely one of the 50 NATO naval belongings, 80 air platforms, 1,100 fight autos and 90,000 forces that participated in Steadfast Defender 2024. This yr marks the seventy fifth anniversary of the NATO Alliance, and this train being the biggest NATO train in many years, showcased the alliance’s sheer energy and dominance.

Steadfast Defender 2024 demonstrated NATO’s capacity to deploy forces quickly from North America and different components of the Alliance to strengthen the protection of Europe. The train additionally confirmed that NATO can conduct and maintain complicated multi-domain operations over a number of months in any situations, throughout hundreds of kilometers, from the Excessive North to Central and Jap Europe.

“Our participation in Steadfast Defender demonstrated our Navy’s capacity to work alongside and defend our allies,” stated Cmdr. Christopher W. Van Loenen, commanding officer, USS Gunston Corridor. “The Gunston Corridor crew pushed the ship to her full capabilities as a way to obtain the train goals, and we did simply that. I couldn’t be extra happy with what we completed collectively.”

Gunston Corridor departed Virginia late January this yr. She sailed straight to Portsmouth, United Kingdom to embark a part of the touchdown pressure, a platoon of French marines and 6 fight inflexible raiding craft. As soon as embarked, Gunston Corridor and her troops completed a number of amphibious coaching workouts within the English Channel to construct proficiency and familiarity earlier than the extra difficult subsequent section. Subsequently, Gunston Corridor sailed instantly north into the cruel local weather of the Arctic Circle to work alongside Italian Touchdown Assault Helicopter Ship Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian amphibious transport dock San Giorgio, and French Navy Aquitaine-class frigate Normandie.

As soon as moored in Harstad, Norway, Gunston Corridor embarked Swedish and Finnish marines together with two CB-90 quick assault crafts to finish the touchdown pressure. For the next two weeks, she operated within the Excessive North finishing up 5 amphibious workouts and 19 properly deck operations.

The U.S. Navy continues to construct integration and relationships with its Allies and companions by collaborating in workouts like Steadfast Defender as a way to protect a free and affluent maritime area.

U.S. 2nd Fleet, reestablished in 2018 in response to the altering world safety setting, develops and employs maritime forces able to battle throughout a number of domains within the Atlantic and Arctic to make sure entry, deter aggression, and defend U.S., allied, and accomplice pursuits.

U.S. Navy images and b-roll can be found on DVIDS. For extra data, contact c2f_pao@us.navy.mil.