By MC2 Tamara Vaughn, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs
Rear Adm. Patrick A. Piercey, U.S. Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) director of maritime operations, right, and Rear Adm. Do Minh Thai, deputy chief of staff of the Vietnam People's Navy, attend bilateral staff talks at PACFLT headquarters. (U.S. Navy/MC2 Tamara Vaughn) >>
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - U.S. Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) senior military leaders hosted bilateral staff talks with officials from Vietnam to exchange ideas on a variety of technical and operational topics at PACFLT headquarters, April 12-14.
The talks, the sixth between the PACFLT staff and their Vietnamese counterparts, focused on strengthening ties between the two nations by agreeing on bilateral and multilateral naval activities that deepen cooperation; exchanging knowledge and developing methodologies ranging from maritime domain awareness, maritime security, and submarine rescue; and learning lessons from past cooperative efforts.
Rear Adm. Patrick A. Piercey, PACFLT’s director of maritime operations, met with Rear Adm. Do Minh Thai, deputy chief of staff of the Vietnam People’s Navy, to discuss planning and joint training concentrated on maximizing future opportunities, including expanding on the scope and complexity of bilateral engagements, and humanitarian and disaster response efforts that will allow countries to rapidly respond in the event of a crisis.
"The bilateral naval talks provided a great opportunity to build and strengthen our existing Navy and Marine Corps relationships with our counterparts from Vietnam," said Piercey. "Our forces are better prepared and more versatile because of our ability to better communicate with our partners and learn from each other and contribute to the norms, rules, standards, and laws that maintain stability in maritime Southeast Asia."
The three-day conference included events such as a tour of the Pacific Aviation Museum and the Battleship Missouri Memorial, demonstrations at Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3, a tour of a P-3C Orion from Patrol Squadron 47, and a visit to the Naval Submarine Training Center Pacific.