

The USS Ramage is among the NATO vessels that took part in last week's minesweeping exercises in the Mediterranean Sea. The guided missile destroyer USS Ramage in the Mediterranean Sea during exercises on April 10, 2014.

"Exercise role players placed a simulated minefield across a narrow maritime chokepoint-a navigationally constrained passage of water that naturally channels merchant shipping traffic as the shortest route between key destinations," the NATO Allied Maritime Command statement said.

Those involved were the Turkish TCG Erdek and TCG Gokceada Italian ITS Stromboli, ITS Viareggio, and ITS Carabiniere the British HMS Duncan and the American USS Ramage. The vessels were operating as part of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) and Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2). In the exercise, the minehunters identified and cleared a path through the mines, while the other ships defended against simulated air, missile and surface attacks. and the U.S.-were involved in the drills, including frigates, destroyers and minehunters. NATO Allied Maritime Command said on Sunday that seven warships from four NATO nations-Italy, Turkey, the U.K. NATO warships in the Mediterranean have completed drills focused on navigating "challenging" simulated minefields, as the West presses Russia to end its renewed-but porous-blockade of the Black Sea.
