USS Rentz seizes $78 million in cocaine

The USS Rentz (FFG-46) is an Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate based at Naval Base San Diego.

One of only 13 vessels in her class still in commission (out of 71 built!), the Retnz is scheduled to decommission in 2014.

Frigate Rentz seizes $78M in cocaine

The Rentz is one of only five frigates that are still stationed in San Diego. navy.mil

A San Diego-based warship has seized cocaine worth about $78 million — just one week into its latest drug-busting operation.

The frigate Rentz deployed from Naval Base San Diego on July 25 for the seven-month campaign called Operation Martillo (Spanish for “hammer”).

The frigate’s crew wasted no time in starting their latest mission in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean.

Less than a week on station in the 4th Fleet area of responsibility, servicemen seized 2,123 pounds of cocaine from a fishing vessel north of the Galapagos Islands.

“We are very fortunate to have the Rentz and embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment on patrol conducting counter transnational organized crime operations,” said Rear Adm. Sinclair M. Harris, commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/4th Fleet.

“This major seizure in the first week the ship is on station is a clear indicator that illicit activities are taking place and must be addressed to counter their destabilizing affects in the region and in our nation.”

Operation Martillo targets illicit trafficking routes in coastal waters along the Central American isthmus, and is an international, interagency operation led by Joint Interagency Task Force-South, a component of U.S. Southern Command.

During last week’s operation, the Rentz worked closely with a Navy P-3 Orion long-range patrol aircraft to detect and intercept the fishing vessel suspected of smuggling narcotics in international waters.

The U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment team aboard the frigate discovered and confiscated the cache of cocaine shortly after boarding the vessel.

Since Operation Martillo started in January 2012, 318,133 pounds of cocaine and 25,052 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $40 billion have been confiscated.

As well as targeting drug runners in the waterways, the Rentz will also take part in the annual multinational UNITAS maritime exercise next month.

This exercise will be conducted in the Southern Caribbean Sea off the coast of Colombia with naval forces from Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, the United Kingdom and Canada.

The Rentz is an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/aug/16/rentz-cocaine-interdiction/

PANAMAX 2013 multinational exercise begins

France? Where does France fit into the Monroe Doctrine? An exception made for le centre spatial guyanais, no doubt.

Britain (cricketers from Guyana notwithstanding) was apparently not invited. Argentine shirtiness, no doubt.

US, Partner Nations Kick Off PANAMAX 2013

US, Partner Nations Kick Off PANAMAX 2013

Approximately 160 military personnel, including Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet, Rear Adm. Sinclair Harris, and personnel from 19 nations arrived at U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) headquarters Aug. 12 to begin exercise PANAMAX 2013.

U.S. and partner nations train in the execution of stability operations under the support of United Nations Security Council Resolutions; provide interoperability training for the participating multinational staffs; and build participating nation capability to plan and execute complex multinational operations.

This year’s annual PANAMAX exercise develops and sustains relationships that improve the capacity of the nation’s emerging and enduring partners’ security forces to achieve common desired goals, while fostering friendly cooperation and understanding among participating forces.

During the exercise, Harris will act as the commander of Multinational Forces South.

”The governments of the countries participating in PANAMAX share common interests and this exercise enhances those links by fostering friendly, mutual cooperation and understanding between participating militaries,” Harris said. “This multinational exercise also contributes to interoperability, and builds the capabilities of the participating nations to plan and execute complex multinational operations.”

PANAMAX 2013 is a U.S.-sponsored, multinational annual exercise that, this year, includes participants from Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and the United States.

The exercise will conclude Aug. 16.

http://navaltoday.com/2013/08/13/us-partner-nations-kick-off-panamax-2013/