NORFOLK, Va. - U.S. Fleet Forces Command and NATO leaders hosted twenty journalists from the U.S. Department of State Foreign Press Center for two days of media engagements and unit visits Nov. 29-30, 2023.
Journalists gained crucial insights into how the Navy engages globally alongside its allies and partners to defend freedom, preserve economic prosperity, and keep the seas open and free.
“We can't do this alone,” said Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, during a sit down with the group. “There are things going on in the Black Sea, in the Baltic Sea, in the high North, in the Atlantic, and around Africa, and of course in the Persian Gulf, and that's just the areas that I help supply forces to. We need great powers and have great partners in those bodies of water. They work day in and day out with us to add mass lethality capacity to send a message that we are a strong NATO alliance.”
At a separate event, Vice Adm. Daniel Dwyer, commander of Joint Force Command Norfolk and U.S. 2nd Fleet discussed maritime operations in the Arctic region and the importance of a strong NATO alliance. Dwyer was flanked by leaders from the Royal Canadian Navy, Spanish Navy, Norwegian Navy, and French Navy who serve at U.S. 2nd Fleet and Joint Force Command Norfolk respectively.
“Every time that we work and sail alongside our NATO Allies makes our alliance so much better,” said Dwyer. “Each person sitting up here with me brings a diverse opinion in thought about employing naval forces and helps elevate the conversation and our thinking within this headquarters,” he said. We focus on how we can better defend the trans-Atlantic link from the threats that emanate from the Arctic and from a 360-degree collective defense approach.”
The experience for the members of the foreign press corps provided a rare opportunity to engage directly with U.S. Navy leaders and see first-hand the capabilities of several ships and other platforms.
“We've been shown so much, from being able to go on board the George Washington and visiting a submarine simulator, for example, but also having the opportunity to speak with top officials who could go on the record with analysis about hot topics for my coverage, such as the enlargement of NATO in the Arctic area,” said Ingeborg Huse Amundsen, the U.S. correspondent for Verdens Gang, the largest newspaper in Norway.
The group visited NATO Allied Command Transformation, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Joint Force Command Norfolk, U.S. 2nd Fleet, Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre of Excellence, Submarine Learning Facility Norfolk, Naval Station Norfolk, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG 72), and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 2.
The journalists represented print and broadcast outlets in Austria, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United Arab Emirates.
The Foreign Press Centers support the Department of State’s mission by deepening global understanding of U.S. policy, society, culture, and values through engagement with foreign media. The United States Department of State has Foreign Press Centers in Washington, D.C., and in New York, New York. They promote the depth, accuracy, and balance of foreign reporting from the U.S. by providing direct access to authoritative American information sources.