U.S. Navy Ship Arrives in Tunis for Training Exercises -

A U.S. navy ship arrived on Sunday, February 9, at Port La Goulette in Tunis as part of efforts intended to strengthen military cooperation between Tunisia and the United States.
The staff aboard U.S.S. Elrod, a guided missile frigate, will conduct joint training operations with the Tunisian Navy in maritime safety and security in the Mediterranean Sea.
The U.S. will conduct maritime operations with “several African nations” on different facets of naval operation, including “damage control, visits and ship boardings, medical drills, and maneuvering exercises,” according to the official U.S. Navy website.
“Tunisia is the second stop for the U.S.S. Elrod after a Morocco port visit,” said U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia Jacob Walles in an interview with the Hannibal television aboard the U.S.S. Elrod. “The ship is here to strengthen military cooperation between the United States and Tunisia.”
“We are here in Tunisia to promote partnership and training with the Tunisian Navy,” added U.S. Commander Brad Stallings. “We can learn from one another.”
Tunisian Minister of Defense Ghazi Jeribi told Hannibal that the trainings were “at the invitation of the American Navy,” adding that Tunisia’s goal is “to strengthen cooperation with our friends for the best interest of our nation.”
Jeribi said the two navies will begin exercises Tuesday in tactics to prevent smuggling and interdict shipments of weapons and drugs.
Stallings added that one of the trainings will be on boarding ships to verify “that the ships have proper paperwork in order and that there are no terrorists on board.”
The U.S.S. Elrod deployed from the U.S. on January 14 for a six-month tour with around 230 sailors and civilians aboard.