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Turkish Navy takes command of Somalia anti-piracy force from US
ISTANBUL - The Turkish Navy on Sunday took over the command of the international counter-piracy naval force CTF 151 from the U.S. Navy.Turkish Rear Adm. Caner Bener relieved Rear Adm. Michelle Howard as commander of the Combined Task Force - 151, in a ceremony held aboard Naval Support Activity Bahrain. Turkey is the second nation to command the CTF-151 established in January 2009 to fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean after a wave of hijackings off the coast of Somalia. In February, Turkish frigate TGC Giresun, with 263 men on board, had set sail to join CTF 151. CTF 151 is one of four international naval forces operating in the region. The others are the European Union's "EUNAVFOR Atlanta", NATO's Standing Naval Maritime Group One and French-commanded Combined Task Force 150. Its remit was to lead operations conducted by any states that might choose to put themselves under U.S. command, rather than work with NATO or the European Union. Posted by: anonymous5089 2009-05-06 |
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