Quick Links:   Units and Commands uUSS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) uUSS Mitscher (DDG 57) uUSS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) uChilean frigate Almirante Latorre (FFG 14) uU.S. Naval Forces South Exercise/Ops during POA uFuerzas Aliadas PANAMAX uUNITAS Pacific uUNITAS Atlantic     Notes: Supporting U.S. Southern Command objectives for enhanced maritime security in its area of focus, POA 2007 provided the opportunity for U.S. and other forces to operate in the multi-national environment, refine coordination, and improve interoperability.   POA 2007 was a U.S. Southern Command-directed operation implemented by U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and carried out by Commander, Destroyer Squadron FOUR ZERO.  It involved deployment of Destroyer Squadron FOUR ZERO and the Pearl Harbor Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG), consisting of USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52), USS Mitscher (DDG 57), USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58), along with the Chilean Navy frigate Almirante Latorre (FFG 14).

Key Points: uPOA 2007 training and bilateral exchanges address key aspects of multinational and combined operations, such as technology standardization and common operating procedures, that are vital to improving interoperability throughout the region.   uPOA 2007 enhances regional maritime security by improving maritime domain awareness, which will counter a variety of unconventional threats.   uPOA 2007 provides the opportunity for training that develops and tests participating navies’ capabilities to respond to a wide variety of maritime missions while keeping open vital lines of communication between regional services.

Assigned units focused on operating in the multi-national environment, preparing to deal with unconventional threats such as narco-terrorism and illicit trafficking, and improving training levels in a variety of mission areas.   Participating ships also made a variety of port visits designed to promote goodwill and friendship with nations in the region.   The deployment had three phases: ·          Phase 1 consisted of the participation in the Atlantic and Pacific phases of exercise UNITAS, and the Chilean exercise Teamwork South.  Both series of exercises were designed to train participating navies in a variety of maritime scenarios, with each operating as a component of a multinational force to provide the maximum opportunity to improve interoperability.    ·          Phase 2 involved a variety of Theater Security Cooperation (TSC) events in the Caribbean and Central America. TSC encompasses military-to-military cooperation, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, combined training, exercises and operations, intelligence sharing and maritime security assistance within the region to achieve common goals.    ·          Phase 3 concluded the deployment with participation in FA PANAMAX 2007, which is an annual exercise designed to assist the government of Panama in protecting the sovereignty and security of the Panama Canal.   History: This was the second POA deployment.  In 2006, the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) led more than a month of POA events.