USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49) concluded exercise Obangame Express off the coast of Cameroon as part of Africa Partnership Station (APS) West, March 23, 2011.

Robert G. Bradleym, along with ships from Belgium, Cameroon, France, Gabon, Nigeria, and Spain, participated in the exercise which focused on maritime domain awareness with the specific challenges faced by the interoperability of a multinational force to improve its proficiency at sea.

"The professionalism of the Cameroonian Rapid Intervention Battalion and Nigerian boarding teams were impressive," said Commander Darryl Brown, commanding officer of USS Robert G. Bradley. "Obangame Express gave the Cameroonian and Nigerian naval forces a chance to work together. Both sides agreed that this was the first of hopefully many opportunities and they look forward to next year's exercise."

This exercise is designed to support the strengthening of efforts against countering illicit activities in the regions maritime zone.

The pre-sail conference and post-exercise debrief was held at the Cameroon Navy Base in Douala, Cameroon, allowing the navies to express mission successes and also offer suggestions for improvements. This multinational cooperation ensures continued success for interoperability and proficiency of the regional maritime stake holders in the Gulf of Guinea.

"This exercise proved to be a great interaction between multiple naval partners," said Lieutenant junior grade James Carles. "Both the Cameroonian and Nigerian boarding team were very engaged in the event. The Nigerians' procedures throughout the compliant boarding evolution were so effective that our team picked up a couple of tactics that we will add to our boarding operations. However, the Cameroonian special ops team does not usually get the opportunity to conduct a compliant boarding, so this provided a chance to conduct this type of boarding, which will help them expand their maritime capabilities."

Robert G. Bradley, an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, is homeported out of Mayport, Florida, and is on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. Naval Forces Africa area of responsibility.

APS is an international security cooperation initiative, facilitated by Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, aimed at strengthening global maritime partnerships through training and collaborative activities in order to improve maritime safety and security in Africa.