“Floating Pentagon” Visits Stockholm.My summerghost.USS Mount Whitney has a crew of around 300 and can carry food for 90 days.

Source:”Flytande Pentagon” på besök i Stockholm | Mitt i

After participating in the military exercise Baltops, the American command ship USS Mount Whitney has docked in Frihamnen. This evening, over 300 defense chiefs, diplomats and politicians will come to the “Floating Pentagon”.

Apart from a group of tourists waiting for the shuttle boat to Ropsten, Frihamnen is empty. When the shuttle boat pulls into the quay, it looks minimal next to the 189-meter-long ship, which is visiting Stockholm.

The American command ship USS Mount Whitney arrived at Frihamnen on Monday after participating in the annual NATO military exercise Baltops, Baltic Operations, in the Baltic Sea, something that several media outlets have reported on.

For a month, 16 nations and over 30 ships have been involved in the exercise.

– It is a regular exercise that aims to make us even better and stronger in the alliance, says Jimmie Adamsson, a lieutenant in the Swedish Navy.

The exercises are planned several years in advance and serve several purposes. Partly deterrent, partly preparatory.

Jimmie Adamsson is a lieutenant in the Swedish Navy. Armed Forces
– The importance of this type of exercise has unfortunately increased.

300 guests
On Thursday, a dinner will be organized on board to “break bread and have a few drinks together,” says Captain Colin Price to Svenska Dagbladet. The guest list includes over 300 defense chiefs, diplomats and politicians.

The importance of this type of exercise has unfortunately increased.

– We deal a lot with diplomacy and “soft power”, rather than “hard power”. We are a floating Pentagon. That is a bit of our slogan, says the ship’s information director Jonathan DeSimone to the newspaper.

The USS Mount Whitney is the lead ship of the US Sixth Fleet, part of the country’s naval forces in Europe, with headquarters in Naples. The ship has now docked in Stockholm to let the crew rest and replenish fuel and supplies.

The American ship has been participating in a military exercise in the Baltic Sea for a month. Angie Gray

– It is a normal routine visit. It is not particularly unusual for her to be here, when she is in the Baltic Sea she usually stops by, says Jimmie Adamsson.

Jimmie Adamsson cannot say exactly how long the ship will be in Stockholm.

– They will stay for a few days.

Following the activities
Colin Price told SVT that the USS Mount Whitney was the subject of several overflights by Russian air forces during Baltops. This is not something Jimmie Adamsson can comment on.

– But of course Russia is following the activities in the Baltic Sea, just as we are following their activities, he says.

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