The Indonesian and United States militaries conducted their 30th iteration of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) in May 2024. The weeklong exercise in Lampung, Indonesia, which included training at sea and on shore, was designed to enhance the partner navies’ ability to jointly respond to traditional and nontraditional maritime security challenges.
Personnel rehearsed an amphibious assault that integrated ground forces with sea and air assets, conducted live-fire and demolition training, completed jungle survival courses, and trained for urban operations. Exercises also included combat casualty care and evacuation, maritime search and rescue, and reconnaissance and surveillance.
“We were able to clock several achievements in this training, such as Soldier knowledge, increasing professionalism and building mutual trust between Indonesia and the U.S. Navy and [U.S. Marine Corps],” Indonesian Navy Rear Adm. Yoos Suryono Hadi said, according to Indonesian news agency Antara.
He called the exercise a confidence-building mission.
CARAT incorporated community relations events, with personnel cleaning beaches, providing food to local residents and planting more than 2,000 trees, Antara reported.
Experts exchanged knowledge on legal, health, communications, reconnaissance and aviation skills, along with maritime domain awareness, diving and underwater construction. CARAT exercises included practical applications for the information exchanges and participants shared best practices. The combined coordination center included joint staffs from Indonesia and the U.S.
“Our Indonesian partners welcomed us and together we continued to build upon the foundation established 30 years ago at the first CARAT Indonesia exercise,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Tate Robinson. “The Sailors and Marines from both countries shared skills and tactics that will continue to service the militaries of both nations for the next three decades and beyond. And should we have to put these skills to the test, we will be ready. The CARAT exercises are one way we demonstrate our commitment to Allies and Partners and to maintaining a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”
CARAT Indonesia’s latest iteration coincides with 75 years of diplomatic relations between Jakarta and Washington. The security relationship has deepened in recent decades, according to the U.S. State Department, with dozens of annual engagements and increased collaboration in border security, counter proliferation, cybersecurity, counterterrorism, maritime security, peacekeeping operations, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
“We have learned that a language barrier is not as strong as the bond [among] those who serve in the field or on a ship,” said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Sean Dynan, commanding officer of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. “We’ve learned that we have different capabilities, but we are both equally capable.”
The U.S. CARAT series comprises exercises with navies throughout the Indo-Pacific, including Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
