PACIFIC OCEAN - Naval personnel and units from Australia, Japan, and the United States will participate in the tri-lateral Pacific Bond 2013 exercise from June 22-26, 2013.

First held in 2012, Pacific Bond is a multinational naval exercise and is the latest in a continuing series of exercises conducted to advance multinational maritime relationships and mutual security issues. Conducted in the western Pacific Ocean, in the vicinity of the Marianas Island chain, it is designed to advance participating nations' military -to-military coordination and capacity to plan and execute tactical operations in a multinational environment.

The overarching goal of the exercise is to enhance the compatibility of the participating maritime forces in support of our mutual desire to improve maritime security in the global commons.

Scheduled participants from the U.S. Navy include the guided missile destroyers USS Preble (DDG 88) and USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 89); members of the forward deployed Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15; one P-3C aircraft; one submarine; helicopters and personnel from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25 and personnel from Naval Special Warfare Unit (NSWU) 1.