220804-O-NR876-296

Tentera Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Laut (TNI-AL) sailors assigned to the Bung Tomo-class corvette KRI Bung Tomo (357) participate in a visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) exercise aboard the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Charleston (LCS 18) during Super Garuda Shield in the Natuna Sea Aug. 4, 2022. Charleston, part of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7, is on a rotational deployment, operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Garuda Shield is an annual combined and joint exercise between the Indonesian National Armed Forces and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) designed to strengthen bilateral interoperability, capabilities, trust, and cooperation built over decades of shared experiences.