US COAST GUARD CARAT training

CHINA SEA - ET2 Chris Prior assists with navigation on the bridge of the Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau in the China Sea on July 6, 2008. While departing the Singapore Strait the crew encountered hundreds of vessels in every direction. Morgenthau, homeport Alameda, Calif., is participating in an annual mission with the Navy, conducting the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise. CARAT is an annual bilateral series of training exercises between the United States and six Southeast Asian countries. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Eric J. Chandler)