Vice Admiral Keith Blount, Commander of NATO Allied Maritime Command, along with members of his staff, visited Romania in late July to meet with government officials and military leaders. Admiral Blount addressed an audience of more than one hundred officers at the Romanian National Defence University on how the deterrence and defence of the Black Sea fits into NATO’s wider thinking on the protection of the Euro-Atlantic area As part of NATO’s efforts, the Royal Canadian Navy has routinely conducted operations and participated in exercises in the Black Sea region in recent years. The latest, Exercise Sea Breeze 21 in Ukraine, involved RCN clearance divers from both coasts and members of the Naval Tactical Operations Group (NTOG) working alongside partners from more than 30 nationals, including Romania.
