USA in Bahrain Bahrainthismonth.com 8 July 2024 Vice Admiral George M. Wikoff serves as the commander of the United States Naval Forces Central Command, United States Fifth Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces. In an exclusive interview with Bahrain This Month as part of its USA in Bahrain supplement, Vice Adm. Wikoff shared his insights on the current strategic profile of the US Navy in the region, the challenges faced in maintaining maritime security and the crucial collaborations with Bahrain and other international navies. What are the current strategic profiles for the US Naval Forces Central Command? I fall under Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti for my role as 5th Fleet commander. Her priorities, which are to preserve peace, respond to crises and win decisively in combat, align with our global priorities. We execute through three lines of effort: warfighters (the people), warfighting (how we do our mission) and our foundation (facilities and support mechanisms). In my NAVCENT role under General Erik Kurilla, the CENTCOM commander, my task is to preserve maritime security through operations, training and partnerships. We focus on maintaining maritime regional security and contributing meaningfully to it. How do you assess the current maritime security environment? It is challenged and threatened. In the Arabian Gulf, we face threats to shipping and ship seizures in the Straits of Hormuz, such as the recent seizure of the motor vessel Aries in international waters. In the Indian Ocean and Northern Arabian Sea, piracy has increased but not to the levels seen in 2010-2012. Maritime terrorism is a concern in the Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden too, as seen with the recent attack on the Motor Vessel Tutor. A MASTER OF MARITIME SECURITY
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