PACIFIC OCEAN -- About 3,000 U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel are participating in Arctic Expeditionary Capabilities Exercise (AECE) 2019 in the Aleutian Islands, South Central Alaska and Southern California Sept. 1-28.

AECE is one in a series of 2019 U.S. Indo-Pacific Command exercises to prepare joint forces to respond to crises in the Indo-Pacific. AECE will specifically test the ability of joint expeditionary forces to conduct logistical transfer in the Arctic environment, including wet logistics over the shore, expeditionary mine countermeasures, mobile diving and salvage and an offshore petroleum discharge system. Navy and Marine Corps participants will conduct operational and tactical actions to validate the Littoral Operations in a Contested Environment (LOCE) and the Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) concepts.

Major participating units include U.S. Pacific Fleet, Marine Corps Forces Pacific, U.S. 3rd Fleet, Expeditionary Strike Group Three (ESG-3), and I Marine Expeditionary Force. Afloat units include USS Somerset (LPD 25) and USS Comstock (LSD 45). Ashore units include Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group One, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Expeditionary Support Unit One, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit One, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Three, and Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One.

U.S. 3rd Fleet leads naval forces in the Indo-Pacific and provides the realistic, relevant training necessary for an effective global Navy. U.S. 3rd Fleet works constantly with U.S. 7th Fleet to complement one another and provide commanders capable, ready assets across the spectrum of military operations in the Pacific.