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- [Narrator] US Marines were boots on the ground

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in Sri Lanka during the first ever

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Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training,

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or CARAT Exercise, on the island nation in October.

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- They have experience in war over the last few decades,

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but you never know the next threat that's gonna pop up.

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So, they're pulling a broad spectrum

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of training skills from us.

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- [Narrator] This was the 23rd Annual CARAT Exercise,

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but it was the first time working with

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Sri Lankan Maritime forces.

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The marines are from the

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Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team, or FAST,

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based in the Pacific, in Yokosuka, Japan.

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And they are some of the first marines ever

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to conduct partnered training in Sri Lanka

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since forces there have been fighting a decades-long

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insurgency and civil war that ended in 2009.

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The Sri Lankan Navy recently stood up its first ever

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Batallion of Marines, and its relying on this type of

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partnered training to develop its capacity

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with ship-board searches and clearing buildings.

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But, it's the one-on-one social and cultural exchanges

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that troops will remember most.

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- The human element of this exercise is,

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I think, what my Marines will take away most from it.

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- [Narrator] In addition to the military training,

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they've learned more about each other's food.

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Sri Lankan Marines learned how to prepare an American MRE.

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And US Marines enjoyed the Sri Lankan hospitality

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with delicious local food and the custom

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of drinking hot tea during a field exercise.

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This exercise involved several other units,

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Navy Seabees, EOD, and divers from various locations,

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but under the command and control of Commander Task Force 75

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based at Naval Base Guam.

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Reporting for Defense Media Activity, I'm Amy Forsythe.