Operations Specialist 2nd Class Matthew Cooper, assigned to the Aegis cruiser USS Vella Gulf, stands aft lookout watch during a high-line transfer with the German Bremen class frigate FGS Lubeck (F 214)

At sea aboard USS Vella Gulf Operations Specialist 2nd Class Matthew Cooper, assigned to the Aegis cruiser USS Vella Gulf, stands aft lookout watch during a high-line transfer with the German Bremen class frigate FGS Lubeck (F 214) during the annual maritime exercise Baltic Operations 2003 (BALTOPS 2003). The United States and 12 other nations are participating in this year's exercise. BALTOPS 2003 is intended to improve interoperability between allies and Partnership for Peace countries by conducting support operations at sea including exercises in gunnery, replenishment at sea, undersea warfare, radar tracking, mine countermeasures, seamanship, search and rescue, maritime interdiction operations, and scenarios dealing with potentially real world crises. U.S. Navy photo by Photographers Mate 2nd Class Michael Sandberg. File# 030608-N-4374S-020