Dolphin 2012 Concludes with Diver Graduation Ceremony 

October 24, 2012

Ambassador Brown at the dive equipment donation ceremony

Ambassador Brown with the the U.S. Navy’s Marine Mammal Program crew

The Dolphin 2012 multinational exercise came to a successful conclusion on Wednesday, October 24.  The exercise concluded with a graduation ceremony of Montenegrin Navy Divers who completed a training program with the U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 1 (EODMU-1). 
U.S. Ambassador to Montenegro Sue K. Brown, Montenegrin Navy Lieutenant Commander Predrag Supic and U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Lieutenant Junior Grade Jeffrey Pitts spoke at the ceremony in front of the Montenegrin Navy School ship Jadran in Tivat, Montenegro.  The graduation ceremony was followed by a dive equipment donation ceremony.  The U.S. Navy donated over $70,000 worth of dive equipment to the Montenegrin Navy to help them with their efforts to establish an effective and sustainable underwater clearance capability.

During the month long Dolphin 2012 exercise program, six bottlenose dolphins from the U.S. Navy’s Marine Mammal Program searched for, detected, and marked the location of possible sea mines or other Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) in the Bay of Kotor.  The dolphins, along with their civilian trainers and members of EODMU-1, will now be transported back to their home base in San Diego, California by U.S. Air Force aircraft, thanks to the 729th Airlift Squadron and 452AMXS, March Air Reserve Base.