Task Force To Tackle Piracy

The Navy took steps to fight piracy in Middle Eastern and Asian waters, forming Combined Task Force (CTF) 151. The new unit will work in conjunction with the 20-nation Combined Maritime Forces, to maintain a deterrent presence in Middle Eastern and Asian shipping lanes and waterways. Before creation of the new task force, the Navy charged CTF-150 with the same mission. But CTF-150, established at the onset of the war on terror, also had to continue the work it was charged to do – patrol the gulfs of Aden and Oman, the Red and Arabian seas, and the Indian Ocean. With the establishment of CTF-151, CTF-150 can again focus on its original mission, the Navy says.