The Navy destroyer USS Porter entered the Black Sea Thursday to conduct routine maritime security operations with NATO allies and partners in the region.

According to NATO, the vessel, which left its home port in Rota, Spain, earlier this month, is the third U.S. ship to enter the Black Sea in recent days.

Guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook and replenishment oiler USNS Laramie arrived Sunday.

"The Black Sea is of strategic importance to NATO. Three Allies -- Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey -- are littoral states, while Georgia and Ukraine are close partners," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said.

"In response to Russia's illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and its ongoing military build-up in the Black Sea, the Alliance has increased its defensive presence in the region and remains strongly committed to Black Sea security," Lungescu said.

The U.S. Navy and other NATO navies typically patrol waters in the Black Sea about two-thirds of the year, according to NATO.

The Donald Cook entered the Black Sea for warship exercises in November and returned in December.

NATO also announced Thursday that the Spanish Air Force has deployed six fighter aircraft to Romania for air policing.

The Spanish aircraft are stationed at Kogalniceanu airbase on Romania's Black Sea coast and will fly alongside the Romanian Air Force.

USS Forrest Sherman commander fired over plans for AK-47 trophy, lawyer says
Washington DC (UPI) Jan 28, 2021 - The commander of the destroyer USS Forrest Sherman was relieved of duty this week, according to both the Navy and the officer's attorney.

A Navy press release said Cmdr. Frank Azzarello was relieved of duty Wednesday "due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command."

Tim Parlatore, Azzarello's attorney, told USNI News that the Navy had opened an investigation into the commander's plan to turn an AK-47 seized in a Middle East weapons raid into a plaque commemorating the seizure.

U.S. Second Fleet spokeswoman Cmdr. Ashley Hockycko said Azzarello is under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service but did not elaborate.

"He was trying to create something nice and good for the crew -- a morale booster for the men and women on the ship to commemorate their good work," Parlatore told Business Insider.

"It's not like he stole an enemy weapon to put into his personal collection or something," said Parlatore, who attended Surface Warfare Officer School with Azzarello.

U.S. law and military regulations outline specific guidelines for dealing with seized weapons. It's not necessarily illegal to claim a seized weapon as a trophy, but the guidelines must be followed.

According to Parlatore, warship commanders rarely encounter such situations and Azzarello didn't have training on the protocols.

Parlatore argues his client should have been asked to redo the procedure for converting the assault rifle into a trophy rather than relieved of duty.

"To me, I think that this is going to be more damaging to recruiting and retention," Parlatore said. "What [Azzarello] did here is the kind of thing that, if he was my captain, I would have thought, 'What a great thing.'"

Neither Parlatore nor Hockycko could say whether Azzarello will receive further punishment for the plaque.

Azzarello had served as the vessel's commanding officer since September 2019 and was days away from a change-of-command ceremony.

Cmdr. Greg Page, assigned to Afloat Training Group Atlantic, will assume Azzarello's duties as commanding officer.

The Forrest Sherman was one of two ships celebrated for 2019 and 2020 arms seizures, which included the seizure of a new type of Iranian missile.

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