US Admiral to visit Sri Lanka, to discuss rising security challenges
COLOMBO – A top US Navy Commander will arrive in Sri Lanka on Thursday (10) to discuss rising security challenges in the Indian Ocean region and strengthen bilateral defence cooperation between the two nations.
The US Embassy in Sri Lanka announced the visit of Admiral Steve Koehler, a 4-star US Navy Admiral and Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, on Wednesday (9), stating this is the highest-level US military visit to the country since 2021.
The embassy said the Admiral, while reaffirming the strong partnership between the United States and Sri Lanka for an enduring, resilient, free, and open Indo-Pacific, will engage with senior Sri Lankan officials to discuss rising security challenges in the Indian Ocean region, strengthen collaboration on maritime domain awareness and disaster response, reaffirm US commitment to supporting Sri Lanka in combating transnational threats, and discuss the growing cooperation between US and Sri Lankan forces.
It also noted that the visit underscores the United States’ strong commitment to strengthening security ties with Sri Lanka, a key partner in promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Admiral Koehler, who grew up in a Navy Family, is a 1986 graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder with a Bachelor of Science in Physics. Commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC), he was designated a naval aviator in March 1989 and has flown over 3,900 hours in the F-14 Tomcat and F-18 Super Hornet with 600 carrier landings.
Koehler holds a master’s degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College and is a graduate of the Joint Staff College and the Navy Nuclear Power Program.
At sea, he served with Fighter Squadron (VF) 211, VF-41; was an executive officer aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), and commanded Fighter Squadron (VFA) 143; USS Bataan (LHD 5); USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69); and Carrier Strike Group Nine. During these operational tours, he supported Operations Desert Storm, Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, Inherent Resolve, Freedom’s Sentinel, Deliberate Guard, and Unified Protector in support of operations in the Middle East, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Libya, Operation Unified Response providing emergency disaster relief to Haiti, and peer competition operations in the East and South China Seas.
Ashore, Koehler has served as an instructor pilot with VF-101, placement officer at the Bureau of Naval Personnel, and chief of staff at Joint Task Force Horn of Africa in Djibouti. As a flag officer, he served as director of Fleet Training at US Fleet Forces Command; director for Operations (J3), US Indo-Pacific Command; deputy commander, US Pacific Fleet; commander, US 3rd Fleet, and director for Strategy, Plans and Policy, J5, Joint Staff. He assumed command of US Pacific Fleet on April 4, 2024.
-ENCL
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