The Minister of Defence of Finland, Antti Häkkänen, visited the headquarters of Commander, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15 and USS Benfold (DDG 65) September 13, 2024.

“We welcome the visit from Finland’s Minister of Defence and his supporting team,” said Capt. Justin Harts, Commander, Destroyer Squadron 15. “We hope to continue goodwill visits such as these from our partners and allies across the globe in to enhance surface operations in the Indo-Pacific region.”

During the visit, Häkkänen toured the DESRON 15 command cave and met with staff members. After the visit to the cave, Häkkänen transitioned to the waterfront and visited USS Benfold (DDG 65) to meet with the captain and crew.

Häkkänen is Finland’s 59th Minister of Defence. He has served as Minister of Defence in Petteri Orpo’s Government since 20 June 2023.

DESRON 15 is the Navy’s largest forward-deployed destroyer squadron and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force. It is forward deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific.