Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Seth F. French-Dubois, son of Therese Landean of Auburn, and his fellow shipmates completed exercise Malabar 2005 during a scheduled deployment while assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins homeported in San Diego.

The purpose of the exercise was to increase interoperability between the U.S. and Indian navies and enhance the cooperative security relationship between the two countries.

The U.S. and Indian navies used the CENTRIX system to bridge the gap of communications during Malabar 2005. CENTRIX is a standardized system used for secure communication between ships of coalition countries.

The primary mission of French-Dubois’ ship is to provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. USS Higgins is capable of operating independently or as part of a strike group.

French-Dubois joined the Navy in October 2001.