Practice makes a system legible
A mine-warfare exercise is not just a rehearsal of movement. It is a way to test how ships, crews and commands share information while equipment is handled in a constrained environment.
Avoid the generic exercise story
A mention of an exercise does not prove a ship performed every role within it. The useful history names the event only at the level supported by the source and leaves the operational detail for a record that can carry it.
Look for repeated language
Exercise names, divisions and commands provide search vocabulary for later research. They connect a short ship summary to reports, logs and photographs that may sit in different repositories.
Source note. This page separates documented history, archival observation and editorial explanation. Where a source does not establish a detail, the detail is left open.