Month: April 2022

Source: United States Navy

Wilson’s visit covered extensive portions of the Southeast, including visits to Pensacola, Fla., Jacksonville, Fla., Mayport, Fla., Kings Bay, Ga., Gulfport, Miss., Meridian, Miss., New Orleans, La., and Corpus Christi, Tex.
 
Joining him at various locations was Master Chief Legalman Brook Larkins, senior enlisted advisor to Judge Advocate General of the Navy and senior enlisted leader of NLSC.
 
The two guests hosted a series of roundtables with RLSO SE, VLC, and DSO SE personnel, as they met with staff judge advocates, trial counsel, defense counsel, legal assistance attorneys, civilian employees, and VLCs from across the region.
 
On March 4, Wilson addressed the commands in a massive all-hands facilitated through video conferencing.  Among his call outs were three hand-selected RLSO SE assets:  Lt. Morgan McGill, the NLSC Command Services Attorney of the Year; Lt. Marcus Leach, the NLSC Recruiter of the Year; and Legalman 1^st Class Dameon Smith, a finalist for NLSC Service Member of the Year.
 
Wilson addressed the NLSC priorities of fleet readiness and Sailor readiness, and the importance of the legal services in supporting these priorities.  He concluded by addressing questions from all in attendance, and provided insight on the changes anticipated in the wake of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, to include the establishment of a novel Office of Special Trial Counsel falling under NLSC.
 
As the commander of NLSC, Wilson leads attorneys, Legalmen, and civilian employees of 13 separate commands that provide prosecution and defense services, legal services, specialized legal training, and legal support to U.S. Navy units across the globe.  RLSO SE, as one of the eight Region Legal Service Offices of NLSC, covers the largest region of responsibility.

Source: United States Navy

“My crew is proud to join the submarine force team in Guam,” said Cmdr. James Tuthill, Annapolis’s commanding officer. “It’s an excellent place to live, with a strong sense of community and a clear mission. We worked hard to get the ship through a shipyard period ahead of schedule, and we’re ready to assume our place on the front line.”

The security environment in the Indo-Pacific requires that the U.S. Navy station the most capable ships forward. This posture allows rapid responses for maritime and joint forces, and brings our most capable ships and submarines with the greatest amount of striking power and operational capability to bear in the timeliest manner.

“I would like to personally extend a warm Hafa Adai to the Sailors and families of our fifth homeported submarine on Guam, USS Annapolis,” said Commander Joint Region Marianas Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson. “Guam and the Mariana Islands are incredibly important to the overall defense of the region, and this additional capability further underscores our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

In accordance with the strategic laydown plan of 2021, Annapolis makes the fifth Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine to be homeported in Guam alongside USS Asheville (SSN 722), USS Key West (SSN 758), USS Jefferson City (SSN 759), and USS Springfield (SSN 761). USS Springfield arrived in Guam one week before USS Annapolis on March 21.

“As part of the U.S. Navy’s plan to put the most advanced and capable units forward, USS Annapolis completed a homeport shift from San Diego, California to Guam in order to support Indo-Pacific initiatives and missions,” said Capt. Bret Grabbe, commodore, Submarine Squadron 15.

The submarine’s ability to support a multitude of missions, to include anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, surveillance and reconnaissance, and strike warfare, makes Springfield one of the most capable submarines in the world.

“My Sailors keep close tabs on world events, especially those in the Indo-Pacific region” said Tuthill. “We’re ready to get to work.”

Commissioned April 11, 1992, Annapolis is the fourth ship of the United States Navy named for the city of Annapolis, Maryland. Annapolis has a crew of approximately 16 officers and 127 enlisted Sailors.
Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarines make up the majority of the submarine force, with nearly 40 still in commission. Annapolis returned from its last deployment, April 2021, where they conducted operations vital to national security in the Western Pacific.

Annapolis is assigned to Commander, Submarine Squadron 15 (CSS-15), which is located at Polaris Point, Naval Base Guam. The squadron staff is responsible for providing training, material and personnel readiness support to these commands. Also based out of Naval Base Guam are submarine tenders USS Frank Cable (AS 40) and USS Emory S. Land (AS 39). The submarines and tenders are maintained as part of the U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed submarine force and are readily capable of meeting global operational requirements.

Source: United States Navy

Balikatan featured field and maritime training events including an amphibious exercise, maritime security training, military operations in an urban terrain training, an air defense exercise, and an airfield seizure exercise. The field and maritime events were designed to develop capabilities pertaining to maritime security, amphibious operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and counterterrorism.

Translated, “Balikatan” is a Tagalog phrase that means “shoulder-to-shoulder” or “sharing the load together,” which characterizes the spirit of the exercise and represents the partnership between the United States and the Philippines, as well as both nations’ commitment to the Mutual Defense Treaty.

“Conducting exercises at sea with our allies ensures that we are prepared in any situation to seamlessly come together,” said Cmdr. Keith Tate, Ashland’s commanding officer. “We are grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside Philippine Naval professionals.”

Ashland and Miguel Keith supported amphibious operations and landings, rotary wing aircraft operations, and maritime security events, such as visit, board, search and seizure exercises. Additionally, they supported coastal defense operations and formation steaming maneuvers.

“It was an honor to be invited to participate in this exercise and conduct operations with our Philippine Navy counterparts,” said Capt. Patrick Keller, commanding officer Miguel Keith’s Gold Crew. “Throughout the exercise we not only got to work with talented naval allies, we were also able to validate our aviation core capability, embarking and operating U.S. Marine Corps aircraft from the ship.”

Balikatan involved coordination and participation from the Philippine Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, and special operations forces. The exercise will also include participation from the U.S. Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Army, and Special Operations Command. Additionally, the Armed Forces of the Philippines invited observers, as part of the International Observers Program, to promote greater defense cooperation with ASEAN and other key allies and partners.

As treaty allies, U.S.-Philippine military cooperation has served as a cornerstone of stability in the Indo-Pacific region for decades. We have a continuing interest in strengthening our longstanding alliance, reinforcing our maritime security efforts, and addressing the shared extremist threat.

Ashland and Miguel Keith, part of the USS America (LHA 6) Amphibious Ready Group, are operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners, serving as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.