Month: June 2022

Source: United States Navy

Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southeast hosted a “Bring Your Kids to Work Day” event at its headquarters, June 3, onboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville.

The event encourages kids to get involved in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

“It’s important for us to engage and inspire the future generations of young scientists, engineers, and problem solvers” said NAVFAC Southeast Commanding Officer Capt. Miguel Dieguez. “We can do this by sharing how fun STEM fields can be.”

The 85 children, with ages ranging from preschool through college, were divided into age appropriate small teams then participated in 9 different educational sessions. Areas included financial management, environmental science, information technologies, land surveying, energy efficiency, fire protection, and more. 

The event gave kids the opportunity to not only learn about what their family member(s) do but also how to work together as a team to finish a project – one of the key benchmarks that makes the NAVFAC Southeast team so successful.

“Bring Your Kids to Work Day brings families together and employees from different communities and also builds new relationships that strengthens the Command,” said Industrial Engineer and coordinator of the event Joey Burnett. “Our team members worked hard to put together some very educational and exciting activities this year.  Witnessing kids’ faces light up and having fun was the best reward I could have hoped for.”  

Kids, parents and staff alike shared in the fun that is the diverse fields that span NAVFAC Southeast.

“One of my fondest memories as a kid that steered me towards a career in natural resources was meeting a large Burmese python and seeing the passion of the person who was leading an education show at a local zoo,” shared Tony Daly-Crews, biologist. “I grew up terribly afraid of snakes and that interaction helped me get over my initial fear which blossomed into a passion, and later a career in conservation and natural resources.”

To share his passion for animal advocacy and conservation, Daly-Crews brought in his 33-year old red-tail boa, named Muggy. The ambassador boa was a very popular attraction who inspired a lot of engaging questions about snakes and their role in our ecosystems.

“I am thankful for all the people that overcame their fears, shared stories, and maybe changed a few minds about how they feel about snakes and wildlife in their backyards,” said Daly-Crews.

After the presentations, the children and their family members enjoyed lunch and static displays of U.S. Navy equipment, including a helicopter, firetruck, and vehicles used by the Seabees. The Seabees are the Navy’s Construction Battalion that build essential infrastructure at U.S. military locations around the world.

“My favorite part was the snake and the surveying because that’s something I take interest in,” said high school senior Ashlyn Barr. “After graduation, I’d like to go to trade school or join the military – like the Seabees to learn construction. When I get older I’d like to start my own construction business who does the operations and everything.

Many of the kids and parents expressed their appreciation for the hard work that the NAVFAC Southeast staff put into making this a wonderful day and are hoping to do the event again next year.

Source: United States Navy

NAVSUP FLCSI and their mission partners coordinated the delivery of mail, provisions, and critical repair parts to participating ships, enabling ships to participate in the exercise.

“Our unique ability to support U.S. Navy ships as they prepare to participate in the 51st Baltic Operations exercise is a perfect example of how NAVSUP is expanding logistics capabilities in the High North and delivering operational readiness to the Fleet, where and when our deployed Warfighters need it,” said Capt. Douglas S. MacKenzie, NAVSUP FLCSI commanding officer. “Having a NAVSUP presence at these port visits ensures that we remain in an optimal position to support the Navy’s dynamic missions, and allows us to continue building relationships with our allies and key mission partners across the Baltic and the High North.”

The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), the amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44), the Blue Ridge-class command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20), and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG-78) are among the more than 45 ships from 16 Allied and partner nations currently participating in BALTOPS 22. BALTOPS 22 is the premier maritime-focused exercise in the Baltic Sea that aims to strengthen combined response capabilities critical to preserving freedom of navigation and security in the region.

“Our ship’s visit to Stockholm served as a ‘kicking-off’ event for exercise BALTOPS22,” said Cmdr. Josh Melchert, the Kearsarge Supply Officer. “There were practical logistics considerations at play as we prepared to participate in the exercise. The port visit was an ideal opportunity to bring on much-needed, high-priority parts, material and food stores.”

Melchert added that logistics considerations included providing for ship services via barge as well as water and ground transportation between the ship and the pier for crew and visitors.

A team comprising of a logistics specialist chief petty officer from Amphibious Squadron Six and one of NAVSUP FLCSI’s deployable transportation and customs clearance officers served as the Kearsarge’s logistics advance team for the port visit, and ashore detachment unit once the ship arrived.

“Our NAVSUP and Amphibious Squadron Six points of contact were the eyes and ears of our supply department ashore,” Melchert said. “They linked up early with the husbanding service provider to ensure the ship’s specific requirements were being met, and they coordinated the arrival and follow-on transportation of our supplies and food stores that we were set to receive by barge at our moored location.”

In addition to Amphibious Squadron Six and the Kearsarge’s supply department, NAVSUP FLCSI’s mission partners during the port visit in Stockholm included a representative from the U.S. 6th Fleet Contracting Officer Representative Program Office (N412) who ensured that the U.S. ships received all the services delineated in the husbanding services task order contract.
While present on-site, the representative ensured quality of service on the part of the husbanding service provider (HSP) and acted as liaison between the NAVSUP’s contracting team, the ships’ supply officers, and the Swedish HSP to resolve any contract issues that arose.

“If our ships identified additional HSP service requirements that may arise during the port visit execution, I would work directly with NAVSUP’s contracting officer so that the requirements are added to the contract in a timely manner,” said Samantha Toles, U.S. Sixth Fleet Code 412 program analyst. “Only after the requirements are properly validated and authorized could the NAVSUP logistics and transportation team freely coordinate the movements at the time of port visit execution.”

Nations participating in BALTOPS 22 include Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. From June 5-17, 2022, more than 7,000 participating personnel will exercise a myriad of capabilities demonstrating the inherent flexibility of maritime forces, including: amphibious operations, gunnery, anti-submarine, and air defense exercises, as well as mine clearance operations, explosive ordnance disposal, unmanned underwater vehicles, and medical response.

FLCSI is one of NAVSUP’s eight globally-positioned commands that provides a full range of solutions for logistics, business and support services to the U.S. Naval, Joint, NATO and Allied Forces across 14 enduring and forward operating sites; forward contingency and cooperative security locations in 13 countries in Europe and Africa.

BALTOPS 22 is the premier maritime-focused exercise in the Baltic Region. The exercise, led by U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, and executed by Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO, provides a unique training opportunity to strengthen combined response capabilities critical to preserving freedom of navigation and security in the Baltic Sea.

For over 80 years, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-U.S. Naval Forces Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) has forged strategic relationships with our Allies and Partners, leveraging a foundation of shared values to preserve security and stability.

Headquartered in Naples, Italy, NAVEUR-NAVAF operates U.S. naval forces in the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) areas of responsibility. U.S. Sixth Fleet is permanently assigned to NAVEUR-NAVAF, and employs maritime forces through the full spectrum of joint and naval operations.

Source: United States Navy

BALTOPS 22 is the 51st iteration of the maritime focused training in the Baltic Region. The exercise has been conducted since 1972 and will be linked to the 500th anniversary of the Royal Swedish Navy and – for the second time – to the German-led Multinational Air Group Days (MAGDAYs) exercise, another stepping stone of combined interaction and operations.

“During BALTOPS 22 NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) at Uedem, Germany will direct all air operations and synchronize them with the maritime activities, with the focus on freedom of movement and security in the Maritime Domain,” said Major General Harold Van Pee, Commander of CAOC Uedem, “In these challenging times, we are proud to support this long-standing exercise that enables complex and meaningful Air-Maritime-Integration for our Allies and Partners.”

The specialists for air power in Uedem, will command and control all air operations, providing a unique training opportunity to plan, coordinate and deconflict NATOs real world activities with the multinational and joint BALTOPS air activities.

Starting in Stockholm, Sweden with a Pre-Sail event, and ending in Kiel, Germany, the training will have two more phases: a combat enhancement training and a force integration training with a tactical segment of air defence to strengthen the cohesion and capabilities of NATO Allies and Partners in all three domains – air, land and sea. The main aim is to further interoperability in the sector of amphibious and freedom-of-navigation operations, maritime interdiction, anti-submarine warfare, mine countermeasures, medical evacuation at sea and joint personnel recovery to demonstrate both NATO’s defensive nature and the readiness to defend the Baltic region.

With both Sweden and Finland participating, NATO is seizing the chance in an unpredictable world to enhance its joint force resilience and strength together with two aspirants for Alliance membership in a combined effort.