Month: June 2022

Source: United States Navy

Intelligence provided by U.S. Navy cryptologists had allowed the U.S. to thwart an attempted invasion of Port Moresby with the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first carrier battle of the war. However, cryptologists, like the ones training here today, also uncovered Japanese plans to take the outpost at Midway. Though small, Midway would be a critical strategic location allowing the Japanese to threaten Hawaii directly. Reinforcing and defending the island was crucial.

By late May, Japanese forces were underway for Midway. Among them were the carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu with a total of 229 embarked aircraft. An additional 17 patrol seaplanes were housed on accompanying ships.

American forces raced to meet them with a strike group formed around the carriers USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS Hornet (CV-8), and USS Yorktown (CV-5). The group provided 234 aircraft afloat in addition to the 110 fighters, bombers, and patrol planes at Midway.

At 6:16 in the morning of June 4, Marine Corps pilots from Midway engaged an approaching enemy formation of bombers being escorted by Zeroes just 30 miles away. The American fighters inflicted some damage, but were too outnumbered to halt the enemy approach. The first bomb fell on Midway at 6:30 a.m.

As the Japanese planes returned to refuel, Midway launched its own attack on the Japanese carriers. Marine Corps Dauntless and Vindicator bombers, Navy Avenger torpedo bombers, and Army Air Force B-26 Marauder and B-17 Flying Fortress bombers repeatedly attacked the Japanese forces. They inflicted relatively little damage to the large fleet, but fought fiercely while aircraft from the American carriers were deployed for the attack.

Navy torpedo bombers were first to engage from the American carriers. They flew in low and although nearly wiped out by the defending Japanese, they drew off enemy fire and left the skies open for dive bombers from the Enterprise and the Yorktown. The Japanese carriers were exposed and the American bombers quickly crippled carriers Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu.

The last remaining Japanese carrier, Hiryu, launched her aircraft for a counter-attack on the Yorktown, damaging her severely enough to force her abandonment. That afternoon, however, aircraft from the Enterprise attacked and mortally damaged the Hiryu.

With all four carriers out of the battle, the Japanese invasion of Midway was abandoned.

For the next two days, American forces pursued and attacked the retreating Japanese. Salvage operations attempted to save the Yorktown, but were interrupted by torpedoes from a Japanese submarine. Yorktown sank at dawn on June 7.

The battle’s losses were significantly greater for the Japanese fleet. The Japanese offensive in the Pacific was derailed. The Battle of Midway marked the start of a shift in the balance of sea power in the Pacific Theater, making it one of the most significant conflicts of World War II.

The only known surviving aircraft from this historic conflict, a Douglas SBD Dauntless, which had also survived the attack at Pearl Harbor, is currently on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum onboard NAS Pensacola.

This article was compiled using information gathered from the Naval History and Heritage Command and from Battle of Midway Combat Narratives published in 1943 by the Department of the Navy.

Source: United States Navy

The two-week vigilance activity demonstrated NATO’s ability to integrate the command and control of multiple carrier strike groups (CSG), an amphibious ready group (ARG) and a Marine expeditionary unit (MEU), involving the participation of 25 NATO Allied and partner nations.

NESH22 kicked off May 17^th from the Baltic, Adriatic, Ionian and Mediterranean Seas, and involved missions at sea, in the air and on the ground across Europe, supporting both Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Naples and JFC Brunssum.

“Credible force projection to defend the Alliance has to be integrated across multiple domains; sea, air, land as well as space and cyberspace. NESH22 further integrated those domains, and was an essential step in the progression of the NEPTUNE series to demonstrate NATO’s ability to defend against any threat from any direction,” said Admiral Robert P. Burke, Commander, JFC Naples.

While STRIKFORNATO executed command and control of the USS Harry S. Truman CSG, the ITS CAVOUR CSG and the Combined Task Force 61/2, which included the USS Kearsarge ARG and the 22nd MEU, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) coordinated the activity, integrating NATO Allied Maritime Command and NATO Allied Air Command.

“Demonstrating and enhancing NATO’s high-end maritime warfare capabilities shows the world the true strength and teamwork of our Alliance,” said Vice Adm. Gene Black, commander, STRIKFORNATO and SIXTHFLT. “NATO’s capacity to conduct integrated operations in the maritime domain ensures stability and peace throughout Europe, and validates more than seven decades of Alliance interoperability.”

STRIKFORNATO led and coordinated maritime and expeditionary forces composed of four carrier strike groups from three different nations, more than 30 ships and 160 aircraft, including forces from the Harry S. Truman CSG, the Kearsarge ARG-MEU, the Italian Navy CAVOUR CSG, the Spanish Navy JUAN CARLOS I CSG and the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 and 2. More than 200 aircraft sorties and 80 vigilance activities were executed by more than 11,000 personnel from 25 NATO and partner countries.

NESH22 is built on previous phases of Project NEPTUNE, a long series of activities originally conceptualized in 2020. In October and November 2021, SIXTHFLT and STRIKFORNATO conducted NEPTUNE CHALLENGE in the Mediterranean and Black Seas onboard SIXTHFLT and STRIKFORNATO’s Blue Ridge-class amphibious command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20). In February 2022, NEPTUNE STRIKE demonstrated the power and cohesiveness of our maritime forces and the NATO Alliance. Previous activities in the NEPTUNE series also included various table-top exercises held between NATO Allied and partner nations. The Project NEPTUNE series is instrumental in creating a stronger, integrated NATO force.

Breaking new ground, NESH22 also delivered on a series of “first-ever events” on behalf of the Alliance.

The Transfer of Authority (ToA) of the Italian CAVOUR CSG is not only the first time Italy has transferred command and control of a CSG and F-35B aircraft to NATO, it is also the first time any non-U.S. CSG has flown the NATO flag.

Creating opportunities to further enhance Alliance interoperability, NESH22 achieved the first air-to-air refuelling of a Spanish AV-8B from a U.S. F-18 tanker. Also, the first air-to-air refuelling of an Italian F-35B demonstrated the first ever non-U.S. F-35B to re-fuel mid-air by a U.S. F-18 jet. The ability to do so did not exist prior to the start of NESH22 and pave the way for further integration between the U.S. and other F-35 NATO nations, such as Canada, Australia, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and the U.K.

Collectively, these represent the first ever deployment of a NATO Expanded Task Force (NETF) in support of real world vigilance activities. Defined as two or more strike groups, NETF enables the Alliance to generate and deliver effects across the entirety of SACEUR’s area of responsibility. NESH made significant benchmark gains in how Allies efficiently solve dynamic problems across the Allied Command Operations (ACOs) that will enhance capabilities for real world deterrence scenarios. In addition, the Spanish JUAN CARLOS I CSG operated in close coordination with the NETF for the first time, further demonstrating Alliance cohesion, unity, and capability.

Nations participating in NESH22 included Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the U.K., and U.S.

Headquartered in Naples, Italy, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-U.S. Naval Forces Africa (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.

STRIKFORNATO, headquartered in Oeiras, Portugal, is SACEUR’s premier, rapidly deployable and flexible, maritime power projection Headquarters, capable of planning and executing full spectrum joint maritime operations.

Source: United States Navy

USCGC Glen Harris (WPC 1144) was operating as part of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, one of four task forces under the Combined Maritime Forces.

The fast response cutter arrived in the U.S. 5th Fleet region in January and operates from Bahrain where Combined Maritime Forces is headquartered with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and U.S. 5th Fleet.

Combined Maritime Forces is the largest multinational naval partnership in the world. The U.S.-led international naval force has 34 member-nations, which have increased regional patrols to locate and disrupt unlawful maritime activity.

Source: United States Navy

Cheeseman relieved Vice Adm. John B. Nowell, Jr., who has held the office since May, 2019. Nowell retired hours later in a ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard presided over by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday.

“As I stand here in a historic location, blessed by good weather and good friends, I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world,” Nowell said in his farewell remarks.

“I have been fortunate to serve in the greatest Navy in the world during historic times, and I just want to say thank-you to each and every one of you and to many others, for what you did to prepare me, teach and train me, and support me and my family in a journey that we have enjoyed every minute of.”

The COVID-19 Pandemic dominated much of Nowell’s tenure as CNP as he skippered the service through uncharted waters that required massive changes to personnel policy all designed to keep Sailors safe while keeping war fighting commands properly manned.

Key to those critical missions was keeping the Navy’s personnel “supply chain” up and running during the pandemic. This included creating an unprecedented “bubble” for training new recruits to making sure that training and transfers could continue to happen around the fleet.

Those efforts resulted in more than 85,000 recruits being assessed into the Navy, trained and delivered to the fleet since the pandemic started.

After an initial “all stop” of permanent change of station moves, the Navy quickly put plans and policies in place to prioritize and safely move Sailors and their families around the world.

These and many other temporary policy changes were unprecedented in the Navy’s history.

Another large part of his tenure as CNP was Nowell’s overseeing of Task Force One Navy, the Navy’s six-month deep dive into its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies as well as service climate and culture. The Navy’s effort was launched in the wake of national unrest following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota during the summer of 2020.

“The power of leveraging a diverse team with inclusive leadership is not something that the Navy recently discovered, but rather something I saw in action across so many ships and commands at sea and ashore,” Nowell said in his retirement remarks.

“The results were always the same, better performance, warfighting readiness and lethality.”

In January 2021, the task force sent a list of nearly 60 recommendations to Navy leadership, based on Sailor and Navy civilian feedback. These included reviews of Navy instructions and manuals on everything from uniforms, promotions and recruiting to identifying potential barriers and eliminate anything considered offensive, biased, or that hampered inclusion.

Nowell’s 38 years of service began at the U.S. Naval Academy where he graduated in the class of 1984. A surface warfare officer, he served at sea on five ships, commanding the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG-78). As a flag officer, he also commanded Expeditionary Strike Group 7, forward deployed in Japan.

Vice Adm. Cheeseman was commissioned in 1989 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps after graduating from Penn State University and is also a career surface warfare.

Cheeseman commanded Carrier Strike Group’s 10 and 2 in Norfolk, Va. as a flag officer. He also commanded the guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG-61) and guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84).

No stranger to Navy personnel, Cheeseman has served in a variety of manning and manpower jobs throughout his career. This includes a tour as deputy for Manpower, Training and Strategy at OPNAV N96 and as director, Surface Warfare Assignments (PERS-41).

The MyNavy HR Team, comprised of more than 26,000 dedicated professionals stationed worldwide, attracts, develops and manages the talent that ensures our advantage at sea while providing exceptional HR service to our Sailors and their families. We affect every aspect of a Sailor’s career from recruitment to retirement. Along the way, we develop our Sailors’ minds, bodies and spirits to thrive in the face of personal and professional challenges as we turn recruits, officer and enlisted, into Warfighters. We train, educate and assign Sailors to ensure the Fleet is manned with the right Sailor, in the right place, at the right time, with the right training.  Together, we leverage diverse teams to innovate and win by advancing inclusivity, respect and open communications to foster a more creative, competitive and operationally effective Navy that can out think and out fight any adversary. Throughout, we seek to provide unparalleled HR service to our Sailors and their families who proudly serve our nation and Navy.