Month: June 2022

Source: United States Navy

The haul – which netted some 475 pounds of trash – is part of the command’s efforts held around Clean the Bay Day, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s longest running annual litter cleanup campaign.

According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, more than 165,000 volunteers have collected more than seven million pounds of debris along 8,250 miles of Chesapeake Bay shoreline since 1989.

Event co-coordinator Tim Wenk who works as a supervisory environmental engineer with NAVFAC Atlantic, was pleased with the outcome of this year’s haul.

“Despite the muggy weather and threat of thunderstorms, we had a great turnout of volunteers from the Command. The group worked hard to pick up and properly dispose of trash and debris from along the fence line of the base as well as the shoreline of the Lafayette River Annex,” said Wenk. “The Chesapeake Bay is an incredibly valuable resource for our area, so it is important for us to try anything we can to help improve the habitat and water quality of the Bay and its tributaries.”

As in years past, volunteers collected a wide assortment of litter from treated wood to microplastics, volleyballs to birdhouses. On the bright side, one volunteer even found lure, which she plans to recycle into her own personal fishing gear. To further cut down on litter generated while collecting the refuse, volunteers used recycled buckets to collect trash before transferring them to large trash bags.

At NAVFAC Atlantic, many of the same volunteers participate each year, hopeful to see their effort pay off first-hand.

“I’m passionate about controlling litter and recycling. I’m out here every year and I can’t help but think, if we all did a better job of reducing our carbon foot print and thinking about reusable products, we’d have very little to pick up each year on our shoreline,” said volunteer Paige Flores, an administrative assistant for the command’s environmental business line. “Real success would be not needing to clean our base and focus on another area on Clean the Bay Day.”

NAVFAC Atlantic has supported Clean the Bay Day and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for years, with volunteers doing far more than simply collecting refuse. Volunteers have also taken time for other restoration efforts, such as planting oyster beds just off the shoreline of Lafayette River Annex. Those oyster beds help restore the water quality in the Lafayette River, which is a part of the Chesapeake Bay.

Source: United States Navy

Boyle becomes the 32nd commander of U.S. 3rd Fleet, a combat-ready force of more than 68,000 people, 100 ships and 400 aircraft stationed throughout California, Hawaii and Washington. U.S. 3rd Fleet promotes ongoing peace, security, and stability throughout the Pacific theater of operations.

During Koehler’s command, as one of two tactical maneuvering arms for Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. 3rd Fleet expertly executed all operations in various assigned battle space. Additionally, operationally trained and certified two carrier strike groups, one amphibious ready group, six submarines, and 15 independently deployed ships, which deployed worldwide in U.S. 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th Fleets. In August 2021, U.S. 3rd Fleet deployed forward to conduct expeditionary maritime operations from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for Large-Scale Exercise 2021. Third Fleet also planned and coordinated execution for Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) 2022, the 28th iteration of the world’s largest international maritime exercise, set to take place June 29 to Aug. 4.

In his remarks, Koehler commented on U.S. 3rd Fleet Sailors’ high standards and capabilities displayed throughout his tenure.

“Your success comes from a standard of professionalism where you, as leaders, make the difficult and challenging look easy and routine, where it is not,” said Koehler. “It has been a great privilege to lead the men and women of Third Fleet and I am confident that when called upon we have the force to take the fight forward and win.”

Koehler served as Third Fleet commander since June 2021, and is scheduled to report to his new assignment as director for Strategy, Plans and Policy, J-5, Joint Staff, and for appointment as senior member of the Military Staff Committee of the United Nations in Washington, D.C.

Adm. Samuel Paparo, the commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, who presided over the ceremony, highlighted the strategic role that the service members in U.S. 3rd Fleet play today.

“Webb has performed magnificently leading the iconic Third Fleet of Adm. Bull Halsey, the world’s largest numbered fleet,” said Paparo. “Under his bold, innovative leadership, Third Fleet has generated ready combat forces and provided maritime security in the Indo-Pacific. This headquarters, in partnership with [I Marine Expeditionary Force], are prepared with credible, combat forces ready to deploy worldwide to achieve objectives from sea and at sea. “

“As I utter these words, the Fleet is operating dynamically and professionally for the security, freedom and well-being of the nation, and Mike Boyle arrives as prepared as any commander in Third Fleet’s history. He will carry on, continue and lead to ever higher heights the work of this superb team.”

Boyle previously served as the director of maritime operations at U.S. Pacific Fleet and, as Third Fleet commander, will lead the Combined Task Force for RIMPAC 2022.

“I look forward to working with the immensely talented and experienced staff here at Third Fleet,” said Boyle. “Excellence is not an accident. It is the culmination of hard work, planning, and dedication, and in doing that, there is no challenge we cannot meet.”

An integral part of U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. 3rd Fleet not only leads naval forces in the Indo-Pacific, but also provides the realistic, relevant training necessary to flawlessly execute our Navy’s role across the full spectrum of military operations—from combat operations to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. U.S. 3rd Fleet works together with our allies and partners to advance freedom of navigation, the rule of law, and other principles that underpin security for the Indo-Pacific region. 
 

Source: United States Navy

On June 17, 2017 Fitzgerald collided with Philippines-flagged container ship MV ACX Crystal, 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan. Chief Fire Controlman Gary Rehm, Gunner’s Mate 1st Class Noe Hernandez, Personnel Specialist 1st Class Xavier A. Martin, Fire Controlman 1st Class Carlos V. Sibayan, Yeoman 3rd Class Shingo A. Douglass, Sonar Technician (Surface) 3rd Class Ngoc T. Truong and Gunner’s Mate Seaman Dakota K. Rigsby, all perished in the subsequent flooding in their berthing.

Fitzgerald flew the ship remembrance flag throughout the day. The ceremony began with an invocation from Chaplain Brandon Greene over the 1MC to honor the fallen and the safety of all crews at sea.

Cmdr. David Catterall, commanding officer of Fitzgerald, also spoke to the crew.

“We must never forget the fallen, they made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Catterall. “Every day we are out here, we must never forget the dangerous nature of our jobs and why readiness and safety must always be at the forefront.”

Fitzgerald is on its first deployment since the collision and is currently serving in the U.S 7th Fleet.

The ship won the CY21 VADM Thomas Copeman III material readiness award, demonstrating the team understands that the foundation of a safe deployment is material readiness.

“Our training and watch qualifications maintain adherence to community requirements, while being underpinned by a thorough and effective briefing and debriefing process that ensures lessons learned are lessons applied to future evolutions,” said Catterall.

Fitzgerald is on a scheduled deployment in the 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability through alliances and partnerships while serving as a ready-response force in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Source: United States Navy

While in port, participants will reflect on achievements and relationships formed during the 13- day exercise which featured 47 ships, 89 aircraft, and 7,000 personnel in the Baltic Sea.

“BALTOPS, with the high degree of complexity, tested our collective readiness and adaptability, while also highlighting the strength of our Alliance and resolve in providing a maritime domain with freedom of navigation for all,” said Vice Adm. Gene Black, commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet and Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO).

Led by U.S. Sixth Fleet, BALTOPS 22 was command and controlled by STRIKFORNATO. From the staff’s headquarters in Oeiras, Portugal, Rear Adm. James Morley, STRIKFORNATO deputy commander, was responsible for ensuring participants met all training objectives.

“We here [at STRIKFORNATO], safely executed an ambitious training scheme on behalf of the 16 Allied and partner nations in the exercise, improving combat readiness and demonstrating the ability to work seamlessly together across all environments- in the air, on the ground, and at sea,” said Morley.

Participating nations included Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries participated alongside one another to test the flexibility, adaptability, and capabilities of maritime and amphibious forces.

Though this is not the first time Sweden has participated in BALTOPS, this iteration was unique because it coincided with the celebration of the Swedish Navy’s 500th anniversary. Sweden provided significant support to BALTOPS 22, including hosting the pre-sail conference in Stockholm and numerous events on Swedish territory and in Swedish waters and airspace.

Gotland Island, Sweden served as a training ground for several air insertions and amphibious landings from the USS Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group-22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit and Swedish counterparts.  Additionally, the exercise included complex personnel recovery training scenarios and a submarine rescue. To the southeast, Latvian forces integrated with other partner nations to practice multi-domain landings, and Poland’s Ustka training range served as a staging ground for rigorous amphibious landings during BALTOPS 22.

Rear Adm. John Menoni, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group Two, and head of all amphibious forces during the exercise, remarked how BALTOPS 22 provided participant forces a two-week window to operate unified and “not just ensuring the radios and weapons work well,” but rather “in the way we sail and fight together.”

Menoni also noted several instances in which forces stepped beyond know warfare methods to push limits with new technologies at sea and ashore. “Whether it was mine-hunting UUVs, persistent Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance from an observable UAV, or demonstrating the value of the emerging Marine Corps concept of Expeditionary Advance Base Operations (EABO), our men and women continue to develop the tactics, techniques, and procedures that ultimately make meaningful contributions to Maritime Domain Awareness and increase the lethality of our forces.”  

At sea, ships fine-tuned tactical maneuvering, anti-submarine warfare, live-fire training, mine countermeasures operations, and replenishments at sea. The Swedish submarine participating in the exercise, the U.K.’s Daring-class air-defense destroyer HMS Defender (D 36), and aircraft from other participating nations trained in anti-submarine warfare. Meanwhile, mine operations served as an ideal area of focus for testing new technology.

Scientists from five nations brought the latest advancements in Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) mine hunting technology to the Baltic Sea to demonstrate the vehicle’s effectiveness in operational scenarios. The BALTOPS Mine Counter Measure Task Group ventured throughout the Baltic region practicing ordnance location, exploitation, and disarming in critical maritime chokepoints.

NATO’s Northern Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) staff safely controlled 89 Allied and partner nation aircraft participating in BALTOPS 22, which represented the most air integration in the history of the exercise. These aircraft were operating from both sea-based and land-based platforms. They conducted more than 400 sorties, twice the number from 2021. The training spanned the entire spectrum of the air domain including, air-to-surface, air-to-air, air-to-ground, anti-submarine, refueling, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance drills.

In an effort to adapt to the ever-changing operating environment, the STRIKFORNATO staff coordinated several other focus areas designed to train task group commanders’ decision making abilities with regard to weather, new operating domains, and personnel support.

French and U.S. participants served as the BALTOPS 22 meteorology and oceanography staff, providing consistent, accurate, and specific information on present and predicted sea-states. The space domain was also featured in the exercise’s training scenarios by presenting realistic, simulated, challenges including jamming response, space weather, and impacts to GPS accuracy.

Impacts to mission and dynamic maritime domain navigation remain the core tenant of BALTOPS training. However, in an effort to add to decision-making demands, STRIKFORNATO incorporated pastoral and spiritual support strategies for personnel during times of crisis. This in-scenario integration tested the participants’ capacity to provide chaplain support in a complex maritime domain, while overcoming barriers and limitations within the environment.

“In the event of a conflict, we have to be spiritually and psychologically ready to respond,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Brian Weigelt, the U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa and U.S. Sixth Fleet Force Chaplain. “By exercising our ability to provide chaplain support interchangeably between countries during a potential crisis, we will be able to seamlessly integrate should the need arise.”

Planning for next year’s exercise has begun and will build upon accomplishments from BALTOPS 22 to incorporate lessons learned.

BALTOPS 22 is the premier maritime-focused exercise in the Baltic Region. The exercise 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.

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