Month: August 2022

Source: United States Navy

The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) completed a logistics and maintenance period in Brest, France, while Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) and San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Arlington (LPD 24) underwent mid-deployment voyage repair (MDVR) periods in Copenhagen, Denmark and Rijeka, Croatia, respectively.

An MDVR is a maintenance period that allows U.S. ships to complete corrective and preventative maintenance that cannot be accomplished at sea. MDVRs involve performing repairs so that ships remains fully mission capable throughout their deployment.

In preparation for Gunston Hall’s and Arlington’s MDVRs, NAVSUP FLCSI’s Ship Repair Division (Code 200) procured repair parts that were critical to ensuring the on-time completion of the maintenance efforts conducted for the ships. A part of the command’s contracting department (Code 200), the Ship Repair Division’s mission is to support repairs for ships that are homeported in, and currently deployed to, the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations.

“Successfully procuring repair parts and services for the MDVRs was the result of the close working relationship between NAVSUP FLCSI’s Ship Repair Division and Forward Deployed Regional Maintenance Center, our key mission partner while supporting ship maintenance periods,” said Marie Hahn, NAVSUP FLCSI’s Ship Repair Division director.

The process of procuring ship repair parts and hiring expert ship maintainers begins when Forward Deployed Regional Maintenance Center (FDRMC) develops a requirement in conjunction with the ship’s needs, and then sends it to Hahn.

Hahn’s team ensures the packages include the necessary documentation and develops the solicitation so industry can respond to the requirement.

“After we receive quotes from industry, my team and our FDRMC mission partners evaluate the proposal and create the necessary documentation to facilitate an award,” Hahn said. “Subsequently, our team awards the contract to the vendor who meet the requirements outlined in the solicitation. This collaborative ‘behind the scenes’ effort of awarding contracts is the vital first step to getting industry mission partners involved so the repairs and maintenance can be performed successfully.”

While undergoing maintenance and repairs, Arlington, Gunston Hall and Kearsarge also received mail, provisions and mission-related cargo. To ensure these materials were delivered and loaded onto the ships on schedule, NAVSUP FLCSI deployed logistics support representatives (LSRs) and a transportation officer (TO) to establish an on-site presence at each port. These personnel engaged directly with the ships’ supply departments and host nation representatives to ensure the timely and effective delivery of material.

Charles Tanner is a NAVSUP FLCSI logistics support officer who supported Arlington’s crew in Rijeka, Croatia.

“LSRs must have a deep knowledge of ship movements in and out of the theater, as well as having firsthand knowledge of all of U.S. Sixth Fleet points of contact,” Tanner said. “This knowledge proves invaluable in getting timely answers to questions from the ships’ supply teams or from any of our mission partners. Personal interaction with the ship’s supply team, in particular, increases the comfort factor that the support is happening correctly.”

NAVSUP FLCSI also supported resupplying the ships from strategic locations in the United Kingdom and Italy. The command’s regional postal and transportation teams at NAVSUP FLCSI’s Sites Crombie, Scotland, and Sigonella, Sicily, moved a total of 66,000 pounds of mail to personnel aboard all three ships.

The geographic diversity and near-simultaneous nature of the three maintenance periods presented the NAVSUP FLCSI team with an opportunity to test their capabilities in supporting units and personnel throughout the U.S. Naval Forces Europe (NAVEUR) area of operations.

“Our ability to support the ARG’s logistics and maintenance requirements at various strategic locations across USNAVEUR attests to NAVSUP’s agility and expertise in delivering readiness to the Fleet where and when our Warfighters need it,” said Capt. Douglas S. MacKenzie, NAVSUP FLCSI commanding officer.

NAVSUP FLCSI supported the ships’ maintenance periods in cooperation and coordination with its U.S. and allied mission partners. Successfully performing customs clearance actions are a prime example of such coordination.

To facilitate movement of cargo and mail within or throughout the European theater, the command’s LSRs and TOs are skilled in screening the cargo manifest for any high priority parts and consumable items needed for ship repairs. Customs procedures may change on a daily basis, so they must have a fluent understanding of customs clearance processes, rules and documentation in order to ensure the materials in transit comply with the customs regulations of countries through which the materials pass.

“Our host nation partners provide indispensable knowledge of local customs laws and regulations allowing for speedy customs clearance for both inbound and outbound movements,” said Alan Wilkinson, NAVSUP FLCSI transportation manager who supported Kearsarge in Brest, France. “Having boots on the ground allows me to bolster and create new relationships with local customs offices and military officials, strengthening the ties between our countries.”

Besides FDRMC and the ships’ supply teams, NAVSUP FLCSI’s mission partners for ships’ logistics maintenance periods include Command Task Force 63, aircraft loadmasters, warehouse cargo loaders and air traffic control personnel.

“Our U.S. and Allied logistics partners play a key role in how U.S. Navy and Marine Corps-sponsored cargo move throughout the USNAVEUR area of operations,” Wilkinson said. “They schedule flight and truck movements bringing supplies, mail, and food to any location necessary.”

The sustained support of NAVSUP FLCSI, FDRMC and ship’s force, working alongside various U.S. interagency and Allied partners, ensured the success of these maintenance periods. The ability to conduct multiple maintenance availabilities and MDVRs throughout the European theater is a testament to the capability and capacity that this combined team brings to NAVEUR and to the Navy-Marine Corps team. It also sets the stage for continued refinement and improvement in maintenance and logistics support.

Kearsarge ARG is under the command and control of Task Force 61/2. Embarked commands with the ARG include Amphibious Squadron SIX, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), Fleet Surgical Team 2, Fleet Surgical Team 4, Tactical Air Control Squadron 22, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 22, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28, Assault Craft Unit 2, Assault Craft Unit 4, Naval Beach Group 2, and Beach Master Unit 2.

The Kearsarge ARG and embarked 22nd MEU has been operating and participating in bilateral exercises throughout Europe and Africa. During Hedgehog 22, BALTOPS22 and NATO vigilance activity Neptune Shield 22, ARG ships conducted port visits in Tromsø, Norway; Helsinki, Finland; Tallinn, Estonia; and Stockholm, Sweden. Arlington has also participated in exercises with Greece, Turkey and North African countries in support of Alexander the Great, EFES, and African Lion, respectively.

FDRMC is a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command and was established to provide emergent, intermediate and depot-level maintenance and modernization support for U.S. Navy ships throughout U.S. Fifth and Sixth Fleet areas of responsibilities.

FLCSI is one of NAVSUP’s eight globally-positioned commands that provides for the 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.

Source: United States Navy

Ten out of 15 of Naval Oceanography’s subordinate commands are actively executing the exercise, bolstering international naval cooperation for maritime security and stability with our very capable and adaptive partners.

RIMPAC contributes to increased interoperability, resiliency and agility necessary for joint and combined force to deter and defeat aggression across all domains—and postured toward any level of conflict.

Naval Oceanography teams on the ground as part of RIMPAC are working with partner nations like Japanese Defense Force, Republic of Korea, Royal Australian Navy, and other countries from around the Pacific area in fields such as oceanography, hydrography, meteorology, and others to ensure a safely executed exercise. Throughout the year, Naval Oceanography meets with our counterparts building on decades of friendship and collaboration, most recently meeting the Republic of Korea’s Navy Hydrography representative.

The multinational hydrography teams have been using various sonar systems to search for objects on the ocean floor as part of a Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Response (HADR) scenario to safely reopen a port following a typhoon.

The following Naval Oceanography commands are directly a part of RIMPAC 2022: Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVO); Fleet Survey Team (FST); Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC); U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO); Naval Oceanography Operations Command (NOOC); Naval Oceanography Mine Warfare Center (NOMWC); Fleet Weather Center- San Diego (FWC-SD); Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC); Strike Group Oceanography Team-San Diego (SGOT-SD); and Naval Oceanography ASW Center-Yokosuka (NOAC-Y).

USNO, as the DOD’s authoritative source for precise time, continues to ensure the accuracy of the atomic clocks, celestial references and GPS which is used by all those involved in RIMPAC.

NAVO provided drifting buoys and profiling floats, deployed by USMC C-130 squadron VMGR-152, which contribute data directly into FNMOC’s oceanographic models. These models are then used by NOOC to better provide tactical awareness and recommendations for the submarine environment.

In real-time FWC-SD is monitoring and delivering safe routes for ships to traverse during the exercise and acts as the central location to coordinate forecasts for a full-spectrum of warfare areas.

SGOT-SD has teams embarked on the USS Essex (LHD 2) and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), while NOAC-Y has a detachment directly a part of MPRA and anti-submarine warfare.

FST is conducting hydrographic surveys for sub-surface hazards in the Honolulu harbor as part of the Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief efforts. In addition, the FST team will identify targets of interest in Bellows Beach and Pyramid Rock prior to amphibious landings. FST utilizes Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) to conduct these surveys similarly to NOMWC. NOMWC is conducting UUV data analysis, post-mission analysis of side-scan sonar, and provides recommendations for mine-like contact (charge detection and contact fusion) in the Southern California Operating Area.

Throughout the exercise, JTWC will provide analysis, forecasts and decisions enabling RIMPAC leadership to plan, prepare, and protect against adverse weather in the areas around the exercise.

Naval Oceanography encompasses a wide range of missions crucial to today’s naval fleet and will be exercising some of those missions during RIMPAC. They include oceanography, hydrography, meteorology, climatology, geospatial information science, astrometry, earth orientation and precise time.

The maritime environment is too large and complex for any one nation to protect. Operating together strengthens regional partnerships and improves multinational interoperability. Unmanned and remotely operated vessels extend the capability of interconnected manned platform sensors to enhance the warfighting capacity of multinational joint task forces.

This exercise is a perfect opportunity to improve our capabilities and at the same time work together with partners in order to train for multi-domain and joint operations, to include in unmanned underwater systems.

Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft, more than 30 unmanned systems and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971.

U.S. Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command directs and oversees more than 2,500 globally-distributed military and civilian personnel who collect, process and exploit environmental information to assist Fleet and Joint Commanders in all warfare areas to make better decisions, based on assured environmental information, faster than the adversary.

For more information about Naval Oceanography, contact cnmoc_stns_paoweb@.navy.mil or 228-688-4147. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram (Naval Oceanography), Twitter (@NavyOceans), and LinkedIn.

Source: United States Navy

For the over-land missions, RIMPAC’s Tactical Command and Control (TAC C2) team plan and execute those missions.

“We each do business our own way, but fundamentally what we do and what we set out to achieve is all the same” said Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Flight Lieutenant (FLTLT) Ben Gervason, one of the RAAF 41 Wing’s Senior Directors, and the lead for Australia’s contribution to the multinational TAC C2 here at RIMPAC.

Joining him around the table are a collection of Canadian and Australian controllers, also members of the RIMPAC TAC C2 team. Today’s task: putting together the enabling command and control for a strike mission with the F/A-18 Hornets of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 232.

“We spent the first part of the exercise identifying the intricacies between our procedures before coming together to develop a common and consolidated approach to operations.” says Gervason. “It’s about interoperability, so we can all seamlessly move between the different positions, or lead the team as required.”

This is not the first time that Canadian and Australian controllers have collaborated with American fighter crews. Both countries contribute regularly to international missions in cooperation with their American allies.

“We’re building on the experience gained on other operations,” added Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Captain (Capt) Zach Taylor, an aerospace controller from Canada’s 22 Wing, located in North Bay, Ontario. Taylor is the lone Canadian on this task today. The remainder of the Canadian team is already out executing another mission.

Taylor has experience on deployments within the North American Aerospace Command (NORAD) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

“The sheer size and scope of the aircraft, capabilities and mission types at RIMPAC provide us with unique opportunities to put those planning skills into practice for missions we may not regularly see,” he said.

Joining the more experienced officers were a number of junior RAAF officers, many of them on their first deployments outside of Australia.

Flying Officer (FLGOFF) Cameron Stuart noted that this is his first opportunity to work with other nations, seeing how everything comes together in real time has been an excellent learning experience.

But large, multinational exercises are not without their challenges.

“The size and scope of RIMPAC is remarkable, but there are unique challenges to overcome, like differences with language and TTPs,” RAAF FLGOFF Nicholas Martin said. “These small nuances can make a big difference in the air, but we overcome those challenges by networking, talking it out, and draw on the experiences from our teammates.”

These officers, new and experienced alike, have shared a valuable experience to take home to their respective countries, ready to be put into practice.

Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, three submarines, more than 170 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971.

Source: United States Navy

Unmanned and remotely operated vessels extend the capability of interconnected manned platform sensors to enhance capacity across the multinational forces.

Unmanned Surface Vessel Division One (USVDIV-1) Commanding Officer U.S. Navy Cmdr. Jeremiah Daley said RIMPAC 2022 was an excellent opportunity to train his team on common naval cultures between partner nations.

“It was rewarding to host discussions with senior leaders from participating countries on unmanned operations for RIMPAC 2022 and future concepts, as we move our partnerships forward with manned and unmanned teaming,” said Daley. “The opportunity to sail in such a large formation of ships was not lost on me as an operationally and tactically minded surface warfare officer.

“I appreciate the presence of such a large, interconnected, capable coalition of like-minded partner nations here and what it represents for our shared values moving forward.”

Known as the ghost fleet, the unmanned surface vessels Seahawk, Sea Hunter, Ranger and Nomad participated in RIMPAC 2022.

Seahawk and Sea Hunter are each 130 feet long with a central hull and two outriggers. Ranger and Nomad are 200 feet long, 35 feet wide and have a huge cargo deck on the back.

Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, three submarines, more than 170 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971.