Month: August 2022

Source: United States Navy

SEACAT is a multilateral exercise designed to enhance cooperation among Southeast Asian countries and provide mutual support and a common goal to address crises, contingencies, and illegal activities in the maritime domain using standardized tactics, techniques, and procedures. In a welcome return to normalcy, SEACAT 2022 was a full-scale, in-person exercise following primarily virtual engagements and non-contact sea phases the previous two years.

“These past two weeks have reiterated what we already knew – our nations and maritime forces are smarter and stronger when we share information and work together.” said Capt. Tom Ogden, commodore, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7. “The in-person, multilateral collaboration exhibited in SEACAT has undoubtedly enhanced our relationships and promoted maritime security across the Indo-Pacific.”

Twenty-one partner nations participated in the exercise, including Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.

Ashore, SEACAT included a Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) seminar that featured presentations, live question and answer sessions, panel discussions, and interactive, small group breakout sessions with representatives from all participating nations as well as international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and academia.

“The expertise brought by the participating international and non-governmental organizations was invaluable and provided realistic context to our multinational maritime exercise,” said Ogden.

Non-military participants included members of EU Critical Maritime Route Wider Indian Ocean (CRIMARIO), International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University Singapore (LKYSPP NUS), The Pew Charitable Trusts, Risk Intelligence, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Stable Seas, and United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The shore phase also involved an Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) workshop that brought together UAS programs across the region to share best practices in UAS employment, planning and operations to develop and improve MDA.

“This joint exercise presented unique training opportunities for international information sharing and bolstered the trusted partnerships between all nations involved,” said Vice Adm. Andrew Tiongson, Coast Guard Pacific Area commander. “Maritime Domain Awareness, which includes valuable input, collaboration and unity of effort from all partners, is key to maritime governance and security in the region.”

The sea phase included boarding operations by multiple nations across the contracted vessel designed to provide training opportunities in real-world at-sea environments. U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team (USCG MSRT) embarked the vessel and facilitated participants’ interdictions and boardings, building on skills practiced during the shore phase Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) workshop.

Running concurrently with the sea phase, a command post exercise at Singapore’s Information Fusion Center served as a centralized hub for information sharing in the tracking of the contracted merchant vessel simulating suspicious vessels of interest in seas throughout Southeast Asia.

“As the 21st iteration of the SEACAT exercise series, 2022 underscores the longstanding role of SEACAT as a key venue for regional allies and partners to address shared maritime security priorities and concerns,” said Ogden. “We look forward to following up SEACAT with routine cooperation day-to-day, and then increased complexity and collaboration when we meet again for SEACAT 2023.”

U.S. Navy participants included staff from DESRON 7, P-8A Poseidon aircraft assigned to Task Force 72, and personnel from Task Force 76, U.S. 7th Fleet, and U.S. Pacific Fleet.

As the U.S. Navy’s destroyer squadron forward-deployed in Southeast Asia, DESRON 7 serves as the primary tactical and operational commander of littoral combat ships rotationally deployed to Singapore, Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 7’s Sea Combat Commander, and builds partnerships through training exercises and military-to-military engagements.

Under Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with 35 maritime nations in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Source: United States Navy

Citta joined the Navy Reserve and attended recruit training in 2015. After completing her “A” school in Pensacola, Florida, she returned to her hometown of Cocoa, Florida to drill with Navy Reserve Center (NRC) Orlando. After a few months at the NRC, Citta received official orders to VP-62 in Jacksonville.

“When I checked into VP-62, they told me that they would put me on orders to move to Jacksonville, go to VP-30 for training and then come back to VP-62 to get fully qualified,” said Citta. “Once I was fully qualified, I just decided to stay as long as I could.”

While Citta said she initially expected the move and assignment to be short-lived, her opportunities with VP-62 have continued right up to today.

“I am a unique Reserve Sailor in the sense that while I am still SELRES on paper, I have been on back-to-back active duty orders since 2017,” said Citta. “This has been my primary job since then.”

Citta’s squadron recently transitioned from operating the P-3C Orion to the P-8A Poseidon, but their essential mission remains the same.

“My primary job has been anti-submarine warfare on the P-3C Orion, and now the P-8A Poseidon,” said Citta. “My position on the plane as an acoustic operator is to search, locate, track and attack enemy submarines via frequencies we see with our sonobuoys. I, along with the rest of our crew, will take all of our different pieces of information and communicate to put all the pieces together and complete the mission.”

Citta said VP-62’s operational tempo allows for more opportunities to better connect with her shipmates at the squadron, leaving her with a sense of belonging, teamwork and esprit de corps.

“What I like about working at my command is the camaraderie,” said Citta. “I’ve been able to make plenty of friends across departments, including maintenance, admin, intelligence, and of course, on the aircrew side.”

Citta has had many experiences in her five years of service, but one stands out among the rest.

“The most memorable moment of my Reserve career so far was Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) School,” said Citta. “This is a school that all aircrew must complete. It’s a two-week long course where you learn all about surviving if your plane goes down in enemy territory. It was the best training that I absolutely never want to do again, but it makes you respect the men and women who have been POWs even that much more.”

Citta said she’s grateful for the many opportunities she’s received as a Navy Reserve Sailor.

“The way everything panned out for me specifically is something I didn’t expect,” said Citta. “I joined in 2015 expecting to be a full-on Navy Reserve Sailor, drilling once a month and two weeks every year. I was in school to become a veterinary technician when I was asked to move to Jacksonville. I thought that would be my path. Then, I came here and the Navy ended up giving me so many opportunities and benefits I didn’t think I’d have. Staying a Navy Reserve Sailor on paper gives me just a little more flexibility than active duty in the sense that I don’t have to pick up and move every couple years. I can find a job in the civilian world whenever I’d like, but having the Navy Reserve in my back pocket has really made a difference.”
 

Source: United States Navy

While Sailors have previously participated in the Atlanta Airshow, Navy Week Atlanta will bring between 50 and 75 Sailors from across the nation to volunteer throughout the community and discuss why the Navy matters to local and surrounding communities. 

Atlanta Navy Week will feature in-person demonstrations, performances, and engagements throughout the week that will include:

·       Senior Navy Leaders – Flag officer and Navy leaders with ties to Atlanta and the surrounding area.

·       Navy Band Southeast – Performances with Navy Musicians.

·       Naval History and Heritage Command – Educational presentations and lesson plans about the deep ties between Atlanta and the Navy. 

·       USS Constitution – Demonstrations about the oldest commissioned ship in the Navy.

·       Navy Ceremonial Guard – Performances with the Navy’s drill team.

·       Office of Small Business Program – Conducting training on how to do business with the Department of the Navy.

·       Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels – Tactical aerial demonstrations by the Navy’s premier aerial demonstration squadron.

Every Sailor selected to participate in Atlanta Navy Week, except those with an approved waiver for health or religious reasons, will be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Furthermore, the Navy Office of Community Outreach will work closely with community partners in Atlanta and follow guidance from public health officials.

Navy Weeks are the service’s signature outreach program, designed to allow the citizens of Atlanta to learn about the Navy, its people, and its importance to national security and prosperity. The Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO) coordinates Navy Weeks.

“We are excited to bring Navy Week to Atlanta and connect its citizens to their Navy safely and responsibly,” said NAVCO’s director, Cmdr. John Fage. “Atlanta Navy Week will allow us to show the people what their Navy does for them and why the Navy is important to the city, the state, and the nation. We are excited to spend this time giving back to the city and connecting with those whom we serve.”

Since 2005, the Navy Week program has served as the Navy’s flagship outreach effort to regions without a significant Navy presence, with over 250 Navy Weeks held in more than 80 different U.S. markets.

“We coordinate around 75 outreach events throughout the host city during a Navy Week,” said NAVCO Navy Week program manager Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Chambers. “The 2022 schedule is exciting for us because the great citizens of Atlanta continue to welcome the Navy Week program with open arms and are eager to learn more about their Navy.”

For more information on Atlanta Navy Week, contact Mr. Isaiah Sellers at (901) 229-5631 or isaiah.sellers.civ@us.navy.mil.