Month: June 2023

Source: United States Navy

Gunner’s Mate is one of the five original ratings established in The Naval Armament Act of 1794 along with Boatswain’s Mate, Quartermaster, Master-at-Arms, and Yeoman.

During a brief speech, Harrison reflected on her achievement, answering a question that she commonly receives – “How did you do it?”

“The thing I always say is: not by myself,” Harrison said. “It’s my sailors, my mentors, my friends… It’s through the connections that we have with our shipmates.”

While Harrison’s advancement was a historical achievement for the Gunner’s Mate community, her milestone also signified a triumph for all enlisted Sailors as a sign of the progress that women have made in the military.

Chief of Navy Reserve, Vice Adm. John Mustin presided at the event to recognize Harrison’s accomplishments and administer the oath of enlistment in front of her family and friends, as well as visitors of the memorial. 

“This is a pretty significant accomplishment as an individual milestone, but also for the service; probably long overdue, but I couldn’t be more psyched to be here to share this moment with you,” Mustin said during the ceremony. “I am thrilled that every one of you has an opportunity to reflect on this moment because we’re going to be able to look back on this and say that we were there the moment it happened.”

By achieving the rank of E-9, Harrison joined a small fraction of leadership charged with bridging the gap between officers and enlisted personnel, while acting as supervisors and advocates for their Sailors. 

In keeping with ceremonial customs, Harrison also handed down her Senior Chief insignia to a Sailor who she believes is ready to take on greater responsibility at the next rank. Chief Gunner’s Mate Kali Larraga accepted them with an embrace.

As part of her speech, Harrison recognized Larraga’s growth as a Sailor and leader. Elaborating more during an interview, Harrison described how Larraga’s words helped her realize the weight of her achievement.

“She said, ‘we’re looking for someone to show us it can be done’… that was a big eye-opener for me,” Harrison said. “Looking up and seeing somebody who looks like you is a powerful thing. She made me see that, and she probably doesn’t understand the enormity of it, but one day she will.” 

Although Harrison’s promotion marks a first for the service, unrestricted opportunities for women in the Navy were not always present. 

Only since 1994 has the service allowed women to lawfully work in combat roles, despite the critical positions that women have held in the Navy since 1908 when the Navy Nurse Corps was first established by Congress.

Over the years, the Navy has made strides toward the inclusion of women and throughout her time in service, Harrison has witnessed first-hand the cultural shift regarding women in the military.

“I remember when I walked in [to my first command], I was asked if I was the new admin,” Harrison said. “But I don’t hear those questions anymore. I see it becoming more commonplace to have females work in weapons fields. And I think the only way that we continue to drive that as a Navy is to remove the barriers and remove the division.”

Committed to further removing barriers for Sailors, Harrison now works at the Chief of Naval Personnel headquarters, in Arlington, Virginia. In the Navy’s Culture and Force Resilience Office, leading enlisted Sailors and advising a team of officers in matters that include diversity, equity, and inclusion policy updates and holistic support services for the fleet.

Previously, Harrison delivered educational training to the fleet on the Navy’s Warrior Toughness program, which emphasizes developing the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of Sailors. 

Harrison has served in the Navy Reserve for 17 years, 14 of those years on active duty orders. During that time, she deployed to Iraq and Kuwait, completed a Bachelor’s degree, a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Education, while also raising her young sons, Logan and Trey.

“I always wanted to show my children that it could be done, and I was the first of my siblings to even graduate,” Harrison said.

Harrison’s accomplishments have demonstrated her drive, determination and commitment to the Navy and to her family. Her story should serve as inspiration to not only past and present Sailors, but also to anyone who hopes to someday serve in the armed forces.

“One day, we’re going to not be a Navy of firsts,” Harrison said. “I look forward to that day.”

Harrison’s accomplishment was mirrored by Gunner’s Mate Senior Chief Jessica Saunders, who screened for Master Chief Petty Office by the Fiscal Year 2024 Active-Duty Navy E9 Screening Board in May.

For more news from the Chief of Naval Personnel, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, or visit https://www.navy.mil/cnp

Source: United States Navy

On April 7, 2021, Charleston departed San Diego for her maiden deployment with an embarked detachment from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 21. While deployed, the ship completed mission tasking for both U.S. 3rd and U.S. 7th Fleet Areas of Operation like patrolling the East and South China Seas, training for contested maritime resupply tasking, and operating with an Amphibious Ready Group. Charleston was also the first LCS to conduct mine countermeasure training outside U.S. waters and was the first commissioned U.S. naval ship to enter the port of Manilla, Philippines since 2019.

“Returning from the longest littoral combat ship deployment to date is an extremely proud moment for our crew,” said Cmdr. Matthew Knuth, commanding officer of Charleston Gold crew. “Our work over-the-horizon would not have been possible without the dedication of each and every Sailor of both Charleston crews and all the entities that supported us out there.”

Charleston participated in various exercises while under the operational control of Destroyer Squadron Seven including Cooperation Afloat Readiness Training Brunei, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Timor Leste, Exercise Kakadu 2022, integrated Operation Noble Vanguard 22, Operation Loaded Stingray, Operation La Perouse, and Super Garuda Shield.

The ship completed joint missions in support of forward presence and maritime law operations. The U.S. Coast Guard’s Pacific Tactical Law Enforcement Detachment 104 teamed with Charleston and HSC 21 to protect United States and Pacific Island Nation resource security and sovereignty during a Secretary of Defense Oceania Maritime Security Initiative mission. The ship also conducted combined, integrated, naval operations with countries like Australia, Japan, France, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. During its 26-month deployment it conducted several patrols in the East and South China Seas, providing a forward presence to deter aggression and maintain an open and free Indo-Pacific region.
“Our presence in the Indo-Pacific strengthened partnerships, developed relationships, and increased the Fleet’s lethality,” said Cmdr. Nellie Wang, commanding officer of Charleston Blue crew. “I could not be more honored to have been a part of this deployment’s Charleston team.”

As a littoral combat ship, Charleston has both a Blue crew and a Gold crew, which alternate being “on-hull” aboard the ship and “off-hull” conducting training in San Diego. Gold crew spent three periods on-hull forward-deployed aboard the ship, and Blue crew spent two periods on-hull. The ship remained away from homeport during the entirety of its deployment thanks largely in part to the work of both crews and Maintenance Execution Teams (METs) that met Charleston in maintenance hubs throughout Oceania to include Guam, Hawaii, and Singapore.

“From the days of COVID seclusion in Guam to return to normal operations in Singapore, the mighty Charleston was there answering the call for every type of tasking imaginable,” said Cmdr. John Actkinson, who was aboard Charleston Gold crew as both executive officer and commanding officer during the deployment. “Most noteworthy to me was after we were the first LCS to pull into Sasebo, Japan, we were tasked to take 45 pallets of goods out into the Philippine Sea to replenish a destroyer that couldn’t come into port.”

The crews also deepened relationships with allies, partners, and friends through distinguished visitor meetings aboard the ship. Charleston hosted the German Minister of Defense, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer; Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Vice Adm. Fukuda Tatsuya, commander of Fleet Escort Force, and Rear Adm. Shimizu Hitoshi, commander of Escort Flotilla Two; and the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Mike Gilday.

With Charleston’s arrival back to homeport, there are currently three Independence-variant littoral combat ships deployed to provide forward presence and conduct maritime security, sea control, and deterrence missions both near-shore and on the high seas.
Charleston is homeported in San Diego as part of Mine Division Twelve and Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One. LCS are versatile, mission-focused platforms designed to operate in near-shore environments and win against 21st-century coastal threats.
For more news from Commander, Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One, visit https://www.surfpac.navy.mil/comlcsron1/ or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/COMLCSRONONE/.
 

Source: United States Navy

As an ideal setting for experimenting and testing new capabilities and technologies in a cooperative maritime environment, exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 23 showcases growing U.S. Sixth Fleet unmanned systems capabilities.

As in previous years, U.S. Sixth Fleet is partnering with the U.S. Naval research enterprise to bring the latest advancements in emerging unmanned technologies to conduct mine countermeasures (MCM) operations. To forward these efforts, Sailors and Marines are experimenting and integrating with Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs). 

“The BALTOPS exercise series is a great opportunity to experiment,” said Anthony Constable, an Office of Naval Research science advisor to U.S. Sixth Fleet. “BALTOPS is well-supported by Allies and partners, and because the exercise has such a strong history, it gives us ample opportunity to collect operator feedback on how they can best utilize the systems. Additionally, it allows us to showcase new technology to our NATO partners for future collaboration.” 

Unmanned systems provide additional warfighting capability at sea and become a force multiplier to traditional manpower. Also, unmanned systems allow navies to take on greater operational risk by removing or distancing warfighters from high threat areas while maintaining a tactical and strategic advantage. 

For this year’s BALTOPS, planners primarily focused experimentation on four capabilities: 

• In-Stride Detect to Engage Sequence. UUVs with automatic target recognition technology and advanced communications capabilities conducted real-time mission analysis and sent a sonar image of a potential underwater mine to Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians within minutes of traveling over the item. This capability significantly reduces MCM operational timelines from hours to minutes.
• Launching UUVs using a USV. UUVs, which scan the ocean floor for potential mines, are currently delivered to contested areas by operators using rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB) or other manned small vessels. Using USVs to deliver UUVs reduces the risk of fatalities or injury by ordnance and allows operators to stay safe while the UUV scans the area. 
• Very Shallow Water and Surf Zone Operations. Shallow water areas represent some of the most hazardous areas to operate for marines and sailors. In this scenario, members of the experimentation task unit facilitated an autonomous collaboration test using a UAV and USV to map an underwater area, allowing boats and personnel to approach a beach site safely.
• Joint Personnel Recovery. The JPR scenario involves sending the USV out to a distressed pilot, recovering the personnel, and bringing them back to a safe location – all unmanned, and remotely controlled from a nearby vessel.

Joe Klein, the Joint Personnel Recovery Program Manager for BALTOPS 23, emphasized the unique aspects of implementing a USV in a JPR scenario.

“I thought this was a great opportunity,” Klein said, referencing the USV. “This is the first time that we’ve done (JPR) with a USV, and it’s a relatively simple scenario, but we’re interested in the communications aspect, like ‘How do you vector the USV into positions,’ and ‘how do we strap the recovery target into the vehicle, as an unmanned system?’ So we’re working through those dilemmas, while also testing it as a solution to some of our problems… You can assume more risk with a USV – it has a pretty low profile, it’s not easy to spot compared to our usual, larger recovery force… it adds resources to recovering in high-threat areas.”

U.S. Sixth Fleet (SIXTHFLT) and STRIKFORNATO-led BALTOPS 23 is the premier annual maritime-focused exercise uniting 19 NATO Allies and one NATO to provide complex training designed to strengthen the combined response capability critical to preserving the freedom of navigation and security in the Baltic Sea. U.S. European Command and U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) have promoted the traditional U.S.-led or bi-lateral exercises as opportunities for NATO to improve interoperability as a collective force, using NATO command and control systems as a foundation for the exercise design.

For over 80 years, NAVEUR-NAVAF 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. SIXTHFLT is permanently assigned to NAVEUR-NAVAF and employs maritime forces through the full spectrum of joint and naval operations.

STRIKFORNATO, headquartered at Oeiras, Portugal, is a rapidly deployable and scalable headquarters, under the operational command of SACEUR, capable of planning and executing full spectrum joint maritime operations including maritime ballistic missile defense, primarily through integration of U.S. and other nation’s carrier and amphibious forces into NATO operations to provide assurance, deterrence, and collective defense for the Alliance.