Month: September 2023

Source: United States Navy

NEWPORT, R.I. – Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti hosted the CNO Futures Wargame at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, Aug. 29-30. 

This wargame provided a forum for senior officers and civilians to discuss the enduring roles and missions for the future Navy, as well as the concepts and capabilities required for its employment.

Franchetti opened the wargame discussing why the Navy is reinvigorating the long-range planning process and what needs to be done to sharpen the Navy’s warfighting edge. 

“We are identifying the capabilities we must invest in now to maintain our advantage in the maritime environment of the future,” said Franchetti. “This wargame will help us design the fleet America needs to preserve the peace, prepare for war, and if called upon, win decisively in combat.”

Developed by the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfighting Development, Vice Adm. Jeff Hughes, the annual wargame is a way for senior leaders to explore new and existing concepts of operations as they pertain to different threat environments. The wargame serves as a capstone analytic event intended to familiarize senior Navy leaders with Force Design.

“This game is a key component in the Navy’s work to implement an iterative and consistent process to focus our modernization efforts and optimize the capabilities we need to maintain our edge in this decade and beyond,” said Hughes. “Our long-term planning expertise supports Navy policy and planning processes, requirements, and long-term investment decisions, to ensure we maintain warfighting advantage well into the future.” 

Franchetti led attendees in classified discussions emphasizing that future wars will be fought together with the people and partners we build today. 

“Platforms matter, and we must also develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the Sailors and civilians who form our warfighting team,” Franchetti said. “Similarly, we must continue to build on our momentum with our allies and partners around the globe —at the tactical, operational, and strategic level—so that we can truly sail and fight as one team, dedicated to the principles and values that unite us.”

The Navy will analyze the results of the wargame over the coming weeks and months to guide Force Design implementation across the fleet.

Source: United States Navy

The posturing of the mobile kit enables an ERSS crew to support the Naval and Joint Force with a quick, ready, and relevant medical unit. The team can quickly deploy to provide role 2 medical care for servicemembers in remote locations afloat, undersea, or ashore during combat or contingency operations with minimal personnel and portable equipment.

“This is the first of a number of medical capability sets that we will sustain in forward locations to better support our Sailors and Marines,” said Rear Admiral Darin Via, Acting Surgeon General. “It is all part of a greater strategy to align our medical force to best support Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO).”

Naval Medical Readiness Logistics Command was responsible for procuring, packaging, and deploying these expeditionary medical containers into Indo Pacific Command’s Area of Operation. “Having this medical equipment forward deployed quickens response times and reduces risk to operational personnel in austere locations,” said Capt. Matt Marcinkiewicz, NMRLC’s Commanding Officer. It also provides and opportunity to train with our allies and partners allies across the INDO-PACOM area of responsibility, building trust and strengthening our relationships across the region.

When the ERSS equipment arrived at Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Guam, Sailors performed an item check and inventory review of each container, inspecting all material, disposition of supplies, and expiration dates. The containers consisted of ventilators, bandages, blood refrigerators, and other components needed to perform surgery in an operational environment. Sailors also prepared labels for each ERSS set and organized the cases in a climate-controlled storage room to ensure the equipment was safe and ready for use.

NMRTC Guam is preparing to host future Navy ERSS teams at their medical facility. “Staging medical assets at a forward deployed site ensures that when the call to deploy medical teams occurs, there are no shipping delays of the equipment sets,” said Capt. Accursia Baldassano, Director, Branch Clinics, NMRTC Guam. “Supplies are ready for use in the operational environment.”

Navy Medicine is positioning expeditionary medical platforms such as the ERSS to support Sailors, Marines, and joint warfighters with standardized, modular, and scalable medical capabilities that can be employed across the competition continuum.

“Having ERSS capabilities in Guam will enhance our Naval forces strategic agility, operational reach, and tactical flexibility,” Marcinkiewicz said.

Julius L. Evans, NMRLC Public Affairs and Jaciyn Matanane, NMRTC Guam Public Affairs contributed to this story.

Source: United States Navy

LA UNION, Philippines – Pacific Partnership has concluded its mission stop in San Fernando, August 30, at a closing ceremony hosted by provincial leadership at La Union High School. In addition to mission leadership, the City Mayor, Vice Mayor and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff were also in attendance.

Source: United States Navy

AWIC is a scenario-based building block curriculum for commands that comprise Carrier Strike Groups, and Amphibious Readiness Groups, designed to help Sailors prepare for their Composite Training Unit Exercise, better known as COMPTUEX, as they seek deployment certifications.

The San Diego and Virginia Beach AWIC teams collaborate and coordinate training evolutions for deploying information warfare teams in order to help enable operational readiness across the fleet.

Cryptologic Technician Technical 1st Class Jasmine Turner, course supervisor for AWIC at the Virginia Beach site, explained that both officer and enlisted personnel within these Information Warfare teams are provided the knowledge and skills “to perform as an integrated Information Warfare team at the basic phase level, capable of providing indications and warnings for battlespace awareness to appropriate commanders in support of fleet intelligence operations.”

Turner summarized the course as an opportunity for teams to understand the baseline for how to run their watch floors while on deployment.

The AWIC course at IWTC Virginia Beach consists of three week long iterations (AWIC 1, 2, and 3) that steadily build in difficulty. AWIC 1 is a scenario simulated underway that helps supplementary plot and expeditionary plot Sailors develop their fundamental watch standing skills and processes, such as monitoring chat rooms and tactical reports, learn about the greater composite warfare command structure, and understand standard operating procedures. AWIC 2 increases the level of tension and amount of reporting during the simulated underway period, requiring the students to collaborate, incorporate, and fuse all source intelligence for the appropriate warfare commander. AWIC 3 raises the level of underway simulation to extremely heightened tensions and integrates all aspects of the information warfare community.

Cryptologic Technician Collection Chief Marlena Peter, the course supervisor for AWC at the San Diego site, described the cohesive and organic flow from AWIC 1 to AWIC 3 as a process that becomes “more kinetic and increasingly difficult as the teams becomes more proficient.” Only after teams are deemed proficient at the basic fundamentals can they proceed to the more difficult stages of the course.

The AWIC courses provide each command with a scenario based on the area of responsibility in which the command will be deployed. The Pacific and the Middle East are the current predominant options. The San Diego AWIC team has been instrumental in the development of new scenarios for the course, spearheading the development of a new series of 5th Fleet scenarios and the first ever scenario for 7th Fleet.

Thus far in 2023, Virginia Beach and San Diego have helped train eleven commands including seven Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) and four Amphibious Readiness Groups (CPR); including CSG-2 (USS Dwight D. Eisenhower), CSG-8 (USS Harry S. Truman), CSG-5 (USS Ronald Reagan), CSG-1 (USS Carl Vinson), CSG-9 (USS Theodore Roosevelt), CSG-3 (USS Abraham Lincoln), CPR-8 (USS Bataan), CPR-4 (USS Wasp), CPR-5 (USS Boxer), CPR-11 (USS America).

IWTCVB currently offers 74 courses of instruction in information technology, cryptology, and intelligence with an instructor and support staff of over 300 military, civilian, and contract members who train over 7,000 students yearly at five training sites. It is one of four schoolhouses for the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT) and also oversees learning sites at Fort Huachuca, Ariz.; Jacksonville and Mayport, Fla.; Kings Bay, Ga.; and Groton, Conn.

With four schoolhouse commands, two detachments, and training sites throughout the United States and Japan, Center for Information Warfare Training trains over 26,000 students every year, delivering trained information warfare professionals to the Navy and joint services. Center for Information Warfare Training also offers more than 200 courses for cryptologic technicians, intelligence specialists, information systems technicians, electronics technicians, and officers in the information warfare community.

Source: United States Navy

“At Souda Bay, we truly sit at the overlap of the U.S. European, U.S. Africa and U.S. Central Commands’  areas of responsibility,” said Lt. Jared Goulette, operations officer, NSA Souda Bay. “We’re able to capitalize on our strategic location by providing the Joint force with the operational support they need to project the full might of the U.S. military across these critical geographic areas.”

During the 763rd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron’s forward deployment to Greece, NSA Souda Bay supported the unit by providing jet fuel and air operations support to the RC-135 Rivet Joint and crew. NSA Souda Bay also provided the lodging for the crew of more than 60 personnel.

In a dynamic display of agility and combat effectiveness, the U.S. Air Force Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint assigned to the 763rd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, recently showcased its indispensable role during Operation Agile Spartan, Aug. 18-23, 2023.

Commonly referred to as the RJ, the RC-135 Rivet Joint deployed from Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is a high-altitude, reconnaissance aircraft. The RJ forward deployed to Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Greece, to exercise their ability to generate combat missions in various locations in and out of U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility. This capability to operate with coalition partners maintains interoperability, strengthening U.S. force posture.

“As regional and global adversaries become more unpredictable, the ability to rapidly and adaptably deploy to atypical or dispersed locations, becomes essential to regional stability,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Jonathan Ruiz, 763rd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron detachment commander.

During the exercise, the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing provided in-flight refueling from the KC-135 for the RJ, and transport for mission essential personnel in addition to support for partner air platforms. The 912th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron operated from an austere location proving their ability to maintain a resilient and flexible logistics network capable of supporting agile combat employment operations. This allowed our partner nation and U.S aircrews’ freedom of movement and sustained airpower for longer periods of time, extending their reach in the Middle East.

The joint effort not only highlighted the 379th AEW’s commitment of maintaining readiness and deterrence toward adversaries in the USCENTCOM’s AOR, but also wing’s ability to rapidly generate combat airpower and engage in ACE scenarios.

The RJ provides national leaders and regional partners with a unique capability, providing real-time intelligence, surveillance, and dissemination to mission and coalition partners, augmenting regional and international security.

Between the flight deck crew, electronic warfare officers, intelligence operators and in-flight maintenance technicians, the team was able to gather critical information, process data, and transmit actionable intelligence to decision-makers on the ground and in the air.

“This aircraft is the only one in the world that can do what we do,” said Senior Airman Gregory Allen, 763rd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron airborne cryptologic language analyst. “We get to work closely with decision makers, and getting to see the impact of our mission is rewarding.”

Aircrews gather the data in real time to provide imminent threat warnings, protecting assets around the AOR.

“Our team works tirelessly to prepare for the next conflict and to ensure theater and global security,” Ruiz said. “I’m proud to serve with these Airmen and proud of what we bring to the fight every day.”

The RJ has been active in all other theaters around the world, but has consistently conducted 13,460 non-stop combat missions and completed over 145,000 flying hours throughout the Middle East for 33 years in support of operations DESERT STORM, DESERT SHIELD, NORTHERN WATCH, SOUTHERN WATCH, ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM, and now INHERENT RESOLVE and SPARTAN SHIELD.

Operation Agile Spartan acted as a proving ground, testing the RJ’s versatile capabilities and integration into ACE scenarios, solidifying its reputation as a powerful strategic asset in the Middle East and across the globe.