Month: April 2024

Source: United States Navy

Polar Star is the U.S.’ only heavy icebreaker. Polar Star’s primary mission is to support scientific research at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, by breaking ice and keeping the sea channels clear for supplies to move in and out.

The Navy and Coast Guard divers were on hand to provide emergency underwater ship’s husbandry services. During the deployment, Coast Guard and Navy divers conducted medical training and training on all aspects of recompression chamber operations.

“For dive operations, we’re required to be able to reach a recompression chamber within six hours, whether that’s by helo or at a local hospital,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Brian Korte, U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area’s dive force manager. “The Coast Guard doesn’t currently have a chamber so that’s why we partner with the Navy divers to bring that capability onboard Polar Star. We couldn’t have done the mission without them.”

The Coast Guard expects to acquire the same type of recompression chamber the Navy has early next year.

“The time that they didn’t spend diving, was spent on qualification training with the junior Coast Guard divers, showing them how to use the chamber and practicing procedures under pressure,” said Korte.

The joint dive team conducted 72 military dives totaling about 1,198 minutes of bottom time as deep at 45-feet.

Joint missions like Operation Deep Freeze are opportunities for the Navy and Coast Guard to innovate new tactics and improve existing capabilities in a challenging environment.

“Diving in 29 degree water, there’s a lot of challenges,” said Korte. “A tear in the dry suit or frozen equipment adds risk to what would be a routine dive.”

The U.S. is an Arctic nation with sovereign territory and maritime claims. Despite containing the world’s smallest ocean, the Arctic Region has the potential to connect nearly 75% of the world’s population.

As a component of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group ONE, EODMU-3 provides skilled and combat-ready deployable forces around the globe to support a range of operations in any environment.

Source: United States Navy

Gunston Hall originally embarked the Platoon of French Marines in February when they pulled into Portsmouth, UK. The U.S. Navy embarking, integrating, and operating with Allied forces demonstrated NATO’s ability to deploy forces rapidly from North America and other parts of the Alliance to reinforce the defense of Europe across thousands of kilometers, from the High North to Central and Eastern Europe, and in any conditions.

“Working with the French Marines has been beneficial to becoming a more efficient and stronger Alliance” said Cmdr. Christopher W. Van Loenen, Gunston Hall’s commanding officer. “Integrating with our Allies provides us the opportunity to exchange warfighting lessons and learn from each other in real time.”

Steadfast Defender 24 is a multi-domain operational and tactical-level live exercise. During the exercise, Allies demonstrated their ability to deploy some 90,000 forces from North America and other parts of the Alliance, move them to and across Europe, from the Arctic to the Eastern flank of the Alliance, to conduct defensive operations. NATO exercises are defensive, transparent and proportionate, and conducted in full respect of our international obligations.

During Steadfast Defender, Gunston Hall operated alongside Italian Landing Assault Helicopter Ship Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian amphibious transport dock San Giorgio, and French Navy Aquitaine-class Frigate Normandie. Gunston Hall carried out five amphibious exercises and 19 well deck operations in the High North with French, Finnish, and NATO’s newest Ally, Sweden. As these Allies all worked together in the maritime domain, it showcased the interoperability and strength of the Alliance.

Gunston Hall’s integration within Steadfast Defender 2024 and their presence in Sixth Fleet emphasizes the United States Navy’s dedication to NATO’s transatlantic unity and determination to continue to do all that is necessary to protect its Allies, our collective values and the rules-based international order that NATO stands for.

Gunston Hall is an amphibious vessel currently assigned to the U.S. 2nd Fleet based in Norfolk, Virginia. It is one of the 50 NATO naval assets, accompanied by 80 air platforms and 1,100 combat vehicles, participating in Steadfast Defender 24. 2024 year marks the 75th anniversary of the NATO Alliance, and the scale of this exercise is showcased the Alliance’s sheer strength and dominance to keep our one billion people safe.

The U.S. 2nd Fleet, reestablished in 2018 in response to the changing global security environment, develops and employs maritime forces ready to fight across multiple domains in the Atlantic and Arctic to ensure access, deter aggression, and defend U.S., Allied, and partner interests.

U.S. Navy photos and b-roll are available on DVIDS. For more information, contact c2f_pao@us.navy.mil.

Source: United States Navy

Workshop participants included a multi-disciplinary group of experts specializing in diving injuries, hyperbaric physiology, submarine medicine, systems engineering, DoD policy and budget and naval operations. The workshop, titled “Emerging Science and Technology to Address Naval Undersea Medicine Needs: A Workshop”, was structured to foster engagement between these subspecialties to advance undersea medicine to best meet the operational needs of the Navy.

“Brief framing talks for selected discussion topics set the stage for a broader discussion of the topic, such as dive monitoring and injury prevention or submarine medicine,” said workshop chair Dr. Kenneth W. Kizer, a 25-year member of the National Academy of Medicine, a Navy-trained diver and former undersea medical officer. “After these talks, a panel of experts from different, but related, lines of work would respond to those talks with thoughtful reflections and probing questions about the work’s implications, future directions, challenges and opportunities.”

The workshop featured NMR&D researchers from the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL) and Naval Medical Research Command (NMRC), alongside representatives from across the undersea medicine, diving, and submarines communities within ONR, the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery and Naval Sea Systems Command, among others.

“This workshop is unique,” said Dr. David Fothergill, NSMRL science director. “It brings the operational diving and the submarine line community together with researchers from both military laboratories and universities to discuss where cutting edge research in undersea medicine can best be focused to ultimately help our undersea warfighters.”

Fothergill, a Navy-trained diver with more than 30 years of experience in undersea research, was joined by fellow NSMRL colleagues: Dr. Jeffrey Bolkhovsky, winner of the 2023 Navy Emergent Scientist of the Year Award, who specializes in human performance; Dr. Justin Handy, who studies the impacts of stress and resilience on mental health; Dr. Dominica Hernandez, who is working to modernize submarine health screening and assessments; and Linda Hughes, program manager for the Undersea Health Epidemiology Research Program.

NMR&D conducts research in several areas in the undersea domain to include; understanding microbiome changes for prolonged submarine deployments; evaluating the effects of underwater exercise; evaluating technology that studies the impact of diving on vestibular reflex function, light treatment countermeasures, such as blue light to aide in circadian misalignment; sleep studies, particularly in relation to submarine watchbill rotations; ongoing atmospheric monitoring of submarines; blast exposure; the evaluation of the sensitivity and reliability of exhaled nitrous oxide as a non-invasive biomarker; psychological fitness, and the investigation of oxygen toxicity.

Dr. Aaron Hall, a research physiologist with NMRC’s Undersea Medicine Department, gave an overview of central nervous system and pulmonary oxygen toxicity, discussed identifying the role of nitric oxide in oxygen toxicity and spoke about notable achievements in the 20 years since this type of undersea medicine research program review last occurred.

“This is the most expertise in undersea medicine in one setting in a long time,” said Hall. “This workshop represents a gathering of major sponsors, performers, end users and program managers to discuss Undersea Medicine research as it stands now and where it should go in the future.”

“NMRC serves a vital role in transitioning promising basic research into more mature products for the human research labs to study” Hall added. “This workshop amplifies my research by giving an up-to-date assessment of research gaps in addition to sponsor and end user input to make my research portfolio more relevant to the diver and submariner needs.”

According to Kizer, much has changed in the two decades since the last similar review of undersea medicine research priorities. For example, the scientific understanding of some diving-related diseases has significantly changed, to include very recent data showing unexplainable marked variation in an individual’s risk of decompression sickness when diving the same dive profile on different days. Likewise, new research methods being used to investigate other medical problems, like the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence, hold promise for better understanding a variety of diving and submarine medical concerns. Similarly, there have been significant changes on the operational front, including changes in watch duration when deployed and women serving on submarines.

Hughes participated in a workshop discussion focused on potential health concerns of women divers and submariners and the unique research being conducted on those serving in these undersea roles, particularly in the areas of mental health, circadian rhythm and the female reproductive system.

“While some studies on these topics have been conducted on male submariners, and have yet to reveal any long-term effects, no studies have been conducted on female submariners,” said Hughes. “It’s been 13 years since women were assigned to U.S. subs and they’re now assigned to all sub classes and their population is growing exponentially. So now we have a somewhat robust population large enough to study, ideally, from pre-first deployment to beyond separation and long-term effects.”

For Kizer, a member of the Uniformed Services University’s Board of Regents, prioritizing research projects is key when looking for the best opportunities to lead, leverage and enable research, development, technology and engineering.

“Where might there be low-hanging fruit or which knowledge gaps should be filled first because of their likely benefit on undersea warfighter and fleet performance? These are some of the questions we explored.”

“This workshop directly relates to NSMRL’s mission to sustain the readiness and superiority of our undersea warfighters through innovative health and performance research,” added Fothergill. “This is a preeminent virtual workshop specifically focused on undersea warfighters and is so necessary to define areas of research that are sorely needed to improve warfighter performance.”

A formal report of the workshop’s proceedings will be available from NASEM later this year.

ONR’s Undersea Medicine Program’s mission is to provide research funding for the development of novel approaches to undersea biomedical issues so that the undersea warfighter can operate deeper, longer, more safely and more effectively.

The National Academies provide independent, trustworthy advice and facilitate solutions to complex challenges by mobilizing expertise, practice, and knowledge in science, engineering, and medicine.

Along with NMRC and NSMRL, the NMR&D enterprise consists of Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) and Naval Medical Research Units (NAMRU), Dayton, EURAFCENT, INDO PACIFIC, San Antonio and SOUTH. NMR&D is engaged in a broad spectrum of activity from basic science in the laboratory to field studies in austere and remote areas of the world to investigations in operational environments. In support of the Navy, Marine Corps and joint U.S. warfighters, researchers study infectious diseases, biological warfare detection and defense, combat casualty care, environmental health concerns, aerospace and undersea medicine, medical modeling, simulation, operational mission support, epidemiology and behavioral sciences.

Story originally posted on DVIDS: Navy Medicine R&D Researchers Participate in National Academies Undersea Medicine Workshop 

Source: United States Navy

The MQ-4C’s arrival to the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations marks the second forward-deployed detachment for VUP-19.  A total of three detachments are planned when the program is fully operational.  Deployments like this enhance U.S. Navy interoperability with NATO Allies and partners.

“The addition of the MQ-4C Triton, right here in Sigonella, is another milestone in the successful development of the Triton program,” said Capt. Aaron Shoemaker, Commanding Officer, NAS Sigonella. “We are proud to support VUP-19 [Unmanned Patrol Squadron (VUP) 19] as they integrate with the Fleet to expand the roles of unmanned aircraft systems operations in our region and beyond.”

The MQ-4C Triton is the Navy’s newest Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Maritime Patrol asset and augments the capabilities of the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

To prepare for the arrival of the Triton in Italy, VUP-19 “Big Red” held a ceremony to celebrate the deployment and the opening of a new Triton hangar at NAS Sigonella, March 2.  

VUP-19, homeported in Florida at Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport, boasts more than 300 Sailors and officers from various aviation ratings and officer communities who maintain and operate the Triton around the world. Aircrew gather and process surveillance information utilizing data fusion tools that integrate sensor data from multiple aircraft into a comprehensive networked picture to further assist in building an accurate threat representation.

VUP-19 achieved initial operation capability in September 2023 during its deployment to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

Naval Air Station Sigonella provides consolidated operational, command and control, administrative, logistical and advanced logistical support to U.S. and other NATO forces. The installation’s strategic location enables U.S., allied, and partner nation forces to deploy and respond as required, ensuring security and stability in Europe, Africa and Central Command.

For more news and information from NAS Sigonella, visit https://cnreurafcent.cnic.navy.mil/Installations/NAS-Sigonella/ or https://www.facebook.com/nassigonella/.

Source: United States Navy

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael T. Plehn, 17th President of the National Defense University, served as the keynote speaker for 206 graduates, including 19 international students from 12 countries. Plehn shared anecdotes and advice for the new graduates, and current Naval and defense leaders, emphasizing the power of narrative and consistency in one’s career.

“The main theme of my talk is about the power of perseverance and success,” said Plehn. “When you get to lead an organization, you can say something new every time or you can build a story you continue to refine that over time.”

Plehn chose to refine his story, he said, offering a perspective he has evolved over his long distinguished career leading to his five key principals to success – performance, initiative, attitude, education and perseverance.

Plehn expanded on each, emphasizing the importance of taking ownership of your work, honoring your reputation, and persevering to success.  He expressed how important perseverance is in achieving positive results, although a leader understands when to press forward in another direction, he noted.

“Sometimes you have to accept it because there are some failures out there that are final,” Plehn added. “And, the sooner you come to that realization, you can get off onto a new path.”

Plehn also commented on the complementary roles of NDU and NPS, and how the mission of NPS is vital to ensuring the technological leadership of our Navy and joint force. 

“This prestigious school develops warrior talent and research solutions via master’s and PhD programs for the Department of the Navy, DOD, U.S. Government, partners and our allies,” said Plehn. “At the National Defense University, we refer to that as Intellectual Overmatch; and that’s exactly what you’ll bring to the fight.”

Speaking on the convergence of academic rigor and military strategy, retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Ann E. Rondeau, president of NPS, imparted a compelling message on the immediacy of leadership and self-awareness.

“You are leaders,” said Rondeau. “When you hear the term, ‘You’re a future leader,’ don’t settle for that. You’re a leader today and you were a leader prior to coming in here. And your voice is not the voice of the future, it is the voice of now.”

A member of the graduating class, U.S. Navy Lt. Ben Paddock shared his journey earning his master’s in Homeland Security and Defense at NPS, reflecting on its significance in his life and his family’s legacy. Paddock represents the second generation of NPS alumni in his family – his father is also an alumnus of NPS, earning a Master’s in Manpower Systems Analysis in 1986.

 “Coming to NPS has been a lifelong ambition, sparked by my father’s stories from his time here,” he shared. “The experience has expanded my worldview, pushing me academically and allowing me to connect with fellow officers from around the globe. It’s been extraordinary, and I’ll certainly miss it.”

As he prepares to transition from this chapter, Paddock looks forward to the future with anticipation.

“I’m set to join department head school in Newport, Rhode Island, before focusing on Aegis systems in Dahlgren and then taking on the role of chief engineer on the USS Daniel Inouye in Hawaii,” he added.

Plehn wrapped up his address by reinforcing the importance of resilience in the face of adversity. Drawing from a reservoir of personal experience and historical references, Plehn encouraged the graduates to adapt to life’s unpredictable nature and to always pursue excellence.

As the graduates prepared to embark on their next steps, Plehn offered a final reminder.

“Justice, tempered with mercy is a wonderful characteristic in all of our leaders. Invest in the people who show promise,” he said. 

“They’re not going to get it right every single time. You are not going to get it right every single time,” Plehn continued. “There will be failures in front of you, and you get to make a choice about what you do about those failures. Dream big. Work hard. And don’t quit.”

For more information about this latest class and to watch the full ceremony, visit the NPS Graduation website at https://nps.edu/graduation.