Month: April 2024

Source: United States Navy

The ceremony honors the lives of U.S. Navy Sailors Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Michael J. Pernaselli and Signalman 2nd Class Christopher E. Watts, and U.S. Coast Guard Damage Controlman 3rd Class Nathan B. Bruckenthal, who died while conducting maritime security operations in the Arabian Gulf on April 24, 2004. The three were stationed aboard the Cyclone-class patrol coastal boat USS Firebolt (PC 10).

The three were killed while intercepting a suspicious dhow headed for the Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal in the Northern Arabian Gulf. As their rigid-hull inflatable boat neared the dhow, the vessel exploded in an apparent suicide attack. This action prevented the dhow from hitting its intended target, but caused the RHIB to capsize, leading to the three service members losing their lives in the process.

“Their heroism in the waters of the North Arabian Gulf 20 years ago today inspires us still,” said Vice Adm. George Wikoff, commander of U.S. 5th Fleet, who spoke at the ceremony. “Even as we speak, Sailors not unlike these three young men are facing down anti-ship ballistic missiles and one-way attack drones in the Red Sea. Like these heroes from Firebolt, they sail unflinchingly into harm’s way, understanding theirs is no ‘routine mission.’”
 
Wikoff also noted that today, Sailors and Coastguardsmen in the Arabian Gulf and the Northern Arabian Sea provide assistance to mariners when needed, and board suspect vessels to ensure regional maritime security, interdicting illicit drug trafficking, and seizing weapons intended for malign actors.

“They, too, know it’s no ‘routine mission,’” he said.

The ceremony also included recapping the lives and accomplishments of the three service members as well as the playing of Taps and tolling a bell 11 times, symbolic of church bells which rang on the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 to signal the end of the First World War.

Firebolt, which was decommissioned in February 2022, was commissioned in June 1995. It began conducting coastal patrol operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet in 2003. Prior to operating from Bahrain, the ship helped secure New York City’s harbor immediately following the September 11th terrorist attacks. Months later, Firebolt conducted coastal patrols in the Arabian Gulf during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse comprises of 20 countries and includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.

Source: United States Navy

The DON has launched an online dashboard called the Energy & Water Analysis Tool (EWAT) that displays timely, accurate installation energy operational data that supports more agile and responsive departmental action for energy resilience investments and operational decisions.

“Leaders will be able to get an enterprise-wide view of key energy, water, utility outage, and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) metrics with the most current data, and get right down to the details,  which is critical to our decision-making as a department,” said Meredith Berger, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) for Energy, Installations, and Environment (EI&E) and the DON Chief Sustainability Officer. “A component, installation, or region commander will be able to use this user-friendly dashboard to quickly analyze and sort authoritative data to track energy and water program goals, project success and evaluate trends and plan for future growth. The dashboard will accelerate analysis by aggregating data with useful metrics that will enable investments that improve infrastructure and ultimately, quality of life for our Sailors, Marines, and Communities.”

The dashboard utilizes existing data sources and reports to give commanders fast and reliable information on their resources so that they can make informed decisions. As a result, across the DON, leaders will have the information to advance strategic objectives. For example, users can track progress towards achieving Executive Order 14057: a 65% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. For the Navy and Marine Corps, climate action is a warfighting advantage, a tactical and strategic enabler. It is another guarantee that the force is prepared: they are trained, equipped, able to deter, and if necessary, they will fight and win.

The PIO seeks to be the DON’s trusted source of integrated analytics to navigate strategic decisions and achieve improved outcomes. DON PIO seeks to advance SECNAV’s priorities, through the key values of integrate, enable, and improve, allowing PIO to develop a data analytics environment that overcomes traditional barriers and rises above organizational silos. Learn more about the DON PIO by reading its Decision Superiority Vision.

The Office of the ASN for EI&E serves the DON and the nation by enhancing combat capabilities for the warfighter through a focus on communities, critical infrastructure, and climate action. Specifically, the portfolio focuses on renewable, reliable, resilient energy sources, sustainability and construction, maintenance and sustainment of infrastructure, protecting the safety and occupational health of military and civilian personnel; environmental protection in support of mission readiness, planning and restoration ashore and afloat; and conservation of natural and cultural resources.  

Source: United States Navy

The geographic area enclosed by the latitude and longitude coordinates below, and the air space above, is an area within which may be awarded: the Combat Action Ribbon (CAR); personal military decorations that include the “V” and “C” devices (including the Bronze Star Medal without devices); and the Air Medal on a Strike/Flight basis.  The “R” device may be awarded on personal military decorations that recognize direct hands-on impact on combat operations and engagements that occur within this geographic area.  This authorization is effective from 19 October 2023 to a date to be determined.  The designated area is bounded by the following coordinates:

       27-00N 032-05E

       09-38N 043-00E

       11-49N 051-16E

       16-39N 053-07E

       19-10N 051-56E

       17-30N 043-05E

       28-40N 035-53E

To qualify for any of these awards and devices, a Service Member must meet all the requirements set forth in separate reference.

     a.  Imminent danger pay is not currently authorized for this geographic area.  Therefore, award of the Bronze Star Medal, CAR, and personal decorations with the “V” and “C” devices will be limited to instances in which the awardee received hostile fire pay for the incident for which the award was made, or at some date within the merit dates of the award.

     b.  A mission involving aerial flight may only be credited toward the Strike Flight Air Medal if at least a portion of that mission took place within the designated airspace.

Released by the Honorable Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Navy.

Source: United States Navy

The awards recognized the collective efforts and outstanding contributions of Associate Chair Brian Greenshields and Associate Professor Tommy Jamison, both from NPS’ Department of Defense Analysis; Professor of the Practice Jeffrey Kline and Faculty Associates-Research Mary McDonald and Stephen Upton from the Department of Operations Research; Department of Defense Management lecturer Dr. Mitchell McCarthy; and numerous other NPS personnel and students. 

Also honored were two resident faculty members from the Naval War College (NWC) at NPS – Dr. Yvonne Chiu, Associate Professor of Strategy and Policy, and Dr. Jonathan Czarnecki, Professor of Joint Military/Maritime Operations. 

Dr. Andy Hernandez, a retired U.S. Army colonel and current Associate Chair for Operations with the NPS Department of Systems Engineering, serves as lead principal investigator on the project.

Initiated in April 2022 at the behest of then-Vice Adm. Stuart Munsch, director of Joint Force Development (J7) on the Joint Staff, the project aimed to develop detailed models encompassing critical variables pertinent to an operational scenario in the INDOPACOM region.

Specifically, the request was for NPS to develop an independent, multidisciplinary academic approach to examine the effects of operational variables on deterrence and to quantify those relationships. The initial study on military deterrence included a combination of problem structuring techniques, systems analysis, campaign analysis, wargaming, computer simulation and experimentation, political analysis, and thorough regional expertise. More than two dozen faculty members and researchers, along with more than a dozen students, contributed to the research effort.

The interdisciplinary team was comprised of experts from diverse fields, including regional security studies, political science, military operations, systems engineering, and computer science. The team was assembled from NPS and the Naval War College, as well as other government and non-governmental institutions.

Chiu served as team leader for the project’s indications and warning, as well as value modeling efforts, and was one of many significant contributors to the project’s success.

“The value modeling and the simulations models prompted some reconsideration and revision of existing DOD doctrine, and generated actionable strategic, operational, and force design recommendations across the relevant operational variables for Joint Staff J7 and INDOPACOM,” noted Chiu. “This project also demonstrates the use and value of this particular multi-method and multi-disciplinary approach to mission engineering.”

Beyond its immediate impact, the project lays the groundwork for future endeavors, particularly in the realm of economic deterrence. 

“Other DOD units have expressed interest in both the project’s results and its tools and methodology,” said Chiu. “So, there will be applications of the results, tools, and methodology for other DOD research and planning projects.”

The project team’s results were presented to multiple offices, including J7, the Navy’s Warfighting Development team (OPNAV N7), and INDOPACOM’s Strategic Planning and Policy Directorate (J5), from July to October 2023. In February 2024, the team presented results regarding “Posture” as an operational variable during INDOPACOM’s Posture Conference. The discussion led the INDOPACOM J56 to make some decisions in its current approach.

Hernandez emphasized the significance of integrating the team’s results into future concepts. 

“The J7 will use these results to inform Joint Force Design and the next generation of the Joint Warfighting Concept,” said Hernandez. “Additionally, the NPS project results prompted J7 to expand the work. While the initial effort was on the military instrument of national power, the work for FY24 and FY25 will develop economic deterrence options … These FY24 and FY25 efforts can greatly contribute to developing INDOPACOM’s theater engagement plan and deterrence efforts.”

The next phase for the project team is the development of functional economic deterrence options (FEDO). This effort began in February 2024 and is ongoing.

“NPS’ emphasis on STEM education alongside its regional and strategic studies education in its own departments and in the resident NWC-at-NPS program provided a central pool of diverse experts who already converse with each other on national security issues,” said Chiu. “This was a solid foundation on which to build their collaboration and broader coordination with other institutions for this project.” 

The recognition highlights NPS’ pivotal role in advancing defense capabilities and underscores the institution’s commitment to excellence in defense research and education.

Source: United States Navy

The ceremony at EWTGPAC, located on Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, marked the official launch of a $5 million renovation project supporting the growing demand for training Reserve Sailors during the MAKO series of exercises, in which 1,200 Reserve sailors participated during the past year.

“This ribbon cutting is a major milestone in our journey to deliver trained, ready Reserve Forces.” said Vice Adm. Mustin. The training at the new facility will provide “real world, relevant training so Fleet Commanders, like Vice Adm. Boyle, can fight and win decisively against even the most advanced adversary.”

In 2020 Mustin issued his initial Navy Reserve Fighting instructions communicating his singular priority: Warfighting Readiness.

“Bottom line, the Navy Reserve exists to contribute to the Navy’s ability to fight and win in armed conflict. And in our business, there is no room for failure, and the margin between winners and losers is razor thin. That is why this Center of Excellence is so important,” Mustin explained.

The MAKO series of exercises grew out of an idea from Retired Rear Adm. Grant Mager, OLW LOE Lead, with the first proof-of-concept version taking place in 2021, and evolving from a single, extended drill weekend evolution to an expansive exercise series.

MAKO exposes Reserve sailors to maritime operations, planning, mission orders, integrated fires, among other skill sets, with the goal of seamlessly integrating Reservists into Fleet Maritime Operations Centers (MOC), and ultimately enhancing the critical depth the Navy requires to win in an era of great power competition.

Twelve iterations of MAKO have been conducted to date, supporting Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Tenth Fleets, as well as US Fleet Forces, Naval Forces Europe and Pacific Fleet.

Vice Adm. Mustin explained, “The Center of Excellence is central to generating forces with a standardized set of skills, maintaining currency and proficiency in the perishable critical qualifications. The realization of this COE ensures the Reserve Force is trained to… provide warfighting capability on day one.”

The renovations are required at EWTGP so as to not interfere with EWTGP’s core mission and to support the growing demand for continued training of Reserve OLW sailors. The funding was utilized for facility upgrades of the HVAC, electrical, and security systems, extensive NCTE (Navy Continuous Training Environment) expansion and for the outfitting of new COE spaces with Live Virtual Constructive (LVC) capabilities. In addition to the $5 million to be spent in FY25, $4 million of annual sustainment and maintenance funding was approved as well.

“This ceremony commemorating the establishment of our first OLW COE is an inflection point in the history of the Navy Reserve. It serves as a reminder that we are today investing in what is required to be and remain an elite warfighting force, laser-focused on warfighting readiness.”

“Our vision and investment will continue to yield dividends for our Navy’s warfighting capability and capacity today and in the future,” said Mustin.

“As we look to the future of the MAKO series exercises and the 1200 Reserve sailors that will walk thru these doors annually, becoming more skilled, more capable and delivering a more lethal Navy Reserve Force,” Mustin continued, “I look forward to sleeping soundly at night knowing our sailors are ready. Ready to stand the watch where and when it matters… adversaries beware. Now – Let’s get busy!”