Month: June 2024

Source: United States Navy

Exercise Dacia is a tactical-level exercise in the Black Sea, inside Romanian territorial waters, consisting of rapid environmental analysis, mine countermeasures, logistics support and communications with NATO Allies and partners and industry.

Commander of TF-66 Rear Adm. Michael Mattis served as the U.S. Sixth Fleet spokesman and keynote speaker at the opening ceremony for the exercise in Romania.

“This exercise demonstrates our mine countermeasures and unmanned underwater vehicle capabilities, increasing our combined maritime domain awareness in the Black Sea region,” said Mattis. “As we continue to develop new concepts of operations and standards together, we collectively sharpen our competitive edge, promote security and stability and ensure all-domain access.”

Integrating new and enhanced capabilities, like unmanned vehicles, across all domains gives U.S., Allies and partner nations flexible responses to threats in support of shared interests.

Participating nations including France, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Turkiye, U.K, and the U.S. demonstrated their collective capability to retain control of territorial waters in conflict and their dedication to Black Sea security.

TF-66 is U.S. Sixth Fleet’s forward-deployable headquarters, capable of orchestrating joint, all-domain effects in a specific region through asymmetric and unconventional concepts of operations in concert with Allied, coalition, joint, interagency, and other partners to reassure Allies and partners, promote security and stability, and maintain all domain access throughout the European theater.

TF-68 provides explosive ordnance disposal operations, naval construction, expeditionary security, and theater security efforts in the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations.

For over 80 years, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-U.S. Naval Forces Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) has forged strategic relationships with 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. U.S. Sixth Fleet is permanently assigned to NAVEUR-NAVAF, and employs maritime forces through the full spectrum of joint and naval operations.

Source: United States Navy

Capt. Patrick Murphy relieved Capt. Dave Coles as commander of the Middle East region’s forward-deployed destroyer squadron.

Coles, a San Francisco Bay Area native, assumed command of the DESRON in November.

Under Coles’ leadership, DESRON 50 provided direct support to Combined Maritime Forces’ Combined Task Force 150, directing multiple maritime interdictions of vessels, seizing an estimated $128 million in illicit narcotics, denying terrorist organizations the income they need to carry out their malign activities.

He also integrated aerial and surface assets to expand maritime capabilities, coordinating the efforts of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, Air Forces Central Command, and coalition partners to provide a robust presence in the Red Sea region. These efforts resulting in 50 incident-free Bab al-Mandeb transits.

Coles also built maintenance capacity in a highly dynamic environment when he enabled the U.S. Coast Guard’s Patrol Forces Southwest Asia to execute maintenance on all five of their fast-response cutters in a forward logistics location. This kept the FRC fleet 100 percent ready for tasking.

“[Commodore Coles], thank you for leading from the front,” said Vice Adm. George Wikoff, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, and the ceremony’s presiding officer, during his remarks. “Thank you for building trust and strengthening critical partnerships throughout the region. But most of all, thank you for your passion and relentless devotion to duty which serves as an inspiration up and down the chain of command.”

In his remarks, Coles thanked the men and women of the squadron for their dedication to keeping the surface force in the Middle East ready.

“What a privilege to work alongside the ‘Desert Sailors’ of DESRON 50,” Coles said. “Our insatiable appetite for every inch of competitive combat advantage that we can generate is our North Star. Material readiness, Sailor readiness, team readiness guide us toward the ultimate aim of victory at sea if and when we are challenged. I appreciate the staff’s relentless pursuit of these goals.”

Murphy, of Lexington, Massachusetts, assumed command after serving as the deputy commodore since October. A 1999 graduate of The Citadel, he commanded the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG 96).

“It’s a true pleasure to come to work every day and to take care of our Sailors and ships,” Murphy told the DESRON staff in his remarks. “It’s the people that makes this job so rewarding.”

The U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses approximately 2.5 million square miles of water space and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean and three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal and Strait of Bab al-Mandeb.

Source: United States Navy

“A certified construction manager is an individual who brings a level of professionalism, expertise, and credibility to a construction project,” said Thomas Tryon, construction director, NAVFAC Southeast Planning, Design and Construction (PDC) Directorate. “This benefits our enterprise in several ways, including enhancing construction management skills, ensuring compliance with industry standards, improving risk management, and enhancing reputation.”

Certified Construction Managers are professionals who have chosen a career in construction management and have voluntarily met the prescribed criteria of the construction management certification program with regard to formal education, field experience, and demonstrated capability and understanding of the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) body of knowledge.

Naval Facilities Engineering System Command, headquartered in Washington, DC, and parent command of NAVFAC Southeast, has partnered with CMAA to provide a path for employees to participate in CMAA online training — consisting of a rigorous course of instruction, third-party validation of personal construction management experience, and a certification examination.

“Our construction managers play a crucial role in overseeing construction projects for the Navy, Marine Corps, joint services, and other federal agencies,” said Cmdr. Daniel Cloutier, PWD Kings Bay Facilities, Engineering, and Acquisition Division Director. “These professionals ensure assigned projects are completed on time, within budget, in a safe work environment, and to or above the quality standards of the contract.”

The CCM is accredited by the American National Standards Institute® National Accreditation Board under the International Organization for Standardization’s 17024 standard. As of now, 15 additional employees of the NAVFAC Southeast PDC Directorate are pursuing CCM status.

NAVFAC Southeast oversees the planning and design of facility projects, offering essential services in contracting, construction, leasing, environmental management, maintenance, and contingency support, all of which are crucial for meeting the needs of the Navy and the Department of Defense within the Southeast Area of Responsibility. Operating from its Jacksonville office, NAVFAC Southeast is responsible for managing operations across Navy installations spanning from Charleston, South Carolina to Corpus Christi, Texas, and extending southward to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. NAVFAC professionals are also engaged in the acquisition and disposition of real estate, facility management, and maintenance on all Navy bases in the Southeast (SE) region, while concurrently supervising public-private venture (PPV) housing for military families.

Source: United States Navy

The Naval Safety and Environmental Training Center (NAVSAFENVTRACEN) hosted the virtual PDS on April 22-26. The PDS was open to Federal personnel, Federal contractors and students pursuing coursework in related fields. Presented online since 2013, the symposium has continued to grow in both the number of attendees and the topics offered.

This year’s PDS provided over 18,000 continuing education certificates to more than 3,000 registrants. Thirty-four percent of attendees were from the Navy, 4% were Marine Corps, 19% were Army, 1% were Coast Guard, and 13% were Air Force. The remaining 29% were from other DoD organizations and agencies. A global audience was reached, with viewers in 19 countries and 15 time zones.

“The NAVSAFENVTRACEN team has outdone themselves again this year with the successful completion of another symposium for a global audience. This year’s 32nd symposium was another great joint event with over 150 presentations provided throughout the week, including four engaging keynote speakers,” said Commanding Officer Cmdr. Cody Schaal. “As an attendee, it is difficult to see how much effort is required to effectively put on a symposium of this scope. The success of this symposium would not have been possible without the selfless dedication of the volunteer presenters, keynote speakers and the NAVSAFENVTRACEN staff.”

This year’s keynote speakers were Rear Adm. Christopher Engdahl, Commander, Naval Safety Command; Mr. Peter Lynch, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Safety; the Honorable Meredith Berger, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment (EI&E) and the Honorable Douglas Parker, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.

Presenters from government, industry and academic agencies participated in the event and speakers presented from locations worldwide on topics such as health and safety for disaster response and recovery, general safety, operational safety, occupational safety and health, industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, environmental protection and other trending topics.

Engdahl gave a keynote presentation and discussion to over 1,200 online participants. He spoke fundamentally about mishaps and the Safety Management System (SMS) for the naval enterprise.

“The Navy’s SMS establishes a principles-based ecosystem to influence decision-making and behavior across the enterprise in all activities,” said Engdahl. “Our assurance processes are critical to a successful defense-in-depth, including 1st, 2nd and 3rd party assessments. Normalization of deviation or where the accidents happen occurs when these assessment levels accept a lower standard of performance, and that lower standard becomes the “norm” for them.”

Engdahl also presented an informative recent case study for a Nimitz Class 4-Wire CVN configuration near-miss event. Engdahl broke down the value of organization learning and what NAVSAFECOM Enterprise Safety Activities are doing to get after risk and preventing mishaps.

“Inputs by safety professionals to Department of Defense operations are critical to mission success. This symposium is a vehicle to provide training that is both ready and relevant, and industry-aligned,” said Engdahl.

For those interested in participating next year, the symposium is an opportunity to learn about the latest trends, technology, and best practices while allowing participants to interact with subject matter experts of various disciplines. The symposium counts toward continuing education credits from an ever-growing variety of safety, occupational health and environmental topics. The 33rd annual joint PDS is scheduled for 21-25 April 2025.

“The virtual meetings and sessions provide attendees with a great opportunity to gain a wealth of knowledge and continuing education credits without the burden of travel or conference costs,” said Schaal. “This aligns with our accredited training center’s year-round shore-and afloat-based training efforts with 36 safety, occupational health and environmental courses provided across the Navy and Marine Corps in resident and online formats.”

For those registrants who may have missed a session or want to rewatch, recorded sessions are available for viewing at https://events-na2.adobeconnect.com/content/connect/c1/889710285/en/events/event/shared/3613076134/event_landing.html?sco-id=3613093305. You can click on the interactive schedule, select a topic, and press play to start the recording. Viewers can also receive a certificate with CEU credit for watching the recording.

Those interested in presenting during next year’s PDS can email the symposium’s planning committee at NAVSAFENVTRACEN_JOINT_PDS@navy.mil

Source: United States Navy

Established in March 2022, CTF 61/2’s mission is to command and control fleet Marine forces in support of the U.S. Sixth Fleet commander while synchronizing Navy and Marine Corps units and capabilities in the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command’s area of operations. The task force supports regional allies and partners, and U.S. national security interests, by utilizing an integrated Navy and Marine Corps staff structure that strengthens partnership among assigned fleet Marine forces, amphibious ready groups, fleet anti-terrorism security teams, and other assigned forces to serve as a task force headquarters for the commander of U.S. Sixth Fleet.

“Improving naval integration in support of our numbered Fleets and all Combatant Commanders is one of my five priorities,” said Smith. “The Marines here at Task Force 61/2 are living it. These few Marines out here in Naples are having a huge impact across two combatant commands by rounding out the maritime picture. Their ability to assist in the command and control of naval forces, to include our crown jewel—our Marine Expeditionary Units embarked aboard Amphibious Ready Groups—is critical. Because of them, our Combatant Commanders have better maritime domain awareness, seamless access to a large-scale crisis response capability and stand-in forces that can execute reconnaissance, and counter-reconnaissance, and are able to improve interoperability across the joint force and with our NATO allies.”

Smith and Ruiz toured NSA Naples while escorted by CTF 61/2 and U.S. Sixth Fleet service members. Their visit consisted of office calls with key service leaders within the European and African region including U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe-Africa Commanding General Maj. Gen. Robert B. Sofge, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa Commander Adm. Stuart B. Munsch, U.S. Sixth Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Thomas E. Ishee, and CTF 61/2 Commanding General Brig. Gen. Samuel L. Meyer. These office calls focused on the future of naval expeditionary warfare and integration.

“The interoperability within the Navy and Marine Corps Team is vital as we uphold our shared commitment to warfighting excellence,” said Munsch. “In the European and African theaters, our integrated Naval Team epitomizes a relentless dedication to building trust and relationships with our partners and allies, and delivering decisive deterrence and defense at sea and on shore.”

Following the engagements, Smith and Ruiz held a town hall meeting to discuss the important role that CTF 61/2’s plays in the European and African region and their connection with Force Design 2030.

“It was an excellent and highly productive meeting with both the Commandant and the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps,” said Meyer. “The Marines were able to ask questions on a wide range of topics and received valuable insight from our Service’s top leaders. They reinforced our critical role as a task force in the future of naval expeditionary warfighting.”

Marines and Sailors also discussed Marine Corps-wide changes such as Force Design, talent management, retention, training, education, installations and logistics. The meeting ended with a ceremony to recognize, promote, and award Marines and Sailors within the task force.

Through CTF 61/2, II Marine Expeditionary Force and U.S. Sixth Fleet have created an opportunity for the Navy, Marine Corps, and geographic component commanders to utilize a forward-deployed Marine headquarters while aiming to redesign its force for naval expeditionary warfare in actively contested environments. Aligned with Force Design, the establishment of CTF 61/2 provides the opportunities, activities, and capabilities necessary to shape the Marine Corps’ contributions to naval warfare and the joint force.