Month: October 2024

Source: United States Navy

Participants included the U.S. Navy (USN) Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105), Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Anzac-class frigate HMAS Stuart (FFH 153) and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Murasame-class destroyer JS Ariake (DD 109).

“Our relationships with Australia and Japan are a cornerstone of security in the Indo-Pacific,” said Vice Adm. Fred Kacher, commander, U.S. 7th Fleet. “Seamless coordination with the JMSDF and RAN serve as an effective deterrent against aggression in the region and promotes our shared commitment to preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

The ships conducted a wide range of training, including formation sailing, combined communication, and a replenishment-at-sea.

“Interoperability and interchangeability among JMSDF, USN, and RAN are our strength,” said JMSDF Rear Adm. YOKOTA Kazushi, commander, Escort Flotilla 3. “Not only in this multilateral exercise, but also in exercises like KAKADU 2024, we are working together for a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Other elements of the exercise included anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare area operations, as well as electronic warfare drills and subject matter expert exchanges.

“Strong international relationships are the foundation for Australia’s response to shared regional security challenges,” said Australia’s Joint Force Maritime Component Commander, Commodore Jonathan Ley. “Every opportunity to cooperate with partners at sea is highly valued by Australian ships deployed throughout the Indo-Pacific region.”

The U.S. Navy regularly operates alongside our allies in the Indo-Pacific region as a demonstration of our shared commitment to the rules-based international order. Multilateral exercises such as this one provide valuable opportunities to train, exercise and develop tactical interoperability across allied navies in the Indo-Pacific.

Dewey is forward-deployed and assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force.

U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Source: United States Navy

The Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Royal New Zealand Navy, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the United States Navy conducted a Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone in the South China Sea, Sept. 28.

MCAs demonstrate the strength of relationships between partners and allies, and enhance cooperation, interoperability, and combined capabilities in the maritime domain, contributing to peace, stability, and upholding the freedom of navigation and overflight in the Indo-Pacific region.

This iteration included training on routine multilateral surface operations, deck landings, hoisting, and search and rescue.

“Maritime cooperative activities accelerate our already strong allied and partner combat readiness and interoperability,” said Vice Adm. Fred Kacher, commander, U.S. 7th Fleet. “This MCA provided the U.S. with an opportunity to operate with naval and air assets from Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the Philippines, demonstrating our enduring commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and building our operational skillsets in one of the most dynamic maritime regions in the world.”

Participating assets included the Royal Australian Navy Leander-class light cruiser HMAS Sydney (D 48), Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force JS Sazanami (DD 113), Royal New Zealand Navy HMNZS Aotearoa (A 11), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) BRP Antonio Luna (FF 151) and BRP Emilio Jacinto (PS 35), and U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Howard (DDG 83).

The U.S. Navy regularly operates alongside our Indo-Pacific allies as a demonstration of our shared commitment to the rules-based international order. Multilateral MCAs provide valuable opportunities to train, exercise and develop tactical interoperability.

Cooperation like this represents the centerpiece of our approach to a secure and prosperous region where aircraft and ships of all nations may fly, sail, and operate anywhere international law allows.

U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Source: United States Navy

The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) recognized the achievements of its 2024 Summer Quarter graduates during the school’s latest commencement ceremony on Sept. 27 at King Hall Auditorium. Dr. James Newman, acting vice president, provost and chief academic officer of NPS, provided the keynote remarks for the class of 202 graduates, including 27 international students from 10 countries. Newman, a former NASA astronaut, served as chair of NPS’ Space Systems Academic Group (SSAG) before taking over as acting provost of NPS earlier this year.

“Graduation is one of the passages of life that celebrates the achievement of learning, and graduate school emphasizes the importance of lifelong learning,” Newman said. “This celebration deserves the attention and respect that is being shown today. The number of people who have worked at NPS and in the military services, in the civilian agencies and in our many countries to ensure that you have had this opportunity is a testament to the importance that we all attach to your success here.”

Newman emphasized the importance of cooperation and collaboration between the U.S. and its partners and allies, referencing his own NASA experience as well as a recent NPS guest lecture by former Secretary of Defense and retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis.

“During my previous career as a civilian NASA astronaut, I was privileged to work with outstanding officer and civilian astronauts, not only from America, but also from our international partner countries. So I understood when General Mattis recently said in this room: ‘Allies, allies, allies,’” he said. “The details of our core beliefs may differ, but I believe we share some common themes about commitment and country that bind us across military services, civilian agencies, and our many countries.”

Retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Ann Rondeau, president of NPS, echoed Newman’s sentiments on international collaboration in her own remarks.

“One of the strategic imperatives by the White House, both parties in Congress, by our SECDEF (Secretary of Defense), our Chairman (of the Joint Chiefs), all of those leaders, is they have said that allies are the most important asset for the United States military,” Rondeau said. “So none of us are as strong as all of us.”

As an example, Rondeau highlighted last year’s successful NPS Regional Alumni Symposium in Singapore, the first event of its kind. The Summer Quarter graduation took place just days before the opening of the second Regional Alumni Symposium, which will be held in Garmisch, Germany – an acknowledgment of the European partners and allies who have sent their best to study at NPS through the years.

One of those European students, Estonian Land Forces Maj. Ivo Peets, recently received his certificate in Advanced Acquisition Studies. Peets attended NPS while working towards his doctoral degree as part of a unique collaboration between Estonia and its international peers.

“My focus is on defense planning, force development, and military technology,” said Peets, a senior planning officer for the Estonian Defence Forces. “The experience gained here has been beyond my expectations, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to be part of the NPS family.”

Peets noted that some of the results of his work have already been put into practice.

“In Estonia, we have begun implementing changes in how we conduct force planning and acquisition,” Peets said. “I believe the knowledge gained here will be of much use in my future work, especially in continuing to coordinate force planning initiatives in the Estonian Defence Forces.”

The Summer Quarter graduation ceremony also followed a milestone – the 100th graduating class from the educational partnership between NPS and the Naval War College (NWC), which took place Sept. 19. More than 7,100 students have earned their Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) Phase I certification since the partnership’s inception in 1999.

During his graduation remarks, Newman offered a few entertaining anecdotes from his days as an astronaut, including his four missions aboard the Space Shuttle. But he also reminded the graduates to think about their accomplishments at NPS – as well as the importance of what they have learned and how they will apply that knowledge in the months and years ahead.

“What you have done during your time at NPS matters now and into the future,” Newman said. “Taking critical thinking skills and advanced education, often with an academic contribution of immediate or future impact back to your community, is so important.”

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

Source: United States Navy

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Information Warfare Training Command Corry Station debuted a pilot course this summer aimed at strengthening cyber measures across the military.

The Cyber Defense Analyst-Host Course is designed to prepare joint cyber analysts with the basic methodologies required for defensive cyber and cyber-protection team operations. Students included service members E-1 to E-3 and Department of Defense, Coast Guard and government civilians.

Seventeen personnel attended the pilot course, which was facilitated June 3 to Aug. 2 on Naval Air Station Pensacola’s Corry Station.

“This is a major game changer for the information warfare community because it significantly reduces the training burden on cyber work centers and instead ensures we deliver to them Sailors who are already capable, confident and practiced in complex host analysis,” said Chief Petty Officer Nicholas Culver, Center for Information Warfare Training curriculum manager. “This course brings every Sailor who graduates from it to a new baseline level of competency, which would otherwise take years of on-the-job and cyber experience to reach.”

Trainees learn to perform risk management and threat mitigation, analyze architectures and traffic, conduct vulnerability assessments and security audits, monitor environments, respond to threat activity, develop and implement countermeasures, and carry out media and malware analysis.

“The implementation of the new (cyber mission force) courses here at IWTC Corry Station are laying the keel for defensive cyber operations throughout the joint cyber terrain,” said Chief Petty Officer Quintin Mengerink, a cyber warfare technician and Cyber Mission Force “C” school’s leading chief petty officer.

The first iteration of the new Cyber Defense Analyst-Host Course is set to convene Oct. 1 at Corry Station.