Category: Defense

Source: United States Navy

By educating the naval enterprise on common summertime mishap trends as well as the decisions and behaviors that typically lead to these mishaps, the NAVSAFECOM provides Sailors and Marines with tools and information to make better choices and ultimately, reduce the likelihood of mishaps, injuries, or worse – loss of life.

“The loss of even one Sailor or Marine is too many. We want Sailors and Marines to know and understand the risks involved with any off-duty activity, whether that’s swimming in the ocean or traveling by car to visit family, and use that information to make sound decisions and better mitigate those risks,” said Rear Adm. F. R. Luchtman, Commander, Naval Safety Command.

“We want everyone to get out and enjoy their summer, but we also want you to stay safe, and make good decisions while engaging in summer activities. Maintaining a strong safety culture and ensuring our Sailors and Marines remain alive and healthy – both physically and mentally, is our top priority and is critical to ensuring our naval enterprise operates at peak readiness,” said Luchtman.

During the 2021 101 Critical Days of Summer, the Navy and Marine Corps lost 24 Sailors and Marines from off-duty fatalities. Another two service members experienced mishaps resulting in a permanent disability. Similar to fiscal years 2017-2020, motor vehicle mishaps, both motorcycle and four-wheel vehicles, were the primary cause of summer fatalities in 2021.
NAVSAFECOM data indicated a general lack of situational awareness and complacency as the root cause of numerous off-duty mishaps last year. By increasing situational and self-awareness, Sailors and Marines can avoid or reduce the severity of mishaps.

The majority of off-duty, recreational mishaps are entirely preventable. These mishaps can be avoided if service members perform a reasonable risk assessment and comply with laws, procedures or recommended best practices when engaging in any activity.

“We encourage everyone to take some time off and spend it with family and friends, or to get outside and enjoy themselves. That time off can be key in maintaining resiliency and staying healthy, and we want you to do it safely,” said NAVSAFECOM Command Master Chief, CMDCM(SW/AW/IW) Jimmy Hailey. “The 101 Critical Days of Summer safety campaign provides a lot of good information and tips to help keep you, your family, and your friends safe. No matter the activity – biking, driving, grilling with friends, or going on a road trip, it falls on all of us to understand the risks involved in whatever we’re doing and apply best practices and common sense. We don’t want to lose any more Sailors and Marines in needless and preventable mishaps.”

Throughout the summer campaign, NAVSAFECOM will promote and disseminate various media and training products to inform the Naval Enterprise on common risks associated with summertime activities, including a comprehensive 101 Critical Days of Summer presentation, downloadable posters and tip sheets and articles via its social media channels and official website.

For additional resources on safety awareness, visit the Naval Safety Command’s website, https://navalsafetycommand.navy.mil

Source: United States Navy

The training event started April 11 and was conducted throughout northern Norway, including in Setermoen and Blatind. U.S. and Norwegian Armed Forces conducted cold weather training, multiple integrated live fire events, shock trauma platoon medical training, casualty evacuation drills, explosive ordnance training, and reconnaissance and marksmanship training.

The training began with the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), flagship of the Kearsarge ARG and 22nd MEU, and Whidbey-Island class dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) arriving in Tromsø and Narvik, respectively, to offload MEU elements and equipment.

“We thought coming to Norway would be a challenging opportunity. We were right – it was,” Col. Paul C. Merida, commanding officer of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, said. “Operating in this part of the world is a challenge at sea, in the air, and on land. But as Marines, we have to come up here and do it. I’ve never heard of an ARG-MEU team operating above the Arctic Circle, but we proved it can be done. This was a superb experience with our Norwegian Allies and the unit to unit partnership was first class.”

Lt. Col. Ryan B. Cohen, commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion 6th Marines, 22nd MEU Ground Combat Element, echoed Col. Merida’s sentiments about the importance of the training event for professional and personal development alongside Norwegian Allies.

“Our commitment to our Norwegian brothers and sisters is steeled and our fighting spirits are high,” said Cohen. “It is an honor and privilege to integrate and partner with our Norwegian brethren. Brigade North brings professionalism, warfighting readiness, physical grit and a fighting spirit that should enable all to sleep peacefully at night, knowing Norway is guarded by some of our world’s finest warfighters.”

As part of the training event, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 263 (Reinforced), assigned to the 22nd MEU, flew MV-22 Ospreys and AH-1 Cobra helicopters from Bardufoss Airfield training site, between Tromsø and Narvik, transporting equipment to and from the USS Kearsarge during the on load of U.S. Marine Corps equipment. While training in Bardufoss, VMM-263 conducted aircraft flight training with the Norwegian Air Wing, enhancing interoperability and increasing proficiency in cold weather flight operations.

“VMM-263 (REIN) is greatly appreciative of the opportunity to conduct bilateral and squadron sustainment training while in Bardufoss, Norway,” said Lt. Col. Joe “Angry” Andrejack, commanding officer of VMM-263 (REIN). “We increased our aviation readiness and proficiency and established a new baseline for professional relationships with Norwegian partners.

The mission-set flexibility and diversity that Kearsarge brought to the training ensured that Sailors and Marines across the ARG-MEU benefitted from events and scenarios connected to the overall training opportunity.

“The cooperative training between U.S. and Norwegian military forces showcases the long standing relationship between the United States and Norway,” said Capt. Tom Foster, commanding officer of Kearsarge. “We’ve learned many lessons operating in the high north and with the Norwegian military. At sea, we specifically experienced how respectful you have to be of the environment, how fast it can change, and the importance of robust safety contingencies built into our operations to account for change. This is exactly the reason we are operating in the North and learning how to do so safely from our partners in Norway.”

During the scheduled port visits in Tromsø, Kearsarge ARG-MEU leadership were greeted on the pier by Mayor of Tromsø’s Office members followed by a flagship tour.

“The Kingdom of Norway has been hospitable and warm-welcoming to the Kearsarge ARG-MEU team. We are grateful for the opportunities to train alongside our Norwegian counterparts, learn from their expertise, and share capabilities to strengthen our armed forces,” said Capt. David Guluzian, commander of the Kearsarge ARG and Amphibious Squadron SIX. “Our Sailors and Marines are especially thankful to the cities of Tromsø and Narvik for allowing us to enjoy the rich culture Norway has to offer.”

The Kearsarge ARG and embarked 22nd MEU are under the command and control of Task Force 61/2. The ARG consists of USS Kearsarge; the San-Antonio class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24); and the Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44).

Embarked commands with the Kearsarge ARG include Amphibious Squadron SIX, 22nd MEU, Fleet Surgical Team 2, Tactical Air Control Squadron 22, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28, Assault Craft Unit 2, Assault Craft Unit 4, Naval Beach Group 2, and Beach Master Unit 2.

Amphibious ready groups and larger amphibious task forces provide military commanders a wide range of flexible capabilities including maritime security operations, expeditionary power projection, strike operations, forward naval presence, crisis response, sea control, deterrence, counter-terrorism, information operations, security cooperation and counter-proliferation, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

U.S. Sixth Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with Allied and interagency partners, to advance U.S. national interests, security, and stability in Europe and Africa.

Source: United States Navy

At approximately 1:40 p.m. Dec. 13, 2021, Corpus Christi International Airport air traffic control (Corpus Approach) received a distress call from a privately-owned Piper Cherokee declaring an emergency that they were above the clouds and unable to navigate through them to land safely. Air traffic control then contacted the nearby VT-28 pilots, who were conducting formation training in two T-6B Texan II training aircraft over Corpus Christi Bay, to see if they could get a visual on a clear area for the Piper Cherokee to get below the clouds.
 
TAR IPs Lt. Cmdr. David Indiveri of Succasunna, New Jersey and Lt. Billy Morse of Tucson, Arizona; and active duty SNAs Marine 1st Lt. Casey Joehnk of Port Orchard, Washington; and Ens. Christophe Theodore of San Francisco quickly found a suitable area for an emergency Visual Flight Rules (VFR) descent and notified Corpus Approach. They were then asked to proceed to the distressed aircraft and guide the pilot to the opening in the clouds about six miles north of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. Once they gained visual contact with the aircraft, they matched their airspeed, and guided the pilot to the cloud opening after which he was able to safely descend and land at KRAS.
 
“In the military, when someone asks for help, you’re always willing,” Indiveri said. “There wasn’t much thinking about it, we made a safe judgment call and flew over the field and watched him land safely.”
 
Theodore is a student pilot who is only two flights away from completing his primary flight training.
 
“This was a pretty unique experience to get to help someone during primary,” Theodore said. “We get into Naval aviation to help people but it’s very exciting to do something that helps this early in our training. It’s very fulfilling.”
 
“While our primary role here is training future Naval Aviators, when emergencies arise, our pilots stand ready to answer the call,” Cmdr. Brian Higgins, commanding officer of VT-28. “This is the second time in less than a month that our crews have answered that call to assist pilots in distress and potentially saved the lives of our fellow civilian aviators who share these skies with us every day. I am extremely proud of the Ranger flight crews and am glad they were the ones who got the call, because true to our squadron motto, ‘Rangers Lead the Way.'”
 
At the time of the rescue, pilots from VT-28 had recently been involved in helping another civilian pilot in distress. On Nov. 15, similar VT-28 crews assisted a Coast Guard helicopter and a civilian vessel with a search and rescue mission helping locate and rescue a civilian pilot after a crash landing in Copano Bay in Rockport, Texas.
 
VT-28 is one of two primary training squadrons attached to Training Air Wing Four in Corpus Christi, Texas, under the Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA). Currently, 90 TAR personnel and more than 280 Selected Reservists provide 23% of production and 22% of flight hours supporting the CNATRA mission.
 
CNATRA, headquartered in Corpus Christi, trains the world’s finest combat-quality aviation professionals, delivering them at the right time, in the right numbers, and at the right cost to a naval force that is where it matters, when it matters.
 

Source: United States Navy

Back in November, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Five (EODMU 5), based in Guam, requested training from the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Detachment at Eglin Air Force Base, where the Navy’s F-35 aviation schoolhouse is located.  EODMU 5 wanted to be more familiar with the F-35 various systems, such as the ordnance and ejection seat systems, in case the team was asked to respond to an F-35 mishap.

In January, the EODMU 5 team landed at CNATT Det. Eglin, and training began.  CNATT Det. Eglin team members Marine Staff Sgt. Kyle Palmer, F35B/C safety equipment course supervisor, Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jacob Morgan, training chief, and Ordnance Instructors Staff Sgts. John Page and Nicholas Gerhartz provided instruction and expertise to the EOD team.

Suddenly, after an F-35C crashed into the landing deck of the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and sunk in the South China Sea in late January, the EODMU 5 was recalled and deployed to help recover the aircraft.  The aircraft was subsequently recovered in early March, according to reports.

Looking back, Lt. Aaron Ybarra, the EODMU 5 team’s training officer, offered praise and gratitude to CNATT Det. Eglin’s staff for their training efforts.

“Your [CNATT Det. Eglin] team’s professionalism and knowledge on the F-35 systems was unmatched,” Ybarra said.  “From the start and throughout the training, they were organized and extremely knowledgeable answering all questions with certainty. The hands on instruction, training aids and procedures provided by your team was critical in Platoon 512’s mission success. Your crew at CNATT Det Eglin went above and beyond for us and their effort directly contributed to success in a real-world operation. BRAVO ZULU, CNATT Det Eglin, and thank you!”

Ybarra’s feedback was heartwarming for Cmdr. Tammy Shaw, CNATT Det. Eglin’s officer in charge.

“I’m extremely proud of our staff for the job they did,” Shaw said.  “And to know that our efforts directly contributed to the successful response to a real-world incident, that’s awesome!”
 

Source: United States Navy

On April 21, members from the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southeast’s Contingency Engineering Response Team (CERT) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering Research Development Center (ERDC) participated in a joint exercise utilizing a multi-rotor Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) onboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville, Florida.

The collaboration took place during the annual Hurricane Exercise (HURREX) and Citadel Gale (CG) that allowed the teams to practice surveying simulated storm damage with the UAS on a few of the installation’s facilities.

“This was an excellent opportunity to learn and network with USACE ERDC team,” said Joshua Coates, geographer and Geographic Information System (GIS) Project Manager. “Conducting the exercise together gave both entities confidence in our abilities to deploy and conduct UAS operations together in the future.”

Coates is part of NAVFAC Southeast’s GeoReadiness Center (GRC) that is responsible for operating the command’s UAS program.

The CERT is a specialized team that deploys to installations within the southeast region affected by natural disasters, such as hurricanes. The team is comprised of NAVFAC Southeast volunteers, each with their own specific skillsets to include active duty civil engineer corps officers, civilian engineers, architects, project managers, facilities managers, contract specialists and geographers.

The CERT’s mission is to perform damage assessments on an affected installation’s facilities in order to bring the base back to full mission capable status as soon as possible.

One of the tools the CERT uses to perform damage assessments is the UAS which allows for detailed building inspections utilizing high resolution photos and video. This allows the GRC team to reach areas that are inaccessible and also keeps the CERT safe from structurally compromised roofs.

In order to remain proficient, the CERT utilized this opportunity to hone their skills and compare operational procedures with USACE ERDC.

“Overall, I think the operations went really well,” said Coates. “We definitely learned from each other and our team took away some pointers that will certainly help our program moving forward.”

USACE ERDC shared their preflight planning, specifically regarding ground control points, and how to best set up control points in order to have optimal results for high accuracy orthorectifying imagery, which is a process of converting images into a form suitable for maps by removing sensor motion and terrain related geometric distortions from raw imagery.

Coates stated, “They also had tremendous technical expertise that they were able to share with us regarding the sensors and flight characteristics of the new Anafi-GOV UAS that will provide NAVFAC Southeast with the knowledge we need to best operate and execute our UAS missions.”

NAVFAC Southeast’s GRC is in the processing of upgrading their UAS equipment and is expected to be fully operational by the end of the 2022 hurricane season.

Building relationships through this exercise will enhance both parties capabilities, especially during emergency response efforts. NAVFAC Southeast’s CERT may request support from USACE in the event of a hurricane response until new equipment can be obtained.