BAHRAIN — U.S. Navy warships assigned to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), escorted two U.S. Army Frank S. Besson-class logistics support vessels (LSV), assigned to U.S. Army Central Command (ARCENT), as they transited out of the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, in July and August, U.S. 5th Fleet Public Affairs said in an Aug. 5 release. 

The two LSVs, Major General Charles P. Gross (LSV 5) and Specialist 4 James A. Loux (LSV 6), had been forward deployed to the region for 20 years in support of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) tasking and were departing Kuwait as a result of an Army-wide restructuring and asset allocation. 

Over the past two decades, U.S. naval ships regularly escorted the Army vessels as they transited the Persian Gulf, delivering supplies to U.S. Army units in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from their forward deployed homeport in Kuwait. 

“The importance of U.S. and partner forces operating together in the region while supporting our shared maritime security goals continues to be vital,” said Brig. Gen. Dianne Del Rosso, Deputy Commanding General, 1st Theater Sustainment Command. “The Logistics Support Vessels have been critical to training exercises and operations in the CENTCOM area of operations [AOR] for both the joint force and our strategic partners in the region.” 

Escort ships during the outbound transit included at various stages, USS Vella Gulf (CG 72), USS James E. Williams (DDG 95), USS Stout (DDG 55), patrol coastal ships assigned to CTF 55 and Mark VI patrol boats assigned to CTF 56. 

NAVCENT forces regularly participate in joint operations with assets from ARCENT and other component commanders. Recent examples have included U.S. Navy warships conducting live fire exercises with U.S. Army AH-64E Apache attack helicopters assigned to ARCENT, and U.S. Air Force AC-130W Stinger II gunships assigned to Special Operations Command Central. 

“The joint operations we conduct with other component commands in the CENTCOM AOR is crucial in supporting U.S. and partner nation interests in the region,” said Vice Adm. James Malloy, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. “I’m proud of the work we’ve been able to do with our ARCENT counterparts, and I look forward to what our joint team will continue to accomplish in the future.” 

The U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse is comprised 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. 

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Coast Guard seized approximately 1,395 pounds of cocaine in late-July with an estimated value of $24 million from a go-fast vessel in international waters of the Pacific Ocean off Central America, the Coast Guard 11th District said in an Aug. 5 release. 

A maritime patrol aircraft spotted a suspected smuggling vessel and diverted the crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL-750) to the go-fast vessel’s position. 

Once on scene, Bertholf’s crew launched a small unmanned aerial system to locate the suspected smugglers. After the suspected smugglers complied with orders to stop their boat, the Coast Guard crew boarded the vessel and discovered approximately 1,395 pounds of cocaine. Three suspected smugglers aboard the vessel were detained.  

On April 1, U.S. Southern Command began enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere to disrupt the flow of drugs in support of Presidential National Security Objectives. Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security cooperated in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, play a role in counter-drug operations. 

The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by international partners and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in districts across the nation. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean is conducted under the authority of the 11th Coast Guard District, headquartered in Alameda. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard. 

The Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf, homeported in Alameda, was commissioned in 2008. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The commander of the U.S. 2nd Fleet, whose ships have operated four times in the Arctic since the fleet was re-established two years ago, says that, on initial examination, there is no need for a numbered fleet in the region, but an Arctic naval component command might be worth consideration. 

Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis was responding to a question about a July 17 article posted on Seapower’s website concerning an idea proposed by an Arctic expert at the Naval War College. 

Lewis was speaking at a press teleconference about the start of the upcoming Operation Nanook-Tuugaalik, a Canadian Arctic operation in which units of the 2nd Fleet also will be participating along with a cutter of the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area and ships of the French and Danish navies. 

Dr. Walter Berbrick, associate professor at the Naval War College and director of its Arctic Studies Group, speaking July 16 during a CNA webinar, Arctic East vs West: US Strategy in the Atlantic and Pacific Arctic, noted that the 2nd, 3rd and 6th Fleets all have responsibilities in the region, with the Navy “facing a time/space/force problem in the Arctic,” with too many other challenges around the world. 

“Perhaps we should think outside the box and create a new fleet, an Arctic fleet,” Berbrick said, saying that a total Navy battle fleet sized more toward 400 ships rather than 355 would be needed, which would allow for a fleet “permanently spread out across the Arctic region.”  

“It an interesting viewpoint,” Lewis said of Berbrick’s proposal. “I don’t know that I would consider creating a numbered fleet for an Arctic fleet. In the U.S. system, it’s another maneuver arm for the naval component. I don’t really own battlespace per se, as I own mission. If I’m given a mission, in the Arctic, or the North Atlantic or Western Atlantic or Southern Atlantic, I address that mission. 

“The naval component commander is fully responsible for that northern area — that might be something we need to look at, and that would be at the naval component command level. That’s kind of my initial thoughts. I actually pondered that [Seapower] article for quite some time a couple of weeks back.” 

Also speaking at the Operation Nanook-Tuugaalik teleconference was Vice Adm. Steven Poulin, commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area. 

“The question really goes to the heart of how can we ensure maneuverability in the Arctic,” Poulin said. “I think it goes directly to the Coast Guard’s desire and plan to recapitalize the icebreaking fleet. We’re very pleased with the support from the administration and Congress that we’re moving forward smartly to build icebreaking capability to ensure that maneuverability and that presence.”

AYER, Mass. — L3Harris Technologies has been awarded a five-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract from the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command to provide product support services for ship control products installed on its vessels, the company said in an Aug. 4 release.  

The work scope includes repair and maintenance of the control systems onboard the Henry J. Kaiser-class oilers (T-AO-187/199) and other MSC vessels. L3Harris will conduct appraisals, inspections, reports, repairs, and tests regularly throughout the contract period and any option years exercised under the contract. Required services include shipboard performance, onsite service during sea trials and in-shop engineering support. 

MSC operates vessels that replenish Navy ships, conduct specialized missions and pre-position combat cargo at sea to support deployed U.S. forces and coalition partners.  

“L3Harris is excited to provide ship control product support and services for the MSC vessels to enhance operational performance and specialized missions,” said Don Hairston, vice president and general manager, C5 Systems, L3Harris. “Our reliable engineering services and ship control performance enable these critical vessels to conduct missions around the world.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Another person has tested positive for COVID-19 at a U.S. Marine Corps installation on Okinawa, bringing to 16 the number of new cases since Aug. 1 at two installations on the Japanese island with novel coronavirus clusters, according to Marine officials.

The latest case was previously identified as a close contact of another person who tested positive within the cluster at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

“This individual has been in quarantine for over a week and was identified as a result of our policy to test all individuals prior to release from [restriction of movement] or due to close contact with a known positive,” Marine Corps Installations Pacific (MCIPAC) said in an Aug. 3 statement.

MCIPAC also reported that 33 people have recovered from infection since Aug. 1. The Marines have not specified which among the more than 200 cases diagnosed on Okinawa are military, family members or civilian employees.

On Aug. 2, the Marines announced that 15 individuals tested positive for COVID-19 in the previous 24 hours. All 15 have been in quarantine for more than a week and were identified due to the Marines’ policy to test all individuals prior to release from ROM status, MCIPAC said in a statement. Thirteen of those cases were from Camp Hansen, the hardest hit Okinawa facility, and two were from MCAS Futenma, which has the next highest number among the four Marine facilities on the island.

“We are cautiously optimistic that we have curbed the spread among the two clusters that we identified at the beginning of July at MCAS Futenma and Camp Hansen. Those clusters were largely contained in a few units that arrived from the U.S. in mid-June,” an MCIPAC spokesperson, Maj. Kenneth Kunze, said via e-mail to Seapower. Kunze added that the Corps also is monitoring COVID-19 in the Okinawa community and maintaining elevated measures to prevent spread outside the two clusters.

Meanwhile, more COVID-19 cases continue to pop up across the sea services. After months as the armed service with the most cases, the U.S. Navy, with 6,888 cumulative cases, has been surpassed by the Army, which has 9,697. The Marines reported 3,445. Under Pentagon policy, numbers of infected in individual units, facilities or geographic areas are not made public.

However, a spokesperson for Naval Air Force Atlantic did confirm that “a small number of Sailors” assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush were diagnosed with COVID-19 in late July.

“The crew members who tested positive remain in isolation at their private residences in Virginia and receive daily medical supportive care until they have recovered,” Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg said in a statement e-mailed to Seapower. “There has been no impact to readiness.”

Norfolk Naval Shipyard, where the George H.W. Bush is in dry dock, is conducting temperature checks and is screening all personnel with a symptom questionnaire, and if required, referring Sailors with symptoms for medical evaluation, Cragg added.

Also, a Marine assigned to Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1), which flies the helicopters that transport the president, tested positive for COVID-19 on July 23. The infected Marine was asymptomatic and close contact tracing is being performed in coordination with the White House Medical Unit, Maj. Joseph Butterfield, a Marine Corps spokesperson, said in a statement.

The infected HMX-1 Marine, who is in isolation and recovering, was never in direct contact with the president’s helicopter. Other Marines who may have had contact with the infected individual were removed from the squadron but have not tested positive.

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Officials with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I Marine Expeditionary Force, have identified the one Marine who was killed and seven other Marines and one Sailor who are presumed dead after an amphibious assault vehicle mishap on July 30. 

Lance Cpl. Guillermo S. Perez, 20, of New Braunfels, Texas, was pronounced dead at the scene before being transported by helicopter to Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego. He was a rifleman with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 15th MEU. 

The seven Marines — all riflemen — and one Navy hospital corpsman were from Bravo Company, Battalion 1/4 of the 15th MEU. The presumed dead are:  

• Pfc. Bryan J. Baltierra, 19, of Corona, California 
• Lance Cpl. Marco A. Barranco, 21, of Montebello, California 
• Pfc. Evan A. Bath, 19, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin 
• Pfc. Jack Ryan Ostrovsky, 21, of Bend, Oregon 
• Cpl. Wesley A. Rodd, 23, of Harris, Texas 
• Lance Cpl. Chase D. Sweetwood, 19, of Portland, Oregon 
• Cpl. Cesar A. Villanueva, 21, of Riverside, California 
• Navy Hospitalman Christopher Gnem, 22, of Stockton, California  

The injured were: 

• A Marine rifleman with Bravo Company, BLT 1/4, 15th MEU. The Marine was transported from the scene to Scripps Memorial Hospital by helicopter and was in critical condition.  
• A Marine assault amphibious vehicle crew member with Mechanized Company, BLT 1/4, 15th MEU. The Marine was transported from the scene to Scripps Memorial Hospital by helicopter and was in critical condition. He has since been upgraded to stable condition. 

In total, 16 personnel were aboard the AAV when on July 30 around 5:45 p.m. they reported taking on water while conducting shore-to-ship waterborne operations training in the vicinity of San Clemente Island off the coast of Southern California. Five Marines were rescued and brought aboard the USS Somerset. 

Defense Secretary Mark Esper issued the following statement: “A grateful nation and the Department of Defense grieves the tragic loss of the Marines and Sailor lost in the amphibious assault vehicle accident off the coast of San Clemente Island. Our prayers and condolences are with the family and friends of these brave young men. Their service, commitment and courage will always be remembered by the nation they served. 

“While the incident remains under investigation, I want to assure our service members and their families that we are committed to gathering all the facts, understanding exactly how this incident occurred, and preventing similar tragedies in the future.”

MOBILE, Ala. — The U.S. Navy’s 12th expeditionary fast transport vessel, USNS Newport, successfully competed integrated sea trials on July 30, the Program Executive Office-Ships said in an Aug. 3 release. 

Integrated trials combine builder’s and acceptance trials, allowing for the shipyard to demonstrate to the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey the operational capability and mission readiness of all the ship’s systems during a single underway period. 

During trials, the shipbuilder conducted comprehensive tests to demonstrate the performance of all of the ship’s major systems. The USNS Newport is the second EPF ship to undergo the integrated trial, signifying the stability and maturity of the shipbuilding program. 

“Achieving this milestone is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the shipbuilding team and our partners in industry,” said Tim Roberts, strategic and theater sealift program manager for PEO-Ships. “We are eager to press forward with delivering USNS Newport to the fleet this year and to enhance the operational flexibility available to our combatant commanders.” 

EPFs are designed to operate in shallow waterways and are capable of a range of activities. The vessels are versatile, noncombatant transport ships that are being used for high-speed transportation of troops, military vehicles, and equipment. Their missions include overseas contingency operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, support of special operations forces, theater security cooperation activities and emerging joint sea-basing concepts.  

EPFs can transport 600 short tons 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots. Each vessel includes a flight deck to support day and night aircraft launch and recovery operations. The ships are capable of interfacing with roll-on/roll-off discharge facilities as well as on/off-loading vehicles such as a fully combat-loaded Abrams Main Battle Tank. 

The USNS Newport is on track to be delivered later this year. Austal USA has also started construction of the future USNS Apalachicola and is under contract to build the future USNS Cody. 

SAN DIEGO — Cubic Corp.’s Cubic Global Defense division has been awarded a contract worth more than $99 million to support the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division’s Surface Training Immersive Gaming and Simulations (STIGS) effort and the development, delivery and total life cycle support of a new virtual environment training system, the company said in a release. 

This system will be one of the key pillars under the Navy’s Surface Training Advanced Virtual Environment program, bringing courseware and simulator training systems into a Family of Trainers to support surface training at the point of need. 

“We are proud the U.S. Navy continues to trust in us as a key partner as it invests in state-of-the-art technologies to train Sailors,” said Mike Knowles, president of Cubic Global Defense. “Our solution will provide the baseline for a fully blended instructional training approach that seamlessly supports all levels of Surface Fleet Training.” 

Cubic brings decades of experience delivering training solutions to every training program. By applying this experience to a common baseline for the STIGS family of trainers, Cubic will provide a solution that supports the continuum of systems while remaining open for updates and improvements for emerging needs in fleet readiness. 

“Our successful performance on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Immersive Virtual Ship Environment programs have validated the benefits of our Total Learning Platform and game-based training,” said Ray Oliver, general manager of Cubic Orlando. “Both provide a common baseline for the immersive Program of Instruction used to qualify and certify Sailors.”  

This contract will also allow Cubic to deliver upgrades and modifications to previously delivered LCS courseware, in addition to new capabilities for LCS and other ships. Work for the STIGS program will be performed in Orlando and is expected to be complete by July 2025. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — As part of the national response to COVID-19, the Defense Department entered into a $31 million agreement with North American Forgemasters under Title III of the Defense Production Act, the Defense Department said in a July 31 release.   

This investment will sustain and increase critical industrial base capability for domestic production of ultra-large iron and steel forging in support of the U.S. Navy and Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.  

Using funds authorized and appropriated under the CARES Act, these Title III funds will enable North American Forgemasters to maintain and protect a skilled workforce during the disruption caused by COVID-19 while strengthening a vital domestic industrial capacity to produce ultra-large iron and steel forgings through infrastructure investments and development of specialized tooling. 

It is critical to national defense that North American Forgemasters and their affiliated companies remain viable and working to ensure the U.S. Government receives dedicated long-term industrial capacity to meet the needs of the nation for ultra-large iron and steel forging.  

North American Forgemasters headquarters is in New Castle, Pennsylvania, which is the principal place of performance. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy is planning to build 12 Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarines (SSBNs) to replace its 14 legacy Ohio-class SSBNs, but the number could change if the threat to the United States changes. 

With the increasing concern about the growing power of China and Russia in the era of “great power competition,” the numbers in the U.S. nuclear deterrence triad — Navy SSBNs and U.S. Air Force bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles — might need to be changed to meet the future threat. 

Adm. Charles Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, speaking July 30 at a webinar sponsored by the Mitchell Institute, said that the U.S strategic deterrent is “going to be tested in ways that it hasn’t been tested before,” noting that “it has been 30 years since the United States contemplated a nuclear conflict.” 

Richard noted that Russia has been modernizing its forces for the last 15 years and that there has been a “breathtaking expansion” in China’s forces. 

“China is on a trajectory to be a peer to us by the end of the decade,” he said. 

The admiral praised the U.S. nuclear deterrent triad because of the “flexibility of its design,” which allows U.S. Strategic Command to respond to every contingency. 

“If you take away any leg [of the triad], you just took away a stack of attributes that we have found useful in that past and see being useful in the future,” he said. “Can I compensate in some respects by coming across and using other elements of the triad? Yes, but not with those same attributes. Which means you just narrowed the range of the situations that we are able to effectively deter. You just took away a future hedging capability. If you took a piece [of the triad] away, that’s going to make it that much harder for me to execute the policy of this nation as documented in the Nuclear Posture Review.” 

Richard addressed the survivability of the SSBN leg of the triad, armed with Trident missiles. 

“When we say the submarine leg is survivable, that’s not just based on individual platform survivability,” he said. “Submarines are very difficult to find. They are not impossible to find. They have to be operated correctly like any stealth platform. But you derive that from force survivability. It is the combination of the number and location and the way you are operating the force is what gives you that very high confidence that that leg is going to survive.” 

“I’m very confident that the Navy has taken the right steps to ensure that we are able to maintain force survivability,” Richard continued. “I think it’s important that when we set the requirements, particularly the numbers for the platforms, that was based on a specific threat. If you change the threat on me, then we have to come back and re-think what the right number is. That’s going up. Going down, it’s not just what the threat looks like, but it’s what it takes to maintain that attribute of the leg. There’s a minimum number of submarines you can get to. It doesn’t matter what number of weapons or missiles are on them, it’s the number of platforms I have to have to make my statement remain true on force survivability. That is why the Navy and the STRATCOM will say ‘at least 12’ [Columbia-class SSBNs]. We need to see what the threat looks like.” 

Richard praised the introduction of the low-yield W76-2 nuclear warhead into the deterrent force. “It is a very welcome addition,” he said. “It is doing exactly what it was designed to do, but it is important to remember it added into an already existing stack of capabilities.” 

He also noted that the Nuclear Posture Review “wisely talked about a sea-launched [nuclear] cruise missile … a very good beginning to offset the numbers of non-treaty-accountable weapons that has great benefit in the assurance of our allies.”