QUANTICO, Va. — The return of the Marine Corps to the concept of the Fleet Marine Force means that the Marines must be active in defense of amphibious forces for amphibious missions to be successful, a Marine Corps official said. 

Col. Kurt Schiller, director of Air Combat Element/Maritime Expeditionary Warfare Division, Combat Capabilities Directorate, speaking last week at the Modern Day Marine expo at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, said that “Marines cannot just be passengers” on amphibious or prepositioning ships … “but need to help with fleet defense.” 

“We need better self-defense capability on these L-class [amphibious warfare] ships,” he said. 

Schiller discussed several trends that he has noted in the current and future amphibious platforms, some of which are problems being remedied and some which need addressing in an era of great power competition. 

He sees a rise in force protection risks because of an adversary’s more long-range precision munitions and more ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) capabilities, including unmanned aerial vehicles. 

Second, insufficient platform availability limits the number of amphibious ships that can deploy on short notice. “We just don’t have enough of them and can’t keep them afloat as much as we’d like,” he said.  

Third, he noted insufficient capacity in the digital domain and the ability of adversaries “to take out our command and control systems.”   

Fourth, Schiller noted “insufficient planning and coordination spaces on the ships. There’s not enough space on the ships for all of the things we want to do.”  

Fifth, he said that amphibious warfare ships need the C5I [command, control, communications, computers and combat] systems that enable them to operate independently from an amphibious ready group.  

Sixth, amphibious warfare ships likely will need to handle greater capacity with regards to Marine Corps equipment, like the F-35 strike fighter, MV-22 Osprey aircraft and the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, all of which are heavier than their predecessors.  

“All the Marine [Corps] systems are getting heavier,” Schiller said. 

He also noted a decreased readiness and capacity of old landing craft. The Navy is in the process of procuring new LCAC 100-class ship-to-shore connectors and new utility landing craft. 

RESTON, Va. — Leidos’ unmanned ship, Sea Hunter, was recently featured in a major demonstration using an advanced sensor, the company said in a Sept. 19 release. 

The new milestone comes less than a year after the ship voyaged from San Diego to Hawaii with no personnel on board. Including the return trip, this transit covered about 5,000 nautical miles. 

The Office of Naval Research project was supported by the Naval Information Warfare Center-Pacific, Naval Undersea Warfare Center-Newport and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory to explore how unmanned vehicles can be used as a naval force multiplier and allow warships to be available for other missions. 

The exercise also showcased the open architecture and flexibility of Sea Hunter, which has hosted a variety of mission payloads, including airborne sensors. 

“This exercise offered valuable lessons learned on how to take full advantage of a medium unmanned surface vehicle, with no personnel on board,” said Nevin Carr, Leidos Navy’s strategic account executive. “Autonomous vessels, especially when combined with artificial intelligence, have the potential to impact naval warfare in ways yet to be discovered.” 

About 3,000 servicemembers took part in the Arctic
Expeditionary Capabilities Exercise (AECE), which just concluded in Alaska.

AECE is a manifestation of the joint Navy and Marine
Corps Littoral Operations in a Contested Environment (LOCE) concept, issued in
2017, which calls for the creation of Littoral Combat Forces (LCFs) of various
units to conduct specific missions.

The exercise commander was Rear Adm. Cedric Pringle,
commander of Expeditionary Strike Group Three. The LCF construct provides a
multifunction command and control force that can be ashore or embarked at sea
or both.

For AECE, the LCF headquarters was established at Joint
Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, and the operating forces were divided
into Littoral Combat Groups 1 and 2, with those commanders embarked aboard USS
Somerset (LPD 25), carrying a Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force
(SP-MAGTF), and USS Comstock (LSD 45), respectively.

Speaking to reporters Sept. 23, Pringle said AECE was a
“natural evolution” of the Pacific Blitz exercise, held in March in California,
which exercised the LCF construct. But, he said, AECE was conducted in
“unfamiliar territory,” with wider range of assets than what he usually has
available to him with his expeditionary strike group and more adverse weather
conditions.

Like Pacific Blitz, the Navy-Marine Corps team was fully
integrated. But as the exercise was planned, both U.S. Air Force and Coast
Guard assets were included.

The U.S. Alaskan Command hosted the AECE command element
at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. Operations were taking place
in Seward, about 125 miles away, and Adak, 1,200 miles away, as well as off the
Silver Strand at Coronado, California.

AECE included mine-clearance operations at Seward and an
air assault on the airfield at Adak to establish a site for fueling and
rearming of P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.  Support at Anchorage was provided by the
Alaska National Guard. The Coast Guard embarked an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter on
USS Somerset, and an HC-130 Hercules from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak
supported AECE with search-and-rescue capability and aerial refueling,
respectively. Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Munro (WHEC-724) supported search-and-rescue
operations and securities and enforcement in Adak. The Air Force C-130 aircraft
was able to fly to Adak with a medical team aboard to quickly evacuate a Sailor
in need of a higher level of care.

The exercise provided an opportunity to use platforms in
nontraditional roles and to bring together forces that do not usually operate
together.

“We had to find a way to have unity of command and
effort,” Pringle said. “This was all new.”

A key element to expeditionary operations is logistics
and what Pringle called the “ability to push fuel to forces ashore.” AECE
included the deployment of the offshore petroleum discharge system (OPDS) and a
forward arming and refueling point (FARP).

“To be able to get here, do expeditionary operations and
test our logistics capabilities made AECE a phenomenal opportunity to exercise
muscles we don’t usually exercise,” Pringle said.

USS Comstock transported the ABLTS system from San Diego
to Seward — the first time an amphibious ship was used to transport the ABLTS —
and demonstrated the capability by pumping water from a barge to a “fuel farm”
consisting of three 20,000-gallon bladders. 
The system can support combat operations or provide humanitarian
assistance as a part of the Navy’s Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA)
mission. 

“If a natural disaster were to take out a coastal town’s
power, gas stations or drinkable water anywhere in the world, we could fill a
barge and send it to the affected region,” Pringle explained. “Systems like
ABLTS and our ability to transfer thousands of gallons of liquids like drinkable
water or fuel are critical during contingencies, crises response or
humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.”

Adak offered challenging and variable wind and sea
conditions. “The winds and seas dictated changes almost faster that we could
execute,” Pringle said. “One day we had winds up to 50 knots, with 15-foot
waves and a ceiling below 1,000 feet, and the next day it was clear and calm,
with 2-foot seas.”

Pringle said the equipment held up well in the harsh
surroundings. “We had one issue with a helicopter, but that actually was a good
thing, because we got to flex our maintenance capability.”

He said the Navy and Marine Corps learned a great deal
from their Air Force and Coast Guard counterparts. “The Air Force and Coast
Guard are always here. They know the environment better than we do.”

Apart from the periodic submerged Ice Exercise (ICEX) submarine transits of the Arctic Ocean, the sea services do not have a significant amount of current experience in extreme latitudes. The Navy and Marine Corps participated in the multinational exercise Trident Juncture last fall in and around Norway, and the Marines work with their Norwegian counterparts on a regular basis. But the last major exercise in Alaska was Kernel Potlach in 1987, and that was the first winter amphibious operation in the Aleutian Islands since the end of World War II.

Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz all visited Alaska to see AECE firsthand.

“Alaska is one of the best training venues we have,”
Spencer said while in Seward. “The location is tremendously strategic when it
comes to protecting the homeland, and training here is extremely important to
the Navy’s Arctic strategy. We need to conduct exercises like AECE to continue
pushing our joint force into the future and continue pursuing innovation within
the force.”

Vice Adm. John B. Alexander, commander of the U.S. 3rd
Fleet, also came to Alaska to see the exercise. “AECE provided our Navy and
Marine Corps team an opportunity to test our collective ability to plan,
communicate and conduct complex amphibious and expeditionary combat support
operations in a challenging austere environment,” he said. “The training and
experience we gained from AECE will help ensure that we remain a lethal and
capable fighting force and that we are able to conduct defense support of civil
authorities in the event of a crisis or disaster at home.”

While the conditions in and around Alaska were more
challenging that what might be encountered off California, Pringle admits it
could have been worse. “This is September. We understand it’s not this nice here
in winter.”

But, he said, that’s the point.

“We need to find hard venues and prove we can do it.”

SAN DIEGO — The commander of Naval Air Forces announced on Sept. 24 that Naval Aviation has achieved its secretary of defense-mandated readiness target of an 80% mission-capable rate for both its operational F/A-18 E/F “Super Hornet” and EA-18G “Growler” fleets. 

After a year of reforms across Navy squadrons, maintenance and supply depots and other key readiness-enabling commands, Super Hornet and Growler readiness each stand above 80% of primary mission aircraft inventory — 343 for Super Hornet and 95 for Growler, respectively. 

Last year, with the Navy’s mission-capable rate hovering near 50%, then-Secretary of Defense James Mattis directed the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps to reach an 80% rate across their fighter and strike fighter aircraft squadrons. 

To achieve this goal, the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE) implemented the Naval Sustainment System-Aviation (NSS-A). The NSS-A initiative leverages best practices from commercial industry to update and improve aspects of Naval Aviation’s maintenance practices in squadrons as well as at intermediate and depot fleet readiness centers.  

Additional reform efforts greatly improved supply chain management, engineering practices, governance activities and safety. Initially, NSS-A focused on getting the Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet fleet healthy, but quickly grew to include the Navy’s EA-18G Growler fleet due to the similarities in the two platforms. Ultimately, the Navy and Marine Corps will apply NSS-A reforms to recover and sustain readiness and improve safety for each type, model and series of aircraft. 

According to Vice Adm. DeWolfe H. Miller III, the Navy’s “Air Boss,” after a decade of regularly maintaining between 250 and 260 mission-capable F/A-18s, the Navy is now sustaining more than 320 Super Hornets and surged to attain service goals of 341 mission-capable Super Hornet and 93 mission-capable Growler aircraft this month. 

“This has been a year of results for Naval Aviation,” Miller said. “I am incredibly proud of our Sailors, civilian teammates and industry partners. They developed and implemented the NSS and then drove readiness numbers that haven’t been seen in over a decade. Their results are incredible and their passion for improvement is inspirational.” 

“The tremendous efforts of our fleet readiness centers were vital to achieving our readiness goals,” said Vice Adm. Dean Peters, commander of Naval Air Systems Command. “I am extremely proud of the accomplishments of the Sailors and artisans that keep us mission-focused.” 

Rear Adm. Roy Kelley, commander of Naval Air Forces-Atlantic, pointed to the leading indicator of aviation readiness moving in the right direction: aviator flight hours. 

“This is the first year in some time that we have executed our allocation of flight hours completely,” Kelley said. “That stands as a sign of health that we have a lot of ‘up’ aircraft, and that the parts are moving. We’re getting healthy, and we’re on the right track.” 

Miller agreed, adding that achievement of the 80% goal was an important milestone, but not a completed mission. 

“To be clear, there is no finish line to the NSS effort,” he added. “We don’t get to choose when we are called to fight. Sustainment is the key. Continuously improving the reforms implemented by our military, civilian and industry teams will be critical in maintaining our advantage in this age of great power competition.”

QUANTICO, Va. — The Navy’s amphibious ships and their embarked aircraft, landing craft and Marines provide an array of power that can influence world events and reinforce U.S. interests in a region, a Navy official said, listing five roles of the forces. 

The primary purpose of an amphibious ready group (ARG) is to provide a means for a Marine Air-Ground Task Group to conduct amphibious assault, Frank DiGiovanni, deputy director of expeditionary warfare, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, last week at the Modern Day Marine expo at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. 

DiGiovanni said the second role was presence, noting that “[t]he fact that you have a three-ship ARG with a bunch of firepower on it and 2,000 Marines” tells nations in the region that the power of the United States is present, “that there is someone else here, too.” 

Third, he said, is reassurance. 

“The people in this region need to know the United States of America is on watch, and we have combat capability within our reach,” DiGiovanni said. 

Deterrence is the fourth role, one that discourages aggression from nations intent on aggression or harassment. 

The fifth is logistics. 

DiGiovanni mentioned “not only the logistics to support the Marines ashore by the ship to shore, but once that ship is empty, and the Marines are being sustained, what should we do with those ships? Do they serve a purpose to support other logistics needs, particularly in a contested environment? It’s a hypothesis we’re thinking about it.”

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy held a keel-laying and authentication ceremony on Sept. 20 for the future littoral combat ship USS Savannah at Austal USA’s Mobile, Alabama, shipyard, according to a release from Program Executive Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants. 

The ship’s sponsor, Dianne Isakson, wife of Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), authenticated the keel for the 14th Independence-variant LCS during the ceremony.  

“We are honored to lay the keel of what will one day be a magnificent combat ship that will defend our great country as our Sailors operate her around the globe,” said Capt. Mike Taylor, LCS program manager.  

While the keel laying traditionally represents the formal start of a ship’s construction, fabrication begins months in advance. However, keel laying continues to symbolically recognize the joining of the ship’s components and the ceremonial beginning of a vessel. 

Four other Independence variant LCSs are undergoing construction at Austal USA with five additional ships in pre-production planning.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Coast Guard Cutter Valiant crew intercepted a drug-laden semi-submersible in the eastern Pacific, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release.  

While on routine patrol in the eastern Pacific, Valiant’s crew interdicted a self-propelled semi-submersible in international waters carrying about 12,000 pounds of cocaine, worth more than $165 million, and apprehended four suspected drug smugglers. 

The semi-submersible was originally detected and monitored by maritime patrol aircraft, and the Valiant crew was diverted by Joint Interagency Task Force South to interdict the semi-submersible, arriving after sunset. 

The Valiant crew launched two small boats with boarding teams made up of Valiant crew and two members of the Coast Guard Pacific Tactical Law Enforcement Team, successfully interdicting the semi-submersible in the early morning hours. They then led and conducted a full law enforcement boarding with the assistance of Colombian naval assets that arrived on scene shortly after. 

About 1,100 pounds of cocaine were recovered and offloaded to the Valiant during the operations. The remaining cocaine on the semi-submersible could not be safely extracted due to stability concerns of the vessel. 

According to Valiant’s commanding officer, the interdiction coincided with a time-honored mariner’s milestone and tradition of crossing the equator, which made both events even more meaningful part of the ship’s patrol. 

“There are no words to describe the feeling Valiant crew is experiencing right now,” said Cmdr. Matthew Waldron, Valiant’s commanding officer. “In a 24-hour period, the crew both crossed the equator and intercepted a drug-laden self-propelled semi-submersible vessel. Each in and of themselves is momentous events in any cutterman’s career. Taken together, however, it is truly remarkably unprecedented This interdiction was an all-hands-on-deck evolution, and each crew member performed above and beyond the call of duty.”

NORFOLK, Va. — USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams (T-ESB 4) has finished a three-day voyage in the Chesapeake Bay to test an anti-mine system, the public affairs offices of the program executive officers for ships and unmanned and small combatants said in a release.  

The expeditionary sea base (ESB) ship used the Littoral Combat Ship Mine Countermeasure (MCM) Mission Package portable control station to maneuver the MCM equipment and the launch and recovery equipment as well as to test the command and control of unmanned vehicles. 

The demonstration proved ESB class ships’ ability to serve as an MCM-capable platform to embark 12 20-foot equivalent units, vehicles and the support equipment required to operate, launch and recover one full MCM mission package, including the buried mine hunting and unmanned sweeping mission modules, with flexible ship modifications. 

“Considering the contested environments [that] our ships sail in, counter-mine capabilities are very important because we have to be able to keep the enemy at bay,” said Capt. David Gray, the Hershel “Woody” Williams’ officer in charge. 

“Mines of today are very inexpensive to make,” Gray added. “Our adversaries can produce mines for a few hundred dollars and inflict a tremendous loss of life while causing millions of dollars of damage. So, we need the assets out there to detect and destroy these threats ahead of time and keep the world’s shipping lanes open.” 

Representatives from Program Executive Office for Ships (PEO Ships) and Program Executive Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) had overall responsibility for the planning and execution of the integration event, with support from the Naval Sea Systems Command’s Engineering Directorate, Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City and Carderock Combatant Craft Divisions, and Mine Countermeasures Detachment 22. Personnel from Military Sealift Command (MSC) and ship’s force conducted ship operations, navigation and maintenance of the ship systems during the demonstration.  

“This demonstration highlighted the inherent modularity of the Mine Countermeasure Mission Package,” said Capt. Godfrey Weekes, Littoral Combat Ships Mission Modules Program Manager, PEO USC. “The ability to deploy the MCM capability from this ship is a true force multiplier.” 

Initial assessments showed positive results and will help inform the feasibility of integration on ESB as well as other vessels of opportunity. This integration demonstration represents the potential to provide increased agility to our operational forces as they respond to the growing complexity of sea-mines while shifting to a broad-spectrum cross-domain, expeditionary approach. 

With a large flight deck, as well as fuel and equipment storage, repair spaces, magazines and mission spaces, the ESB platform continues to demonstrate tremendous adaptability. 

“This successful demonstration shows the versatility of the ESB platform to bring capability to the fleet through expanded expeditionary warfare mission sets,” said Capt. Scot Searles, Strategic and Theater Sealift program manager, PEO Ships. “Our teams worked collaboratively to develop and implement innovative designs that expand our operational advantage and provides tremendous benefit to our warfighters.”

MIAMI — The Coast Guard Cutter Seneca (WMEC-906) crew offloaded more than 12,000 pounds of cocaine Sept. 20 at Coast Guard Sector Miami, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release. 

The drugs were interdicted in international waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America, including contraband seized and recovered in more than five interdictions of suspected drug smuggling vessels by Coast Guard cutters: 

The cutter Seneca was responsible for two cases, seizing about 2,800 pounds of cocaine. 

The Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma (WMEC-908) was responsible for three interdictions, seizing about 2,500 pounds of cocaine. 

The Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL-757) was responsible for two cases, seizing approximately 5,700 pounds of cocaine. 

The Coast Guard Cutter Valiant (WMEC-621) was responsible for one case, seizing about 1,000 pounds of cocaine. 

“These down-range counter-drug operations are a vital component to the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security’s mission and our national security. These operations enable us to extend our maritime borders, weaken the economic engine of Transnational Criminal Organizations, contribute to enhancing stability and security across our partner nations within Central America, and they combat the drug epidemic within our local communities,” said Cmdr. John Christensen, commanding officer of the cutter Seneca. 

“I am exceptionally proud of this crew. Over the course of the last three months they rose above the challenges of conducting operations at sea, persevered through many personal sacrifices and showed an unwavering dedication to serving our nation.” 

The cutter Seneca’s crew along with those of the other ships conducted operations targeting transnational criminal organizations in conjunction with Joint Interagency Task Force-South, Department of Defense, Customs and Border Protection, Department of Justice, and several other Coast Guard aircraft. The cutter Seneca’s presence and efforts are critical to disrupting and dismantling the transnational criminal organizations that attempt to smuggle these drugs through the ocean and into Central and North America. 

The cutter Seneca is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Boston. The cutter Tahoma is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Kittery, Maine. The cutter Midgett is a 418-foot national security cutter homeported in Honolulu. The cutter Valiant is a 210-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Jacksonville, Florida.

Coast Guard Shifts Response Efforts in Bahamas 

MIAMI — U.S. Coast Guard cutters and aircraft conducting urgent search-and-rescue operations in support of the Bahamas’ response to Hurricane Dorian have been redeployed to their home stations, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release. 

As the response efforts shift to long-term recovery, Coast Guard Incident Management Assistance Teams continue to work with the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency, and Coast Guard crews and resources are available as needed.  

To date, Coast Guard crews have completed the following in their response efforts in support of the Bahamas since the Hurricane Dorian response began: 

• Rescued 407 people 
• Received 1,388 search-and-rescue calls 
• Conducted 136 aviation sorties 
• Conducted 62 surface sorties 

The Coast Guard supported the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force, who lead the search-and-rescue efforts.