MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. — In a time characterized by rapidly evolving tactics and modernized equipment, the Marine Corps has taken the next step in maintaining air superiority as Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314 declares its initial operational capability (IOC) for the F-35C Lightning II, 1st Lt. Charles Allen, a spokesman for the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), said in a Dec. 1 release. 

Initial operational capability declaration marks a significant accomplishment for 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), enabling VMFA-314 to deploy the F-35C onto aircraft carriers where they will be able to support combat operations anywhere in the world. 

“The F-35 is an expeditionary platform that extends the reach of our Marines and machines,and increases our ability to support joint and allied partners at a moment’s notice,” said Maj. Gen. Christopher Mahoney, 3rd MAW commanding general. “By effectively employing the F-35, MAGTF [Marine Air-Ground Task Force] commanders have the potential to dominate our adversaries in a joint battlespace, in the air and out at sea.” 

Having the most advanced stealth fighters in the world is only the beginning. A strategic and tactical understanding of how to operate and properly maintain the F-35 and its advanced capabilities is essential to its employment in an increasingly non-permissive maritime domain. 

To receive this qualification, squadrons must meet the Headquarters Marine Corps standards, which define the minimum number of trained Marines, mission ready aircraft and trained pilots needed in order for a squadron to become IOC complete. 

“Our maintenance department was critical to the success of IOC. In addition to accepting and inspecting the multiple aircraft that arrived throughout the year, the Marines maintained a high level of aircraft readiness,” said Lt. Col. Duncan French, VMFA-314 executive officer. “Those mission capable aircraft allowed the pilots to train in the appropriate missions required of IOC, as well as contributed towards the readiness metrics of IOC.” 

The F-35’s ability to combine advanced stealth capabilities, integrated avionics and the most powerful sensor package the Department of Defense has ever seen allows it to operate in contested areas and gives the Marine Corps an unparalleled ability to maintain air superiority in dynamic, unpredictable and competitive environments. 

French continued, “VMFA-314’s declaration of IOC is a significant milestone not only for 3rd MAW but also the Marine Corps. VMFA-314 is the first F-35C squadron in the Marine Corps. The F-35C’s unique capabilities, compared to the F-35B and legacy aircraft, provide the Marine Corps with a complementary increase in combat projection and the ability to operate from the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carriers.” 

As tactics and equipment used in the current battlespace continuously change, 3rd MAW commander’s willingness to develop their understanding of emerging technologies and to utilize them empowers the Marine Air Combat Element with the flexibility to solve dynamic problems that Marines will face in the future. 

“This achievement ultimately would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the Marines, Sailors, and civilian contractors assigned to VMFA-314,” said Lt. Col. Brendan Walsh, VMFA-314 commanding officer. “The successful transition of the Black Knights to the F-35C culminating in this IOC declaration is a testament to the squadron’s distinguished legacy of pioneering new aircraft.” 

The capability to employ the F-35 alongside 3rd MAW’s other capabilities further enables support of fleet Marines and joint and allied partners preserves 3rd MAW’s ability to dominate the battlespace for the MAGTF and joint commanders. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — More submarines and hypersonic weapons for the Navy, and more personnel and training for the Marine Corps, top the wish list, say the U.S. sea services’ commanders, if Congress added an imaginary $5 billion to their budgets.

The last question posed to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger at a Dec. 3 live-streamed panel discussion on transforming the fleet’s architecture was what would they buy if, hypothetically, Congress gave them each an extra $5 billion.

Gilday told participants at the U.S. Naval Institute’s Defense Forum Washington webcast that some of the money would go to shipbuilding, “most notably submarines.” In terms “of things I need to close down on now, I’d go faster with respect to the fielding of hypersonics.” The CNO added that he would go “way faster” on laser technology. “I need to be able to knock down missiles.”

Gilday said he would also put money in Project Overmatch, the plan to create a massive data network linking weapons and sensors across all domains. “We have to get that right, and that remains a priority for me,” Gilday said. If he had any money left over, he would put it in live, virtual constructive training and “ready learning” to use technology to train Sailors faster.

“Hypersonics, the network and lasers would be the top three on my list,” he said.

Berger said he would put all his money in manpower, personnel, training and education, noting the maxim “Don’t buy anything you can’t maintain.” Instead of a thing, he would invest in people and their training. “To elevate and modernize a force, you have to pour the resources into those areas,” Berger said, adding that he was shrinking the size of the Marine Corps, “based on my assumption that we’re not going to have a higher topline, more money,” in coming defense budgets.

If someone did write him a check for $5 billion, Berger said his second question would be “Is this a onetime deposit in my bank account or is this a sustained effort? Because we’re not going to have a hollow force.”

ARLINGTON, Va. — Among the lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic is a better understanding of what it will take to defend against a biological attack or other weapons of mass destruction, leaders of the U.S. Navy and Defense departments said Dec. 2.

“We are today a better force, prepared for nuclear, biological, chemical warfare in the future because of the lessons we’ve learned from this pandemic,” Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite told a Senate hearing on Navy and Marine Corps readiness.

The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, “caught the [Navy] Department off-guard, as it did the entire world,” Braithwaite told Senate Armed Services Committee’s Readiness and Management Support subcommittee, adding, “the Navy in particular struggled through the early weeks of this because the close proximity in which our Sailors live aboard ship made this a real threat to our ability to operate at sea.”

He praised Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday for identifying ways to mitigate the risk and “keep our ships operating. We have over 100 ships today at sea.”   

In a separate, live-streamed discussion the same day at a Washington think tank, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said it wasn’t likely a nation state would attack the United States with a biological weapon but he was more concerned that a terrorist organization might try.

“We know some organizations are, in fact, looking into that,” Milley told viewers on the Brookings Institution’s website. “They don’t have that yet, but it’s something that’s a possibility, something we need to be on guard against.”

In addition to “interdicting, disrupting and destroying any capability” to weaponize a virus or other disease, Milley said “we also need to take the lessons learned from this current pandemic and roll those into capabilities to defend ourselves,” including stockpiles of PPE (personal protective equipment), organizations capable of rapid deployment, protocols and procedures to limit the effects of any biological weapon.

“We have a very rigorous lessons learned program ongoing with the current crisis,” he added.

At the Senate hearing, Gilday said the Pentagon is working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on two plans to distribute COVID-19 vaccine. Ten Defense Department locations across the continental United States will distribute Pfizer’s vaccine, which must be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius. Three or four overseas locations will distribute the Moderna vaccine, which only requires refrigeration at minus 20 degrees Celsius for up to 30 days before use.

The vaccination plan grew out of lessons learned from the Defense Department’s tiered COVID-19 testing program, Gilday said. It calls for health care and emergency and safety personnel to be vaccinated first because they’re more likely to be in contact with the infected, strategic forces, such as the crews on nuclear missile submarines, followed by forces to be deployed within the next three months.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The secretary of the Navy has announced that the U.S Fleet Forces Command would be re-designated the U.S. Atlantic Fleet in acknowledgement of the realities of great power competition, particularly with Russia.  

Navy Secretary Kenneth J. Braithwaite, testifying Dec. 2 before the Readiness and Management Support subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee, took the opportunity to announce the forthcoming change, noting that the changing world requires that the Navy must evolve to meet the threat.  

“Our existing structure operates on the premise that we still live in a post-9-11 state, where NATO’s flanks are secure, the Russian Fleet is tied to the pier, and terrorism is our biggest problem,” Braithwaite said. “That is not the world of today. As the world changes, we must be bold, evolved, and change with it. Instead of perpetuating a structure designed to support Joint Forces Command, we are aligning to today’s threat. 

“To meet the maritime challenges of the Atlantic Theater, we will rename Fleet Forces Command as the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and will refocus our naval forces in this important region on their original mission, to controlling the maritime approaches to the United States and those of our allies,” he said. “The Atlantic Fleet will confront the reassertive Russian Navy, which has been deploying closer and closer to our East Coast with a tailored maritime presence, capability and lethality.” 

The U.S. Atlantic Fleet commander will have two numbered fleets assigned, U.S. Second Fleet, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, and U.S. Fourth Fleet, headquartered in Mayport, Florida. The U.S Second Fleet was reestablished in August 2018 to confront the increasing Russian activity.   

The original commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet staff, has a long pedigree that began in 1906, when the North Atlantic Squadron and South Atlantic Squadron were combined. The fleet existed in various forms until 2006, when the chief of naval operations renamed Commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, to Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, which assumed the duties of the former fleet plus the mission of the former Commander, Fleet Forces Command, which was “to serve as the primary advocate for fleet personnel, training, requirements, maintenance and operations issues,” according to the Fleet Forces Command website. 

For a detailed history of the commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet and Fleet Forces command staff, see https://www.usff.navy.mil/About-Us/History/ .

ARLINGTON, Va. — The secretary of the Navy has announced the name he selected for the second Constellation-class guided-missile frigate. 

Navy Secretary Kenneth J. Braithwaite, testifying Dec. 2 before the Readiness and Management Support subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee, took the opportunity to announce that the second frigate would be named USS Congress. 

The new frigate would be the seventh U.S. naval ship named Congress. 

The first USS Congress was a row of the Continental Navy that fought on Lake Champlain during the American Revolutionary War. Built in 1776, the ship fought in the Battle of Valcour Island. The ship was severely damaged in the battle, which killed more than 20 of its crew. The ship was run aground and burned after only a week of naval service. 

The second USS Congress was a 28-gun frigate built in New York for the Continental Navy. Before it completed fitting out to fight in the Revolutionary War against Great Britain, it was burned in October 1777 in order to prevent its capture. 

The third USS Congress was one of the six frigates authorized by the Naval Act of 1794 and designed by Joshua Humphreys. The 38-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate was launched in 1789 and participated in the Quasi War with France, the First Barbary War, and the War of 1812. The frigate captured or assisted in the capture of 20 British merchant ships. The ship was laid up in 1913 for lack of repair funds but returned to service in the Second Barbary War in 1915. The frigate participated in anti-piracy operations in the Caribbean and later became the first U.S. Navy ship to visit China. The ship served as a receiving ship (a training barge) from 1824 to 1834. 

The fourth USS Congress was a 52-gun sailing frigate commissioned in 1841. It served in the Mediterranean Sea and the South Atlantic Ocean, participating in a blockade of Uruguay. Decommissioned in 1845 but recommissioned later in the same year, the frigate operated in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. During the Mexican War, its crew fought in two land battles and the occupation of Los Angeles. The ship also attacked enemy fortifications in western Mexico. Returning to the Atlantic in 1848, the ship was placed in reserve. In 1850, the ship was assigned to the South Atlantic to counter the slave trade before being decommissioned in 1853. Recommissioned in 1855, the frigate operated in the Mediterranean before again being decommissioned in 1858. Recommissioned in 1859, the ship served in the Brazil Squadron until 1861, when it joined in the blockade of the Confederacy. The frigate was sunk in Hampton Roads, Virginia, by the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia on March 8, 1862, with the loss of 120 Sailors in its crew.   

The fifth USS Congress was a screw sloop commissioned in 1870. It served in the South Atlantic Ocean, Arctic, Caribbean Sea, and Mediterranean Sea before being decommissioned in 1876. 

The sixth USS Congress (ID-3698) was a privately owned fishing vessel that was acquired in 1918 and commissioned as a patrol vessel, serving along the U.S. East Coast until 1919.  

SANTA RITA, Guam — The Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Henry (WPC 1140) arrived at its new homeport in Santa Rita, Guam on Monday, following a 10,620 nautical mile journey from Florida, the Coast Guard 14th District said in a Nov. 30 release. 
 
During the voyage to its new homeport the crew of the Oliver Henry participated in drug interdiction operations in the Eastern Pacific while also assisting in a search for an overdue fishing vessel off Saipan. 
 
“I am extremely proud of the crew, who did an exceptional job preparing and sailing the cutter nearly 11,000 nautical miles from Key West, Florida, to Santa Rita, Guam, during the global COVID-19 pandemic,” said Lt. John Hamel, the Oliver Henry’s commanding officer. “Not only did we deliver the highly capable Fast Response Cutter to our new operational area in the Western Pacific but we also conducted operations while transiting the Eastern Pacific, seizing a cocaine shipment worth $26.7 million in support of the United States Southern Command’s Operation Martillo.” 
 
The Oliver Henry is the second of three scheduled fast response cutters (FRCs) to be stationed in Guam. The FRCs are replacing the 30-year old 110-foot Island Class Patrol Boats and are equipped with advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems and boast greater range and endurance. 
 
Like the Island-class patrol boats before them the FRC’s are designed as multi-mission platforms ranging from maritime law enforcement to search and rescue. The new cutters represent the Coast Guard’s commitment to modernizing service assets to address the increasingly complex global Maritime Transportation System. 
 
“Oliver Henry will significantly increase the capabilities of the Coast Guard throughout the region,” said Capt. Christopher Chase, commander, Coast Guard Sector Guam. “I am excited to welcome the crew of the Oliver Henry home and look forward to them conducting operations with our partners in the near future.”  
 
The cutter is named after Oliver T. Henry Jr., an African American Coast Guardsman who enlisted in 1940 and was the first to break the color barrier of a then-segregated Service. During World War II, Henry served under Lt. Cmdr. Carlton Skinner, who later became the first civilian governor of Guam and played a critical role in developing the Organic Act in 1950. Henry blazed a trail for minorities in the U.S. military as he climbed from enlisted ranks while serving on 10 different Coast Guard cutters, finally retiring as a chief warrant officer in 1966. 
 
Each FRC has a standard 24-person crew. This will bring over 70 new Coast Guard members to Guam, along with a projected 100 family members. In addition to the crews of the three ships additional Coast Guard support members and their families will also be in Guam. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a Raytheon Technologies business, was awarded a multi-year $70 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center to provide for test, inspection, evaluation and restoration of Submarine High-Data Rate mast components, the company said in a Dec. 1 release. In addition, RI&S will fabricate spare SubHDR Mast components under the contract.  

“The SubHDR system was created to support protected high-data rate communications for submarines,” said Denis Donohue, vice president, Communications and Airspace Modernization Systems for Raytheon Intelligence & Space. “SubHDR mast is a protected, secure and survivable system to support all communications needs, from day-to-day messaging to ensuring the commander-in-chief can stay connected with his commanders.” 

SubHDR links submariners to the Global Broadcast Service, the Milstar satellite constellation and the Defense Satellite Communication System, via a unique mast antenna that connects them to the above-sea world. The system vastly improves a submarine’s mission capability and the quality of life for submariners by affording them high-data rate communications with the world outside of the sub.  

The SubHDR System gives submarines high-data rate, multi-band satcom capability. Operating via military satellites, SubHDR enables underwater forces to be full participants in coordinated fleet battle group and joint task force network centric operations. The mast-mounted satcom system transmits secure wideband multimedia, secure and non-secure internet access, voice and data traffic, imagery and video teleconferencing.  

According to the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Communication Program Office, “SubHDR makes optimal use of high efficiency, small antenna, multi-band technology and state-of-the-art packaging to provide bandwidth without sacrificing submarine stealth.”  

The SubHDR contract will repair and deliver sustainment spares for active fleet submarines for the next five years. 

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy has decided to decommission and scrap the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), which was severely damaged by a shipboard fire in San Diego in July. 

In a Nov. 30 teleconference with reporters, Rear Adm. Eric H. Ver Hage, commander, Navy Regional Maintenance Centers and director of Surface Ship Maintenance and Modernization at Naval Sea Systems Command, said that Navy Secretary Kenneth J. Braithwaite and Chief of Naval Operations Michael Gilday made the decision after the Navy completed a “comprehensive material assessment” and considered three possible outcomes. 

Rebuilding and repairing the Bonhomme Richard would have taken five to seven years and cost an estimated $2.5 billion to $3.2 billion, Ver Hage said.  

Alternatively, rebuilding the ship as another type of ship, such as a hospital ship, a tender, or a command-and-control ship, would have taken five to seven years and cost more than $1 billion, more than a new alternative ship would be estimated to cost. 

Decommissioning and scrapping the ship would take nine to 12 months and cost an estimated $30 million, he said. 

Replacing the Bonhomme Richard with a new America-class (LHA 6) amphibious assault ship would take five to six years and cost an estimated $4.1 billion. 

The Bonhomme Richard was built for $750 million in 1998 dollars, equivalent to $1.2 billion today. Ver Hage said the Navy had invested $250 million in the ship during its modernization that was in progress when the fire broke out. 

The admiral said usable parts and material would be harvested from the ship before it was scrapped. The crew would be involved in the inactivation process. Their eventual reassignment from the ship to other assignments would be governed by the type commander, Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. 

The ship will be towed to a scrap yard, possibly to Brownsville, Texas, where some of the Navy’s retired aircraft carriers have been scrapped. 

Congress was notified of the Navy’s decision on Nov. 30, the day the crew also was notified. 

“We did not come to this decision lightly,” Braithwaite said in a Nov. 30 release. “Following an extensive material assessment in which various courses of action were considered and evaluated, we came to the conclusion that it is not fiscally responsible to restore her. 
 
“Although it saddens me that it is not cost effective to bring her back, I know this ship’s legacy will continue to live on through the brave men and women who fought so hard to save her, as well as the Sailors and Marines who served aboard her during her 22-year history,” Braithwaite said. 

All investigations associated with the fire onboard LHD 6 remain ongoing, the Navy said.  

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard Cutter Seneca returned to its homeport in Portsmouth, Virginia, after a 57-day patrol conducting counter-drug and humanitarian assistance operations in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, Nov. 20, the Coast Guard 5th District said in a Nov. 30 release. 

The Seneca crew deployed with an embarked MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron in Jacksonville, Florida. The embarked helicopter provided the cutter with aerial use of force capabilities to supplement onboard law enforcement teams. 

Upon their arrival in the Pacific, Seneca crewmembers conducted joint maritime operations with the Colombian Naval vessel A.R.C. Punta Ardita. The joint operation focused on interoperability, communications, and counter-narcotics efforts.  

Surface and air crews seized more than 2,750 kilograms of cocaine and 1,235 pounds of marijuana, for an estimated street value of over $124 million. Three vessels were interdicted and a fourth disrupted through joint efforts with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Navy. These efforts resulted in the detainment of nine suspected narcotics traffickers. 

“I continue to be impressed with what the crew of Seneca can accomplish,” said Cmdr. Matthew Rooney, commanding officer of the Seneca. “Operating in a pandemic environment is a challenge and the crew rose to it. We accomplished a lot in a short time. Counter-narcotics interdictions, international cooperation, hurricane assistance, and refueling at sea. This patrol encompassed many of our core missions and improved our proficiency. The crew can return home with their head held high with pride.”  

Additionally, Seneca crewmembers completed three underway replenishments with the Chilean Navy Oiler Almirante Montt. The process brings two ships in close proximity to each other while at sea to transfer fuel and supplies. The Almirante Montt crew provided logistical services in a COVID-19 free and contactless environment, extending Seneca’s time on patrol. 

After transiting from the Eastern Pacific to the Caribbean, the Seneca crew was tasked to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster response in the wake of Hurricane Eta on the Mosquito Coast of Honduras. The embarked helicopter crew also assisted in conducting multiple missions, which included medical evacuation, critical infrastructure reconnaissance, and identifying stranded populations and individuals in need. 

The Seneca is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Portsmouth and routinely deploys in support of counter-drug, migrant interdiction, fisheries, search and rescue, and homeland security missions.  

HONOLULU — The Coast Guard completed a 30-day demonstration and evaluation of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) off Oahu, early November, the Coast Guard 14th District said in a Nov. 25 release 
 
The focus of the test was to explore how current and emerging technologies might be used to enhance maritime domain awareness in remote regions. The test also showed ways USVs with assorted sensor capabilities might support the Coast Guard’s many missions around the globe ranging from search and rescue, to law enforcement.  
 
“It’s clear that autonomous technology is a growing industry, and has great potential to enhance Coast Guard operations,” said Cmdr. Blair Sweigart, the demonstration’s director from the Coast Guard Research and Development Center. “Combined with artificial intelligence algorithms, unmanned systems could be a game changer.” 
 
During the test the Coast Guard examined USVs from Saildrone and Spatial Integrated Systems to understand their capabilities and effectiveness. The USVs participated in a variety of operational simulations to detect and alert the Coast Guard to both legitimate and nefarious behavior. 
 
As outlined in the Coast Guard’s Strategic Plan 2018-2022, one of the service’s main goals is to “evaluate emerging technologies, such as unmanned platforms, artificial intelligence, machine learning, network protocols, information storage, and human-machine collaboration for possible use in mission execution.” 
 
These tests represent a commitment to those goals, allowing the Coast Guard to identify how USVs could be used to support search and rescue operations, improve Marine Environmental response, enhance Port Security, aid in the fight against illegal maritime smuggling, and identify vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. 
 
“The demonstration helped us understand what these technologies currently are, and are not, capable of,” said Sweigart. “These vessels proved to be very effective across a variety of mission areas. The results of this study will help shape how the Coast Guard, and our partners, incorporate USVs into our future operations.”  
 
With their long endurance, USVs can provide persistent domain awareness in remote regions of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. By conducting the demonstrations off Hawaii, the teams gained a firsthand understanding of how these assets could help protect the islands, and the critical resources and habitats throughout Oceania.  
 
Many of the Coast Guard’s missions require close coordination with federal, state, local, and international partners and during the tests the Coast Guard worked closely with NOAA, DHS partners, the Navy, and agencies from several partner nations who face similar issues to protect the global maritime and fishing industries.