January 2015

SURFACE SITREP

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PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP January 2015

Volume XXXI, Number 1

An Interview with the Surface Force Commander VADM Tom Rowden, USN Conducted by CAPT Edward Lundquist, USN (Ret) You’ve been in this job now for four months, and you’ve had a chance to see the ships from bow to stern. What’s your initial impression of the surface force today?

As for the training side, I learned from my strike group experience that there were some challenges we had gone through; one of them being that we had eliminated the SWOS Division Officer Course.

Two years ago when I arrived in Washington to take the N96 job I Did that happen while you were told myself, “No matter what I do, the Commanding Officer of SurI do not want to let the sea water face Warfare Officer School, or run out of my veins.” I understood before you got there? what the situation was when I left the waterfront, and I wanted to It happened before I was the CO continue to drive toward making of SWOS. I saw the manifestathings better for the men and womtions of what we had done when en who are serving on our ships, talking to the ensigns on the ships now and in the future. I spent before I left the strike group. Vice 30-months building the budget, Photo by CDR Tamsen Reese, USN Adm. Rick Hunt was at Third Fleet and had a pretty good understanding of what we’ve invested in. and coming to SURFOR, and I told him that we had done ourselves Now I am the “man, train and equip” boss for the surface forces. a disservice by eliminating this crucial training for the young men Once I arrived, I figured there’s no better way to determine what and women who we are bringing into the force. And he said, “I am the situation is than to spend some time on the waterfront, walking right there with you.” He comes here to SURFOR, and I become the the decks of the ships, and talking with the wardrooms, the chiefs’ resource sponsor, and we start to address this significant training. messes, and the Sailors on the deck-plates and down in the propul- Vice Adm. Hunt worked with SWOS in order to bring the Division sion plants. Our Sailors have always been, and will always be, the Officer Course back, and I started laying it in the budget. Because most refreshingly honest people you would ever want to meet in we couldn’t wait for the POM cycle; we had to do it (snaps fingers) your life. I was able to look at what we’ve been investing in, see if now. That’s one aspect. I saw other training deficiencies in engiit’s coming through to fruition, and if it is making life better for the neering and navigation. They manifested themselves, I think, in a men and women who serve on our ships. Obviously, I was keenly very real and a very dramatic way in the grounding of the GUARDinterested in the readiness piece. IAN. USS GUARDIAN (MCM 5) ran aground on Jan. 17, 2013, on On the manning side, while I don’t think we’ll ever get to 100 percent of exactly where we want to be, I found that there was good information flow and an understanding of the challenges. I think we’re in a position to move forward rapidly to appropriately address the manning challenges we have on our ships. Will it ever be perfect? No, but we’re moving in the right direction.

YOKOSUKA, Japan (Oct. 9, 2014) Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden, commander of Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet, talks with Sailors assigned to the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67) during a tour of the ship. Shiloh is assigned to Commander, Task Force 70, and is forward deployed in Yokosuka, Japan, in support of security and stability of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Fire Controlman 1st Class Kristopher Horton/Released)

Page 2 Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea between Palawan and Mindanao in the Philippines. The ship was a total loss. When Adm. Greenert became the CNO, Vice Adm. Hunt ran the transition team. I was on that team too, and we discussed the realignment of OPNAV at that time and subsequently changed the OPNAV staff and created the N9. Training and maintenance came back to the resource sponsors and we had the opportunity to really look holistically at the surface forces and make the equitable trades we needed in order to address the readiness concerns that I had seen when I was running the strike group. Simultaneously, working on the budgeting side, we put together a good program in order to determine exactly where we needed to invest in training. And we invested a lot of money in training. So I come out here and I say, “How are we doing?” Well, the Division Officer Course is stood-up, I asked the young men and women in the wardrooms, “How’s it going?” They say, “It’s good.” But we can’t take our eye off the ball; we have to make sure that we’re constantly refining it and making that course better.

January 2015 tenance and modernization on our ships. The first overseas trip I took after relieving Admiral Tom Copeman was to fly directly to Sasebo. I wanted to know what the situation was with the amphibious ships we have forward-deployed to Sasebo. And one of the things I found is that the maintenance organizations that support the execution of work of our amphibious ships in Sasebo are very different than the maintenance organizations that exist here, in Hawaii, or Pac NorWest. I’ve also had the opportunity to visit our East Coast ships, and they’re different over there as well. So it’s a much more complicated problem to solve as you’re trying to get from “planning” the maintenance and modernization availabilities, to “executing” the availabilities.

There were some things we could do rapidly to bring people together. I had the opportunity to speak at the Fleet Maintenance and Modernization Symposium in Norfolk in September, and address some of the concerns I had with the port engineers who were in attendance as well as commercial maintenance organizations. What grew out of that was what we called the “maintenance summit,” which we held 18-19 November bringing together all of the flag leadership who impact the maintenance of our surface ships. We had Vice Admiral Will Hilarides (Commander Naval They’re doing that in the fleet Sea Systems Command) in addition concentration areas? MONTEREY, Calif. (Nov. 14, 2014) Chief of Naval Operations Adm. to the fleet maintenance officers; Yes, over at 32nd Street in San Jonathan W. Greenert, right, meets with Douglas A. Hensler, left, the flag officer responsible for Diego and on the waterfront in provost of the Naval Postgraduate School; Vice Adm. Thomas S. maintenance and modernization Norfolk. And then between the Rowden, commander of Naval Surface Forces; and retired Vice Adm. for our surface ships; the flag offirst division officer tour and the Ronald A. Route, president of the Naval Postgraduate School; in ficer responsible for commanding second division officer tour we Route’s office at the Naval Postgraduate School. (U.S. Navy photo by the regional maintenance centers; have piloted, and are now ex- Javier Chagoya/Released) and one of the strike group comecuting, the advanced division officer course. There’s also been a lot of investment in engineering manders who represented “the customer.” Both resource sponsors and navigation—and a lot of processes put in place to ensure we’re were there from OPNAV N95 and N96. And what I wanted was to getting those investments laid down properly. I’m seeing the money have a robust discussion about the barriers between where we are start to flow and starting to see the value on the deck-plates of the and where we want to be, and what responsibility we have on the government side to knock those barriers down. A number of action investments that we’re making in training. items came out of this summit, and the unique opportunity to get The third big area is in “equipping” the surface force. As mainte- all of the admirals together to make sure that the readiness of our nance came back to the resource sponsor, I worked very closely ships is moving in the right direction. It was a robust discussion, with Maj. Gen. Tim Hanifen and then Maj. Gen. Bob Walsh, [Expe- and I think we’ll be able to move forward in addressing some of ditionary Warfare Directors in N95] who were just both tremen- the material and modernization concerns we have on our ships. dous partners in the resourcing for surface warfare on the OPNAV Because as I review the operations over the last decade and a half, staff. We worked very hard to ensure that we, to the maximum we have been running our ships very – and our people very, very extent we could, defined the requirement for the maintenance and - hard. Our ballistic missile defense ships are deploying on short modernization of our ships, and moved through the execution of turnarounds. We have turned our carrier strike groups around that piece. And so for 30-months we moved our way through it. quickly. We have deployed them for longer. And all of that has We’ve gone through a couple cycles. There’s some more matura- had a detrimental effect, I think, in the overall material readiness of tion we have to do in the definition of the requirement, but it was our ships. So we need that common understanding of what needs well recognized within the OPNAV staff that the surface warfare to be done with maintenance to knock down the barriers and get community is seriously defining the requirements for the main- to where we need to be.

Page 3 The yards that assist us in maintaining our ships, and the Navy organizations that we have ashore who provide the coordination, are vital to the material readiness of our fleet. We’ve got to work daily to ensure there’s as little daylight as possible between us. They are in business to make a profit, but it’s also very clear to me they’re keenly interested in ensuring they deliver a good product to the United States Navy. It’s incumbent upon us to ensure we assist them to the maximum extent we can to deliver on the latter, and they’ll make sure they’re delivering on the former.

SAN DIEGO (Aug. 7, 2014) Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden passes through ceremonial sideboys at the U.S. Pacific Fleet Naval Surface Force change of command ceremony aboard the littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) where Rowden relieved Vice Adm. Tom Copeman as the Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Naval Surface Force. The ceremony dually served as Copeman’s retirement ceremony where he retired after 32 years of naval service. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Peter D. Lawlor/Released) The other partner in this is the private yards. The vast majority of our maintenance is executed by our partners, our teammates, who run the private yards. It was important as part of this summit to bring in the leadership of the big private yards, have a discussion with them about what they think the barriers are, and how we can knock those barriers down. This all leads to the #1 priority I have for the surface force – and that is “warfighting first.” This is aligned with CNO and, in my heart and mind, the thing that drives me. I want to put confidence and competence in the hearts and minds of our commanding officers and their crews, so as they proceed out past the sea buoy going to do the nation’s bidding, they are confident. Confident in their ability; confident in the ability of the men and women who they serve with and who they lead; confident in the condition of the ship that they’re standing on; and competent in the execution of whatever mission might be assigned to them. As SURFOR I owe them that. I’ve talked with (RADM) Pete Gumataotao at SURFLANT about this and he feels the exact same way. That’s what we owe the men and women on our ships. It’s our responsibility to provide that. We need to keep warfighting in the forefront of our minds— “warfighting first”—and do all the things that allow our Commanders and Sailors to be confident and competent. That encompasses a myriad of things—whether it’s making sure that they’re getting paid on time; making sure that their families are properly taken care of; and making sure that they have the proper medical support—all those kind of foundational leadership things, because it’s all about the men and women who serve on our ships. If we provide that, our people who are serving don’t have to worry about it. They can go execute the nation’s bidding when they’re deployed, turn around and come back victorious. You touched on maintenance. The commercial shipyards are your partners…

USS FORT WORTH just left for a 16-month deployment. LCS was intended to deal with the challenging asymmetric threats in the littoral—namely quiet diesel submarines, fast, armed surface craft, and mines. Is LCS going to make us dominant in the littoral? The short answer is yes. However, I think that you have to take the long view in understanding how we are going to continue to develop the ship, the systems that go in it, as well as the employment concepts. The littoral combat ship was designed and developed to address three requirements: hunting mines, hunting quiet diesel submarines, and anti-surface warfare in the littorals. I think by January’s SNA Symposium we will have declared IOC (initial operating capability) of the SUW mission package, and we will have delivered on that requirement. We’re continuing to work on delivering the requirements with respect to the ability to hunt mines in the littorals, and the ability to hunt submarines in the littoral and beyond. But I think we have to be cognizant of what’s happening around the world, and around the ocean as we work to bring these ships into the fleet. We’re on glide slope to deliver on those things that were required of the ship at its inception. I think they will do so much more for the combatant commanders, fleet commanders, strike group commanders, and for, perhaps, the joint force beyond that. The Oliver Hazard Perry Class was designed and built to be an open-ocean convoy escort, and to the best of my recollection, not

PYEONGTAEK, Republic of Korea (Oct. 7, 2014) Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden, commander of U.S. Naval Surface Forces, views the salvaged wreckage of the Republic of Korea (ROK) ship Cheonan (PCC-772) which was sunk by a North Korean torpedo in 2010. During his visit to the Republic of Korea, Rowden met with military and government officials to discuss the continuing friendship between the U.S. and ROK navies. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of the ROK Navy/Released)

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a single one of those ships ever executed an open-ocean convoy opportunity to operate that ship with various countries around the escort. But we ended up doing a tremendous number of valuable western Pacific, will demonstrate tremendous value of the ship. missions with those ships. Today, and in the recent past, we’ve had these guided-missile frigates operating off of Central America, run- A recent CSBA study came out that said surface forces should be ning down drugs with incredible success - something that wasn’t more offensive. And the theme for the 2015 SNA Symposium is even envisioned when we started putting pen to paper in designing “Distributed Lethality: Going on the Offensive.” What are your those ships. We’ve run those ships in support of our special opera- thoughts about the theme, and employing our surface ships oftions forces because of the things that we have been able to put fensively? on them. They weren’t modular, flexible ships like we’re designing This has been occupying my thoughts for quite some time. About today with the littoral combat ship. Today, with LCS, we have the a year into my tour as OPNAV N96, I started to look at the evoluopportunity to more cost-effectively modernize the combat system tion of requirements for our ships. Really studying them over time, on these ships – because the combat system is removable, upgrad- going all the way back to the 1930s when the aircraft carriers able ashore, and swapwere coming into existence. pable. Our potential And if you recall at that time, adversaries get a vote. there was a rather significant So as other missions tussle between the battleship come into the field admirals and the carrier aviaof view, we have a tion admirals. The long-range greater opportunity striking power of carrier aviawith these particular tion was demonstrated at the ships to either develop Battle of Midway when the a whole new mission opposing fleets never even package, or modify saw each other. With the rise a mission package as of these capital ships came requirements emerge. the necessity to ensure their Certainly we have proper defense. And so, while to continue to have we continue to build ships with multi-mission guidedguns and long-range anti-ship missile destroyers and missiles, we started to build cruisers. But like LCS more and more of the requiredevelopment, the dements into our surface ships to velopment of the AEexecute defense. Coming into GIS weapon systems the missile age, the developSAN DIEGO (Aug. 7, 2014) Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden smiles with joy after being has evolved on those ment of Tartar, Terrier and introduced for the first time as the Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Naval ships. When AdmiSurface Force during the U.S. Pacific Fleet Naval Surface Force change of command Talos missiles, and transitionrals Wayne Meyer and ing to the Standard missile ceremony aboard the littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) where Rowden Jim Doyle first started SM-1 and SM-2, we became assumed command from Vice Adm. Tom Copeman. The ceremony dually served as working on the Aegis more defensively oriented Copeman’s retirement ceremony where he retired after 32 years of naval service. weapon system back (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Peter D. Lawlor/Released) because we understood - and in the late 60s and understood well - that we had into the 70s, ballistic offensive lethal striking power missiles weren’t a threat. And yet, this month, we took an AEGIS on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. But with that also came Baseline 9C destroyer named John Paul Jones and executed an the recognition that we have to defend it as it rises to a signifiengagement out on the Pacific Missile Range Facility that could cant operational center of gravity for the force. We continued to not even have been envisioned when we laid the keel for John Paul develop the Standard Missile 2, Standard Missile 2 Block 3, Block Jones. USS JOHN PAUL JONES (DDG 53) successfully conducted 3-A, Block 3-B, and as the anti-ship cruise missiles became more Flight Test Standard Missile-25 (FTM-25) from the Pacific Missile sophisticated, we had to become more sophisticated in our ability Range Facility (PMRF) on Kauai, Hawaii, on Nov. 6. The test, which to address them. It’s clear in my mind that we have concentrated resulted in three successful near-simultaneous target engagements more and more on the defense on our surface ships, and have over the Pacific Ocean, involved one short-range ballistic missile transitioned away from the long-range, or even the short-range, target intercepted by a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IB guided offensive capability. We stopped building ships with Harpoon missile, while two low-flying cruise missile targets were engaged launchers. While the Harpoon is a relatively short-range missile, it’s by Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) Block IIIA guided missiles near- still a very capable anti-ship missile. For a while, back in the 90s, simultaneously. I think the littoral combat ships are going to prove we had the Tomahawk Anti-Ship Missile, which we discontinued extremely valuable. And I think that getting FORT WORTH out for and is no longer part of the force. In my mind, one of the things a 16-month deployment, executing the crew rotations, getting the that we need to do as we move forward is to think differently about

Page 5 how we might complicate the targeting problem for the enemy. If you give them one or two targets, you’re going to play defense all day. But if you give them 20 or 30 targets – and we can come at them from multiple directions – then all of a sudden their calculus on how they are going to defend themselves becomes much more complicated. As we distribute the lethality of our surface forces, and go back on the offensive, we can bring not only the ability to organically target, but to execute those engagements at ranges 100 or 1,000, via whatever means, and provide a significant complicating factor to our potential adversaries. They don’t just have to worry about the planes coming off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier. Further, we also have our magnificent submarines. And while we would like to have many more, they are limited in numbers. So we have to bring all the forces to bear to complicate the targeting problem and to make it very difficult for our potential adversaries. Part of our responsibility in the surface forces is to get back into that long-range offensive game. We need to continue to defend our high-value ships, aircraft carriers and amphibious readiness groups in the blue-green team, but also to ensure we have the offensive capability to cause adversaries many more problems to think about. Does DDG 1000 fit into that equation with its long-range strike capability? Absolutely. Not only will DDG 1000 have the advanced gun system (AGS), but it also has an improved vertical launch system – the Mark 57 VLS, with expandability beyond the bounds of the Mark 41 VLS that we have on our guided-missile destroyers and cruisers today. It’s also important to look at the other advances that we’re making in weapons systems. A significant amount of investment is going into the electromagnetic rail-gun. There are real advantages to being able to take the propulsion stack off the round which reduces the cost of an engagement. We just have to work the technology with respect to what we would use to project from the electromagnetic rail gun. Our execution of anti-ship cruise-missile defense, or offensive ASUW, or land attack, is only limited in the development of the technology for rail-gun projectiles. Are all three of the Zumwalt-class coming to San Diego? Yes. The plan right now is for all three of those DDG 1000s to be home-ported in San Diego. You were just up in Monterey at the Naval Postgraduate School. Did you have an opportunity to speak to the people at the Littoral Operations Center up there? I did, briefly, but not to the level that I wanted to. I think that the Naval Postgraduate School is a crown jewel, and it’s important we leverage the intellectual capital at NPS, but also at the Littoral Operations Center that was stood up in Defense Analysis. We can leverage the intellectual capital our surface warfare officers bring, but also that of our partners and allies from around the world who enrich our understanding of operations in the littorals. What can you share with us about our amphibious ships? Just pick up any newspaper. The Navy-Marine Corps team, and the 2,200 Marines that we’re going to put in an amphibious readiness

group, the F-35Bs that are coming, the MV 22 Ospreys that are onboard those ships, altogether provides a tremendous amount of flexibility to our leadership at the combatant commander level or at the presidential level. It provides us a lot of options. The surface forces need to ensure we are delivering that operational availability to our Marine brothers and sisters, so when the Navy-Marine Corps team get tasked to execute a mission, we are ready to go. The operational availability of the ships, the training of the men and women on our ships, the manning of them - that’s squarely, squarely in my wheelhouse. Are they fundamentally different from the surface combatants? The short answer is no. The difference is that the “combat system” we’re loading on the amphibs is the United States Marine Corps. There’s some self-defense, but the reality of it is we have to bring the readiness cycle of the Marine Corps into the readiness cycle of our amphibious ships. We need to ensure we marry those up properly in order to deploy the Marine Corps capability at the right time, with the right ships. I spent some time studying the readiness cycle of the Marine Corps, and it’s different on the amphibious ships we deploy out of San Diego, as opposed to the amphibious ships we have forward-deployed in Sasebo. But the team the Navy and the Marine Corps brings, and the options and the flexibility to our combatant commanders or to the president, CANNOT be overstated. I’m keenly focused on that to ensure we can deliver that operational availability. Lastly, what would you like to say to the members of the Surface Navy Association? How can we better support you and the surface force? This will be number four in a row for me. The last three as OPNAV 96, and now, as the SWO Boss. I always look forward to the annual SNA Symposium with a tremendous amount of eagerness for a number of different reasons. To renew old friendships, and spend some time talking with shipmates about what it was like when we were lieutenants together operating out of Yokosuka, or whatever the case may be. The symposium also gives me the opportunity to spend time with industry. I really look forward to talking with our industry partners and understanding what they’re working on, and giving them the opportunity to hear my thoughts about where we’re going with the surface forces. We have a much better opportunity to win the tug-of-war if everyone who is latched onto the rope is tugging in the same direction. The symposium gives us that opportunity. I look forward to engaging with as many of the industry partners as I can in the short time we have. And as always, I look forward to hearing from the men and women who man, design and repair our ships. They appreciate that, too. They certainly bring their A-game. Their support really allows the symposium to happen. So I appreciate and thank them for their continued support to provide the venue for so many professionals to come together to renew old friendships and say hello again. But really to get us all latched onto that rope and tugging in the same direction.

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SNA helps us in many, many ways. As a professional organization, they are invaluable to me as the Surface Force Commander because of all of the opportunities that the Surface Navy Association provides to bring us all together. Anything else you want to say that I didn’t ask you? I truly love being SURFOR!

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Photo by CDR Tamsen Reese, USN

New Life Members CDR Robert Anderson USN (Ret) Harry Buzhardt CAPT Patrick Cassidy USN (Ret) VADM John Cotton USN (Ret) CAPT Paul Danks USN (Ret) Frank Denaro RADM Kelvin Dixon USN CDR Marton Dundics USN (Ret) RADM James Eastwood USN (Ret) Carter Eltzroth CDR John Farley USN (Ret) CAPT William Foster USN (Ret) LCDR Neil Gabriel USN CDR James Galoppa USN (Ret) LT Mathew Halferty USN CDR Todd Hawkinson USN (Ret) ADM Thomas Hayward USN (Ret) CAPT Michael Hennessey USNR (Ret) David Howard CAPT James Ingraham USN CDR Jeff Johnstone USN (Ret) RDML Jeffery Jones USN (Ret) CDR Corey Keniston USN

RDML James Kilby USN Ary Kiselstein CDR Neil Krueger USN CAPT Joel Labow USN (Ret) CAPT Robert Lang USN (Ret) Joseph Lanza CAPT Robert Lindner USNR (Ret) CAPT Edward Lundquist USN (Ret) LT Sarah Lynch USN CAPT Donald Mason USN (Ret) CAPT Robert Massey USN (Ret) CAPT John McGillvray USN (Ret) CAPT John McKay USN (Ret) LT Benjamin Meyer USNR LCDR Kimberly Moreira USN (Ret) CAPT Thomas Negus USN CAPT Stephen Olson USN (Ret) CAPT Harry Palm USN (Ret) CAPT Gary Parriott USN (Ret) William Patterson CAPT Oliver Perry USN (Ret) CAPT Frederick Pfirrmann USN (Ret) Reuben Pitts

CAPT Patrick Rabun USN (Ret) Edward Reid Bruce Renne Matthew Ritchey CDR Charles Roberts USNR (Ret) CAPT David Schnell USN LTJG Allison Scott USN LCDR Anthony Seifert USN CAPT Stephen Shinego USN ADM Jim Stavridis USN (Ret) RDML David Steindl USN CAPT Troy Stoner USN LT Kristofer Tester USN LCDR Richard Turner USN (Ret) LT Hunter Washburn USN Dr. Stanley Weeks CDR Sin Futt Wong (Ret) CDR Thomas Wright USN (Ret) LCDR David Zilber USN (Ret)

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Making the Littoral Combat Ship Concept ‘Repeatable and Sustainable’ An Interview with CAPT Randy Garner, USN Commander, LCS Squadron ONE Conducted by CAPT Edward Lundquist, USN (Ret) Let’s talk a little bit about the littoral environment, and the threat, and why we need a ship like LCS and why LCS is that ship. The littoral environment is usually associated with the blue water navy like the one we operate, with access to locations. A littoral environment like the Strait of Hormuz is certainly one that’s well understood in our Navy because the access to the Persian Gulf. So what do you need to succeed in that environment? You need a ship that has some maneuverability, that has draft that will allow it to operate in and around shoal water—where our traditional size vessels may be restricted, and has specific tools to counter the anti-access threats that often go with a choke point, or a littoral area, that keep our forces from getting where we need to be to accomplish a mission. LCS has three different mission packages that all help with those kind of areas.

It’s not hard to figure out why mine countermeasures is important in littorals and especially in a choke point. So we have a mine countermeasures (MCM) mission package to help us get in and out of a port, through a choke point, or navigate an archipelago, where mines can be a problem. The configurability of LCS provides the ability to put that mine countermeasure mission package on board and do that, with a capability that lets us do it without putting sailors in the mine field, and that’s a big change for us. People that have not served on a mine countermeasures ship may not realize that to find mines we have to drive a ship over the mine, or approach very close to the mine by 150 or 200 yards. To neutralize the mine we put a diver in the water and send him to put a charge on the mine, or we put a remote vehicle in the water that has a charge, tethered to the ship that’s 150 yards away.

The surface warfare mission package is not a peer-to-peer threat, targeted capability right now. It’s more of a fast attack craft and fast inshore attack craft (FAC-FIAC) threat in the littorals that we’re focusing on. They usually operate close to their port of origin. They don’t necessarily have great range, so they operate in a littoral environment. The surface warfare mission package is very capable of combating those kinds of threats. We’ve seen that in our demonstrated tests today on FORT WORTH and previously on FREEDOM, the mission package gave us capabilities that we think are exactly in line with what we need. We’re growing that capability to go into blue water, as well, by hopefully working towards a longer-range surface missile within the surface warfare mission package. We’ve developed a test plan to look at some of the longrange surface missile options there are out there. We’ve executed that plan to test the Naval Strike Missile, which gives us a future PACIFIC OCEAN (July 24, 2014) Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray capability that not just positively impacts the littorals but really, Mabus, far right, speaks with Capt. Randy Garner, far left, commodore of Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One, during a visit aboard the really more about the blue water. littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS 2). Also present were Cmdr. Joseph Gagliano, second from left, commanding officer of One of the Surprises We’ve Had From Independence, and Rear Adm. Robert Girrier, deputy commander a Crew Perspective As We Test Some of and chief of staff of U.S. Pacific Fleet. Mabus is in the region to meet This New Gear is the Resiliency of the with Sailors and Marines, and civilian and military officials, as part of a multi-nation visit to the U.S. Pacific and Africa Command areas of Crew to Operate at a Pretty High Pace. responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Armando Gonzales)

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January 2015 that we want a ship that can go 40 knots with a certain amount of weight on it. That weight is, arguably, the biggest restriction we have to get that speed. So we limit the ship and mission package to a certain number of metric tons. If we want to enhance the capability of the mission package that requires greater weight then we need to start making decisions about tradeoffs with speed. Speed is a great enabler for the fast attack craft / fast inshore attack craft threat. We demonstrated that with FORT WORTH this spring. If you are as fast—or faster—than your threat—then you control the engagement. You can make decisions and be in a position of control rather than hope they don’t come at you faster than you can run away. Even if you can’t shoot at them, if you can maintain a

PEARL HARBOR (Nov. 24, 2014) The littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for a scheduled port visit. Fort Worth is deployed for a scheduled 16-month rotational deployment to Singapore in support of the Navy’s strategic rebalance to the Pacific. Fort Worth is the first littoral combat ship to deploy under the 3-2-1 manning concept, swapping fully trained crews roughly every four months and extending the littoral combat ship forward presence. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Diana Quinlan) Either way, you’re putting people very close to harm. So we’ve got a different way to do that with the remote mine-hunting vehicle and aircraft and the sonars that we can bring. The whole MCM mission package is another littoral enabler. And then, of course, there’s the ASW mission package which gives us, we believe, the ability to find submarines in places we have had difficulty doing so in the past, and often that is a quiet diesel submarine in a shallow body of water where most of our fleet systems are challenged. We believe that we’ll have a better way to do it with the ASW systems that we’re going to deliver. I should add that while all of these mission packages capabilities are useful in the littorals, they’re not restricted to the littorals. The ASW mission package has great open ocean capabilities, too. The surface warfare mission package – as we grow to have that longerrange weapon, that’s a wonderful capability to have in a battle group or in a blue water environment. Even the MCM has a deep water capability within the MCM mission package. So there’s applicability for all of these mission packages, not just in the littorals. LCS is fast, but there is a premium paid to get speed, and some critics say it isn’t worth it. How would you justify giving the sea frame a high speed capability? Why do we need it and why is it important? I don’t know that I would characterize a response exactly in the vein that you poised it – defending the speed. I would tell you that speed gives you certain capabilities. If you want different capabilities, you have to dial in those capabilities – that may be at the cost of speed. We have made a choice with the designs we have now

PACIFIC OCEAN (Dec. 3, 2014) Sailors from Surface Warfare Detachment 3 observe Gunner’s Mate 1st Class Christopher Beall as he performs a zero fire exercise to verify the accuracy of the 30 mm weapons system aboard the littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3). Fort Worth is on a 16-month rotational deployment in support of the Asia-Pacific Rebalance. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Antonio Turretto) relative position outside of their firing capability because you have greater speed, then you control the engagement. And with Fast Attack Craft-Fast Inshore Attack Craft, we are often talking about weapon systems within visual horizon, that don’t have great reach from the opposition. If you detect a threat, and can align your propulsion plan to go fast enough, even if you just wanted to get away from that threat, you could. If it’s a hostile threat and you want to engage, then you’ve got the ability to control your engagement of weapons, too. And depending on the range of the enemy and the range of our systems, you may be able to just park them outside of their weapons range and engage that target while they’re within your weapons’ range. We demonstrated we could do that in tests with FORT WORTH. She was able to deny the enemy getting close enough to engage her, and this was multiple high speed boats from multiple bearings, all capable of 40 knots—not an inconsequential threat. She kept the targets beyond their weapons release and kept the targets within her own weapons release, and sank or destroyed to the point of there was nothing left but burning hulk for all four of the boats that were engaged. So speed is a great asset in that specific capability. And the other capability I would tell you is for

Page 9 Could you conceivably have both? Or is it going to be a one-orthe-other type of thing? We could conceivably have both, it’s just a matter of the balance of weight and pros and cons. We view the mission packages and their incremental capabilities coming online a little bit as a menu of options for the combatant commander. If the combatant commander needs the surface warfare mission package and is worried about blue water threats more, maybe we load the long-range service missile. If we’re really more worried about FAC-FIAC threats in and around the Straits of Hormuz, for example, then let’s load a bias towards that threat.

PEARL HARBOR (Nov. 24, 2014) Officers and enlisted Sailors aboard the littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) observe ship’s mooring operation as it arrives to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for a scheduled port visit. Fort Worth is deployed for a scheduled 16-month rotational deployment to Singapore in support of the Navy’s strategic rebalance to the Pacific. Fort Worth is the first littoral combat ship to deploy under the 3-2-1 manning concept, swapping fully trained crews roughly every four months and extending the littoral combat ship forward presence. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Diana Quinlan)

They’ve stood up the Littoral Operations Center at NPS in Monterey. Can you comment on the importance of working with partners in the littoral, and learning from them—particularly partners who have a degree of expertise that we, as a Navy, respect. To work with allies that share information, and better understand the environment, and potential solutions to littoral warfare? We recently tested the Naval Strike Missile with a Norwegian frigate during RIMPAC. Nations like Norway often have systems that are optimized for their environments; their back yard, so to speak. Our back yard tends to be two open oceans—so we’re playing away games constantly with our force. Other countries play home games. There’s a natural connection to understand what

tactical, short sprint distances, they get to a location quicker. If you want a certain sensor in the water, like an ASW sensor, you know, a spot ahead of a battle group or ahead of other ships or to get to location to prosecute some target quicker, then speed helps. Now you don’t have unlimited range with speed, because part of the speed being achieved is a reduction in weight of fuel. So these ships don’t have the range at max speed that they do at endurance speeds—all that comes at a cost. It’s sort of like when you put an aircraft into afterburner, you trade speed for range. Decisions were made to give LCS that capability and preserve that capability, and, if we want to change that, then we just need to have an honest conversation of what the requirement is. But right now, we see it as very useful. You mentioned the NSM missile, and I know there has been some testing with Griffin. What’s the status of the ASUW mission package missile system? I’m not an expert on the acquisition plan for the surface warfare mission package in the future. We do have plans to put Hellfire Longbow within the surface warfare mission package, and that’s coming along in increments. That will deliver us a very capable missile that is similar to Griffin in many ways. It has a few differences that made it preferable for this ship. It has a greater range weapon, like we were alluding to in the naval strike missile, or something like that. That would give us two complementary capabilities: near-term FAC-FIAC threat, small target, small warhead weapon, and then a longer range capital warship-engageable weapon that would be blue-water useful.

PACIFIC OCEAN (Dec. 2, 2014) Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Andrew Thomasy and Fire Controlman 1st Class Waylon Clement, assigned to Surface Warfare Detachment 3, load high-explosive incendiary tracer rounds into the ammunition feeder-can of a 30mm weapons system aboard the littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3). Fort Worth, on a 16-month rotational deployment in support of the Asia-Pacific Rebalance, is a fast and agile warship tailor-made to patrol the region’s littorals and work hull-to-hull with partner navies, providing 7th Fleet area of responsibility with the flexible capabilities it needs now and in the future. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Antonio Turretto)

Page 10 they know and have learned to optimize their readiness in their own back yard, because their back yard might be where we’re playing with them in operations throughout the world. Interoperability is something we focus on—with other countries, and even within our own joint operations, because we recognize that it’s going to be a multi-faceted approach. In any engagement we might have worldwide, it’s very rare we’ll have a unilateral effort. Learning how those other countries work—so when the time comes we know how to work with them and have shared our insights and gained some of theirs— is natural. A lot of the countries have been operating in their particular littoral environment since they’ve had a navy, while we tend to focus on larger capital warships in blue water operations. We don’t have the same depth of understanding of how to use a warship—especially our very large combatants—in the littorals compared to other countries. But now we have a smaller ship, the LCS, and its three unique mission packages. Some of the systems that we’re bringing online within the mission packages have foreign origins. And I’m not referring to prospective systems, I’m referring to systems in the mission packages today. It’s wise to talk to the guy that came up with the demand signal originally on why and how those systems came online, because in most cases they came from another Navy’s need.

January 2015 it is to be at anchor. Operationally, there’s lots of places where you might be uncomfortable to operate a ship with only a 5-foot clearance underneath its keel, when an LCS might have 20-feet clearance. So with draft, we flipped that problem on its side and we now have a benefit.

The Navy has just established LCS Squadron TWO in Mayport, Florida. How is the infrastructure for LCS proceeding, both here and on the East Coast, in terms of being able to sustain the ships, train the crews, and take care of the families as more ships come on line? Our LCS infrastructure is growing, and mainly targeted on training, crew support, and staff functionality. With the LCS concept and the relatively small crews, much of the work that might normally be the responsibility of a traditionally-sized crew has migrated to the LCS RON-1 and 2 staffs. The LCS squadron billet structure is bigger than a typical DESRON or PHIBRON staff because we’re doing a lot of the work that might be associated with the crew—like maintenance planning or training teams—are all done within the resources of the staff. We have to build the training facilities to do the off-hull training that will keep our crews ready to operate forward with the miniPACIFIC OCEAN (Sept. 23, 2014) A Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is launched With its shallow draft, from the littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) during missile testing operations off the mal time they have LCS can now get into a coast of Southern California. The missile scored a direct hit on a mobile ship target. (U.S. on a ship to prepare. lot of ports we couldn’t Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Zachary D. Bell) We also have to have before. Can you comthose training facilities ment on that at all, to train new sailors. about the access we now have, and how that can contribute to With the traditional fleet model you check into your ship, and you theater security cooperation? maybe had training enroute, but you would have a period of time I’ve looked keenly at that because of our near-term deployments when you were under instruction, and then you would gain that to the Western Pacific, and in particular FORT WORTH going to qualification and be part of your watch standing team on your ship. Singapore. The number of ports you can pull an LCS into—whether But there was no requirement for you to be qualified prior to your it be a brief stop for fuel, or to engage with a partner nation, arrival. LCS is different. You have to arrive ready for qualification whatever that reason might be—more than doubles compared because there is no depth on the bench – there’s no room for our current fleet of DDGs, cruisers, LSDs, where the draft is very under-instruction watch standers. So our training facilities are very different. On FREEDOM’s deployment last year, we were able to robust, they’re expansive in capabilities compared to what we have visit ports that have never had a U.S. Navy ship come in and tie for the rest of the fleet. We have many different watch stations up pier side, because before we couldn’t get in there. Why is that that get trained ashore, so that when they arrive on the ship, they significant? We were able to host a reception with the local gov- are ready to stand a watch for the first time without having been ernment and military officials where they walked onboard across underway on an LCS before. a brow and were able to engage with the crew in ways that would have been very difficult if we were anchored two miles out. So We have training facilities here in San Diego, and we’re expanding that’s a nice capability to have. Not to mention the part that it’s a those capabilities into a bigger building with more capacity to match little bit easier on the crew to be pier-side in the many cases than our growth and to expand what things we can do in that trainer

Page 11 deliver the next four inside a year. And then—every year after that—we deliver another four. After this next 4, we start to split the build where it delivers two to Mayport and two to San Diego. So that alternating delivery is going to be the first deliveries for Mayport in LCS 9 and 11. And those crews are already forming up.

PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 21, 2014) Sailors aboard the littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) stand ready as fuel from the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Guadalupe (T-AO 200) is transferred during an underway replenishment. Fort Worth departed its homeport of San Diego Nov. 17 for a 16-month rotational deployment to Southeast Asia in support of the Navy’s strategic rebalance to the Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Antonio P. Turretto Ramos) to cover all the watch stations. And in Mayport, we’re building a similar kind of organizational structure, both ashore and in the LCS RON-2 staff. They have construction ongoing for their crew spaces, for their staff spaces, and of course the training facility I just described, and that’s all programmed to come online at a time when their ships and crews get there in numbers such that they’ll have a steady workload in all those buildings to support their waterfront ships. Some of the Mayport crews started here because just the economy of scale made sense to have them initially train here. When their ship arrives, they’ll PCS to Mayport. And then by the time that occurs, their trainer will be available. So we’re doing really well with the plans for those buildings. Construction is ongoing with the San Diego and Mayport buildings. And over the next four years, my staff will move to a different location. That location will also be resident with the crews and our trainer, so we’ll all be in one, consolidated building here at Naval Base San Diego, which really lends to more efficient use of our Sailors’ time, not to mention better coordination because we’re all under one roof. How are we doing in terms of building the ships, when are ships going to Mayport, and when are we going to have other ships ready to deploy? So we’ve got four ships delivered, and those four ships are operating out of San Diego. We just deployed LCS 3 and LCS 1, 2, and 4 are here operating. The next four ships all come to San Diego, and those four ships deliver in a sequence which is inside of a year. Not a year from now, it’s about 8 months or 9 months from now that year will start, and then we’ll deliver four ships within a year, all of them coming to San Diego. So our footprint will grow from four to eight. And we’ll have one of them deployed, and we’ll have INDEPENDENCE off into the Gulf of Mexico next year doing some tests. But my point is the waterfront here is going to grow quickly. It’s taken us about 5 ½ years to deliver four ships; we’re going to

Do you feel that we’re ready for them now, and have a system that’s going to support them, maintain them, train the crews, and take care of the crews? Absolutely. Ask my staff what are the two things the Commodore keeps talking about, it’s ‘repeatable and sustainable.’ And all of that with the assumption of being effective. So what can we repeatably do with a large number of crews that rotate amongst several different ships? That is something we’ve got to have good blueprints for. We’ve got good blueprints laid out. For maintenance, we developed a relatively unique maintenance strategy within the LCS program that capitalizes on the staff to do most of the advanced planning that then leads to effective contractor work on the ship. We have a lot of partners in that. Certainly the regional maintenance centers, SURFPAC staff, and our program office support – we’re not alone in that but we have a significant role. And then the training piece - we just recently updated our training manual which is unique to LCS, which capitalizes on that unique training facility that we’ve got and gives us a shorter timeline to train crews. INDEPENDENCE has been able to deploy, but it’s been employed in testing of mission packages. Absolutely. It’s been completely focused, with a few fits and starts and pauses. We paused from some of the MCM testing to let her participate in RIMPAC. There’s been ship maintenance and some

PACIFIC OCEAN (July 25, 2014) The littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS 2) is underway in a formation of 42 ships and submarines from 15 international partner nations during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014. Twenty-two nations, 49 ships, six submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC exercise from June 26 to Aug. 1, in and around the Hawaiian Islands. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2014 is the 24th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy photo by Ensign Joseph Pfaff)

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theorized how easily that could be done or how long it would take. One thought is that once a ship is fitted with a particular package it will stay there. And that’s kind of antithetical to the flexibility concept. Can you address mission change-out, the con ops of it, Have there been any big surprises from what we envisioned for and the practicality of it? these mission packages and what they’re actually able to do? I think that we will find that there will be a steady need to have that I think you always find surprises in testing. That’s one of the reasons kind of flexibility in the long run, but I don’t know that we’ll neceswhy you do it, because you have a plan and you go test the gear sarily have to exercise it frequently. We don’t want to give up the and it behaves a little differently – good or bad, in some cases, or capability of the ship to change its mission package because that just differently than you expect. We’ve had our share of surprises, has certain tactical advantages for us. For one, you have capacity but I wouldn’t call them Herculean, monumental surprises. of various missions that you wouldn’t otherwise – we don’t want to give that kind up, that’s the most Some of them might be pleasant obvious capability. The other surprises, right? part is I think it’s beneficial for In many cases they are. One us to have an adversary that has of the surprises we’ve had from to understand what our capabilia crew perspective as we test ties are and assess what those some of this new gear is the capabilities are, and if those resiliency of the crew to operate capabilities are not necessarily at a pretty high pace. With the always the same, that adds to MCM mission package on LCS 2, their calculus. We benefit from those sailors were very busy for that. So the flexibility we give a long period of time keeping ourselves through mission packthat gear in the water, reliably age changes, and retaining that operating, recovering from an occapability, which I absolutely casional maintenance problem, believe we will, complicates the enduring rough weather with an challenge of our adversaries unmanned vehicle that is difficult because, ‘Well, do they have the to recover in certain weather surface warfare mission packconditions. All those things, it’s age or do they have the ASW safe to say, I think, we’ve done PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 25, 2014) The littoral combat ship USS Fort mission package?’ ‘Well, if they better than we might have ex- Worth (LCS 3) provides a sea-going platform for a UH-60A Black Hawk have the surface warfare mission pected early on, and the crew, helicopter from U.S. Army 25th Combat Aviation Brigade to conduct deck package, do they have the long not surprisingly, comes up with landing qualifications off the coast of Hawaii. Fort Worth departed its range missile or the short range solutions that are usually some- homeport of San Diego Nov. 17 for a 16-month rotational deployment to missile?’ Hmm. If I were them, thing that we can repeat in the Southeast Asia in support of the Navy’s strategic rebalance to the Pacific. I’d want to know. So we want to long run that we wouldn’t have (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Antonio have that kind of flexibility for P. Turretto Ramos) anticipated. several reasons. I don’t believe that we’re going to step away Maybe through all of that, we came to the conclusion that we from that. What I do think is that we won’t necessarily have to really need a 50-person core crew, vice 40? change that mission package often, and that shouldn’t be confused We definitely came to that conclusion through FREEDOM’s deploy- with having the ability to change it. There’s a difference between ment. So we knew we had a crew that was taxed to maintain the the need to change it and having the capacity to, and I think we’ll pace that was needed. And early on in these ships, as we still work preserve the capacity to. through the maturity of the platform, and there’s plenty of systems reliability challenges to work through, and new systems require that We’ve demonstrated that, that mission package change-out mulkind of tenacity to learn. With the increased workload, we thought tiple times now and we’ve put the MCM mission package on both it required a few more sailors, so we added 10 for FREEDOM’s variants, we’ve put the surface warfare mission package on both deployment, in the two crews that deployed, and when we came variants, and we have swapped them out in relatively short order, back we realized that was a very good thing to do, and that it was not just as a test but in the case of LCS 2 this summer the decision the right model for the rest of the fleet. So we have added 10 to was, “You know what? We should send LCS 2 to RIMPAC in Hawaii.” the rest of the fleet, as well. And the scenario supports the surface warfare mission package rather than an MCM. So take the MCM and put the surface warfare One of the things that makes LCS unique is the ability to com- one on. Well, not only did we do it in the timeline allowed, but pletely change its warfighting capability by changing the mission we’d actually not done it yet. We had not put the surface warfare package. So there’s a couple of questions to that, and people have mission package on INDEPENDENCE before. So it was a real litmus ship testing, as well, but the majority of the schedule for LCS 2 has been oriented towards the completion of MCM mission package testing. And that continues through the year.

Page 13 test to see how well things stood up to their initial tests, and they stood up really well. We put them on board, we exercised the guns, exercised the crew throughout the surface warfare mission package battery of capabilities on RIMPAC, and they did extraordinarily well. So we have actually done it – this summer – and that wasn’t a test platform, it was an exercise, admittedly, but it was certainly real-world operations with other navies, like we discussed earlier.

curately a “push button, let the device go and sip a cup of coffee, and watch from the bleachers.” It will always be a deck-handling evolution because of the nature of it.

You were the Prospective Executive Officer then CO of the first LCS, USS FREEDOM. You then went to SURFOR staff to work LCS, and now you are the LCS Squadron Commander, with ships on deployment. How would you characterize that from a personal You mentioned before about launch and recovery. In my view, point of view, to have had that, seen all this happen? launch and recovery of a boat, or an unmanned system, is the It’s been extraordinarily rewarding to be a part of the start, and hardest part of LCS operations—it’s a seamanship evolution; it’s still with it where I am now, and for several reasons. One is you not a pushbutton could see the matuthing. Are we findrity of the program ing ways to streamchange, in some line it, make it safer, cases, incredibly better? rapidly. We startI wouldn’t tell you ed out with a ship that I think it’s THE that we sailed out hardest part, but of Marinette, and it’s certainly a hard didn’t have compart. I would agree bat capability yet with your characterbecause it ’s just ization – it’s hard. how shipbuilding And it is absolutely goes, you initially a seamanship and deliver it and you navigation event, in get it out to the sea many cases. I had and you make sure some experience in all the engineering my career on a mine plant works, and rasweep, and that was PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 20, 2014) An MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned autonomous helicopter from dars and navigation one deck-handling the Magicians of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 35, Detachment 1, lifts off the flight work, and then you evolution kind of deck of the littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) during flight operations. HSM-35 is the start to build a complatform with all the Navy’s first composite expeditionary helicopter squadron. Fort Worth departed its homeport of San bat systems capabilgear you put in the Diego Nov. 17 for a 16-month rotational deployment to Singapore in support of the Navy’s strategic ity by testing those water and retrieve, rebalance to the Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Antonio P. systems. So we’ve deploy… it’s a chal- Turretto Ramos) gone from a ship lenging place. There’s a lot of similarities sometimes in the de- that can transit from Point A to Point B with safety and securely, ployment of vehicles and the recovery of vehicles to that MCM now to a ship that is deployed and conducting operations at sea that I had a time on. We’re breaking some ground trying to figure where our country’s most focused, the 7th fleet AOR. That’s a big out how to do it most efficiently and most safely. In other cases, change. With systems that are combat capable, and crews that it’s just plain old tricky because getting anything in and out of the are combat trained. It’s been fascinating to see how things mature water can be a challenging event. Small boat operations on any and how quickly we’ve evolved. We’re at the tipping point now. It ship – ships that we’ve had in our fleet for 20 years that I’ve had a kind of connects to the conversation we had earlier about deliverlot of experience with – are challenging in and of themselves. So ing four ships in a year. This is no longer where an occasional new we’re improving the processes on how we operate the gear that ship shows up –the pump’s gonna be on high now. We’re going comes in and out of the water. The two ships have very different to see combat capability coming to the waterfront much quicker. designs, so they’re completely different processes, which is inter- And those early lessons of the immature program, now maturing esting because it’s still the same mission package. So we’ve got to a point where we have deployed ships, that’s going to translate to discover the techniques that work for both variant of ship. I in direct benefits to those new ships. They’re going to show up would tell you, I think we‘ve got the procedures down pretty good a lot farther ahead than we were with FREEDOM when you were for the gear that we’ve delivered and tested. We have only limited on it for the first time. They’ll be months away from being able to experience with ASW mission package, and that’s not filled with deploy credibly, than years from away where we were then. So many off-ship sensors that are remotely controlled there. They’re it’s been fun to watch. sensors that go underwater from the ship, and I think we’ll continue to learn how to do that. But it’s always going to be a challenging evolution, I think, and it will never be a, as you described very ac-

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New Three Year Members LT Monica Amagna USN LT Toy Andrews USN LCDR Timothy Arbulu USN HMC Tammy Archibald USN LCDR Sabrina Arehart USN (Ret) CAPT Errin Armstrong USN LT Juan Arredondo USN ETC Joseph Atienza USN LT Reuben Attah USN LTJG Michael Austin USN FC1 Patrick Babb USN CDR David Back USN Stuart Badra CAPT Sean Bailey USN LCDR Emily Bassett USN LT Christopher Bland USN CDR Marc Boran USN CDR James Bradford USN (Ret) CS3 James Bundalian USN FC1 Richard Byrd USN ENS Nashrina Calderon USN CAPT Stephen Camacho USN ENS Heather Cantrell USN CAPT John Carver USN SH1 Seng Chan USN William Chisholm LT Nicholas Cichucki USN LT Eric Clark USN LT Benjamin Clede USN YN2 Chaka Clemmons USN LT Barry Cohen CDR Kyle Colton USN John Cordle ENS Richard Crowley USN RADM John Davis USN (Ret) LT Jason DeJesus USN ENS Alyson DeLeeuw USN CDR Michael Desmond USN CAPT Erich Diehl USN LT Ryan Easton USN Adam Ehart LT Kristen Eriksen USN

ETCS Sean Evans USN LT Nathan Farish USN LCDR Michael Fortenberry USN Stephen Froelich FC1 Ernesto Garcia USN LT Matthew Garcia-Bragiel USN CAPT James Gerlach USN ETCM (SW) John Giardina USN (Ret) ST2 Robert Gilhooly USN (Ret) MCPO Justin Gray USN LTJG Nicholas Green USN Doug Grimes LT Ross Hammerer USN CAPT Sam Hancock USN CAPT Matthew Harrison USN ENS Wiley Hemphill USN LT Daniel Hildenbrand USN LT Matthew Hipple USN CAPT John Hobday USN (Ret) CAPT German Honrubia de la Cruz CAPT Joseph Horvath USN LT James Hough USN CDR James Hummel USN (Ret) FC1 Anson Ivey USN FCCM Jeff Jackson USN (Ret) RDML Lawrence Jackson USN Arjun Jain LT Christopher Jasnoch USCG LT Aaron Jochimsen USN HMC Mahtob Johnson USN CAPT John Keegan USN LT Magdalena Keel USN LT Kyle Kendall USN CAPT Lee Kincaid USN (Ret) LCDR Jason Kipp USN QM1 Amy Klemarczyk USN LCDR Kyle Kliewer USN (Ret) CAPT Christopher Kurtz USN Doyle Lahti

CMDCM Sheila Langejans USN NCCM Martha Lara USN CDR William Lauper USN (Ret) CDR Theodore LeClair USNR LT Daniel Linge USN CDR Anthony Littmann USN MIDN Charles Lloyd USN LCDR Christopher Long USN LCDR Bradley Long USN CAPT Ken Long USN CDR Roy Love USN CDR Alex Mabini USN STG1 Daniel Mailloux USN Michael Marlow LCDR James Massie USN LT Quinn Matt USN LT Damon McCullar USN LT Megan McCulloch USN LT Ryan McFadden USN CDR Mike Mehls USN (Ret) MIDN Matthew Meltzer USN LT Emily Merritt USN LCDR Corey Millis USN LCDR Jesse Mink USN LCDR Jason Montes USNR CAPT John Mustin USNR LT Lauren Nelson USN CTR3 Elisa Nylander USN LT Brian Ocampo USN LT Katherine O’Donnell USN CDR Thomas Ogden USN LT Ashley O’Keefe USN Richard Oldham CTT1 Adam Overton USN FCCS(SW) Christopher Perras USN Craig Perry Brian Persons ENS Catherine Philbin USNR CDR Edward Pledger USN LCDR Matthew Powel USN LT Michael Pulley USN DCC Tracey Putney USN

Jim Quist CAPT Lance Raffe USNR (Ret) LCDR Douglas Raineault USN Jack Ransbotham Tracy Raulerson LT Eric Raymond USNR LT Jose Reyes USN LT Robert Riley USN LT Steven Rockwell USN David Rodriguez LT Thelmar Rosarda USN CMDCM Matt Ruane USN CAPT Michael Ruth USN LCDR Gregory Sabra USN LT Michael Schelcher USN LCDR Petrocelli Scott USN PO3 William Self USN CDR Chuck Sellers USN LT Dmitry Shvets USN LT Brian Sims USN CDR Colin Smith USN (Ret) LTJG Kaitlin Smith USN SCPO Vardry Smith USN (Ret) FORCM Thomas Snee USN (Ret) CAPT Ken Spurlock USN LT Sean Standen USN ENS Thomas Stilley USN YNC Sean Stone USN MAJ Erik Tamke USA LtCol Chester Taylor USMC (Ret) LT Casey Travis USN MIDN Rylan Tuohy USN YNC Tracey Turner USN MRC (SW/EXW) Russell VerNooy USN LT John Weaver USN LCDR Sean Whiteman USN LCDR Phillip Wilson USN (Ret) LT James Woodside USN LCDR Stacy Wuthier USN

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Experts to Study Littoral Operations at Asia-Pacific “Littoral OpTech East” Workshop Operations in the Littorals are More Difficult and Demanding…and Dangerous By CAPT Edward Lundquist, USN (Ret) One might think that war at sea becomes proportionally more difficult as you move further from land. But naval experts with the Littoral Operations Center (LOC) at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, Calif., say it’s the other way around. Littoral operations can be more difficult, demanding, and dangerous. According to Prof. Kalev Sepp, Director of the LOC, “The littoral is where hydrography, geography, commerce, fishing, mining, political boundaries and claims, and military maneuver and sustainment issues converge, to complicate both the offense and the defense, and to place exceptional demands on naval, aerial, and land forces that must operate, fight, and influence events there.”

torals,” said retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Steve Benson, Saab Electronic Defence Systems Program Manager for the Littoral Operations Center. “The global littorals are and have been since time in memorial the dominant geographic feature in human existence. An increasingly interconnected world becomes increasingly reliant on stable conditions in the littorals. In the future we have to prepare well for joint and combined operations compressed into the complex, congested and contested littorals.” Sweden’s unique geographical location and thousands of coastal islands has led to the development of technologies for this very complex littoral environment. “Saab has been in cooperation with the Swedish Government to develop systems that can operate in this area. We are very glad that we can contribute meaningfully to this workshop together with NPS and KÖMS,” said Saab’s Ted Ackerstierna, head of the company’s naval segment in Western Europe.

Sepp said the LOC is conducting a series of workshops to gather defense OPTECH West was held in Stockholm, Sweden in leaders and scientists, September 2014. and warfighters, to explore the operational and technological challenges faced by navies in close and confined waters and around archipelagos. Expertise in littoral operations can be found around the world. “Our regional workshops will proceed to different points around the world in order to gather the kind of information we need to optimize maritime operations in these kind of environments and share the information among partners and allies,” said Sepp. The first LOC event, held last March at NPS, was reported in this publication. The second, called Littoral OpTech West, was hosted by the Swedish Royal Society of Naval Sciences (Kungl. Örlogsmannasällskapet (KÖMS)) in Stockholm in September. The third, to be called Littoral OpTech East, will be held somewhere in the Asia Pacific region in 2015. The international workshops are supported by the U.S. Office of Naval Research-Global, and with the participation of Swedish defense company Saab. “Very little in the world today escapes the involvement of the lit-

“For us in the Royal Society of Naval Sciences this has been an excellent opportunity to do what we can do best, to provide an area for people to meet and have interesting discussions regarding operations in the littorals, where Sweden has a long experience, and we are quite skilled,” said Swedish Navy Rear Adm. Thomas Engevall, the president of KÖMS. Sweden’s “extreme littoral” environment creates operating challenges for the Swedish Navy, as evident by the recent hunt for a reported underwater intruder. Retired Swedish Navy Capt. Bo Wallander, now working for Saab, said being close to land means there are more threats that can hide or attack without notice. “In the littoral environment you have short reaction times. We have 100,000 islands around Sweden,

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January 2015

and heavy seas with ice, snow, rain, and hail. Add an asymmetric adversary who can constantly adapt and change tactics and it becomes extremely challenging.”

and Lambac,” said U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert. “And 50 percent of the world’s oil and two-thirds of that exported natural gas transit the South China Sea.”

“The littorals are different and difficult, and have been since a turning point for over a century,” said NPS Prof. Wayne Hughes. “As my book Fleet Tactics and Coastal Combat (published by the Naval Institute Press), says, ‘the seat of purpose is on the land,’ because that’s where people—even sea-going people—have always lived.”

Greenert says, in this era of globalization, the U.S. and other nations have common maritime challenges that are too great for any one nation to solve alone, such as piracy, natural disasters, and illicit trafficking.

“Coastal waters have not only become increasingly dangerous but the special region of influence on both sides of a coast is now much larger,” Hughes said. “The U.S. Navy needs to understudy fleets like Israel’s, Sweden’s, Norway’s, and others nations who are more practiced fighting in ‘the extreme littorals!’” Focus on Asia Pacific With a significant amount of world trade passing through Asian waters, the choke points are littoral environments requiring special attention, and not just for the nearby nations and their navies. “Our economic interests and our security are definitely intertwined. We all depend on the sea. Ninety percent of the world’s commerce by volume travels by sea. Over 50 percent of the global merchant tonnage goes through the Strait of Malacca and the Straits of Sunda

“Each of you has contributed to advancing regional security,” said Greenert speaking to his counterparts at the Western Pacific Naval Symposium at Qingdao, China, last April. “We’re already working independently. We’re working bilaterally. And we’re working multilaterally, but we are strongest when we all operate together.” “Working together” includes participating in events like OpTech East, because naval dominance in the littoral relies on allies and partners. “When it comes to ‘jointness,’ it is important to understand that this is a matter of ‘combinedness,’ which is combined operations together with other nations, their agencies and navies,” said Swedish Navy Chief of Staff Rear Adm. Jan Thornqvist at OpTech West in Stockholm. Sepp agreed. “Our allies have extensive practice in shallow-water operations. We can learn from all of them.”

Bahamas to Confront Caribbean Maritime Security and Safety with New Fleet By CAPT Edward Lundquist, USN (Ret) The Commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Commodore Roderick Bowe, says the Bahamas is recapitalizing its maritime security and safety capability and capacity with its multiyear port and ship construction project codenamed “Sandy Bottom.”

Although not “tropical,” the Gulf Stream gives the low-lying Bahamas (the highest point in the chain is 207 feet above sea level) a warm, winter-free climate, providing for an economy largely reliant on tourism, with the majority of visitors coming from the U.S.

The Bahamas are blest and cursed by geography. The islands and surrounding pristine waters encompasses 700 islands, cays, and islets (only a handful of them are inhabited) with a total land area of 5,358 square miles, spread out over 180,000 square miles of ocean. Those waters also invite poachers and smugglers, and the vast expense of water to patrol is a major challenge for Bahamian authorities. The country has a population of about 320,000, with about 250,000 inhabitants living on the island of New Providence, where the capital, Nassau, is located. It is one of America’s Commodore Roderick Bowe, closest neighbors. The westernmost island, BSC, MELI, Commander, Royal Bimini, is only 53 miles from the Florida coast. Bahamas Defence Force

The country has a single military service, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (the RBDF), which is essentially the Navy of the Bahamas. “From north to south, our geographical footprint is similar to the distance from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago” says the head of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), Commodore Roderick Bowe. “We’re right between the greatest economy in world and poorest nation in North America. And because we lie in the midst of the hurricane belt, we have to be ready to respond to natural disasters.” With all that water to patrol, Bowe says the SAR mission is of great importance. “As mariners, we’re all responsible for the safety of life at sea.”

Page 17 But, he says, the vast amount of ocean presents challenges. “We can’t be everywhere all at once to provide security and safety.” Project Sandy Bottom The RBDF embarked upon the ambitious and comprehensive Sandy Bottom Project to update and expand its fleet, while also making the necessary infrastructure improvements. Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group will deliver nine vessels over a six-year acquisition program. Included are four Damen Stan Patrol (SPa) 4207 type offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) and four SPa 3007 patrol craft, along with a 615-ton, 194-foot Stan Lander 5612 roll-on roll-off (RO/RO) landing craft. The landing craft has a 25-ton crane and can embark and deliver vehicles and cargo to any port in the Bahamas as well as unimproved landing areas such as the island chain’s many beaches. The larger 4207s, with a 24-person crew, will have a range in excess of 2,000 nm and can achieve speeds of 20 knots. The 4207s are operated by a number of navies and coast guards, including many in the Caribbean. The Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard, Albanian Naval Defense Forces, Barbados Coast Guard, Bulgarian Border Police, Canadian Coast Guard, Honduran Navy, Venezuelan Navy, Netherlands Coast Guard, Mexican Navy and United Kingdom Border Agency operate this class of OPV, which is also quite similar to the U.S. Coast Guard’s fast response cutter. The OPVs carry weapons and a pair of RHIBs, and are well suited for anti-poaching, migrant interdiction, smuggling of currency and firearms, and drug enforcement missions. The first 4207, HMBS Arthur Dion Hanna arrived from the Netherlands in May 2014, followed by HMBS Durwood Knowles in July and HMBS Leon Livington Smith in September 2014. The Spa 3007 is a 30 meter OPV with a range of up to 2,000 nm at 10 knots, and equipped with a stern boat launch ramp. It will have a crew of 13. Although the 4207s will have the more traditional planning hull, the smaller 3007s feature the distinctive “axe bow.” Until the new ships started arriving, the RBDF has relied upon two 198-foot OPVs, HMBS Bahamas (P-60), along with sister ship HMBS

Nassau (P-61), both built in the late 1990s by Moss Point Marine, now VT Halter Marine, in Mississippi. Damen will provide a mid-life upgrade to the Bahamas-class vessels, which entered operational service with the defense force in 1999, to extend the operational life for several years. The Dutch civil engineering company Van Oord is responsible for the design, engineering, dredging and construction of three ports for the RBDF, including the deepening of access channels and construction of quay walls, breakwaters, buildings, jetties, moorings and facings. The Sandy Bottom package also provides for sustaining the investment with spares and training. The Sandy Bottom project is noteworthy because it not only adds hulls, but upgrades the existing port and creates two new ones so the RBDF can spread the afloat assets throughout the country. Dredging and breakwater improvements are being made to the existing base at Coral Harbor on New Providence, along with a ramp for the RO/RO ship. Breakwaters and manmade coral reefs are being constructed to create protected berths at Mathew Town on Great Inaugua and Gun Point on Ragged Island. RBDF Lieut. Cmdr. Chapell Whyms says the HMBS Arthur Dion Hanna is well equipped with the latest technology, and has the range and endurance to be effective on patrol. “This is like comparing a new model BMW to an older model BMW,” he said. “It’s still a BMW but the newer one is of course better equipped, upgraded and advanced.” Bowe says the RO/RO landing craft will be especially useful for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Haiti asked neighboring countries for help following the devastating January 2010 earthquake, but Bowe said the Bahamas didn’t have the assets. “Our ability to respond to crises in the region has been nonexistent because we didn’t have the resources to do so. Now we can assist the other Caribbean countries. We can take our own support, hospital, food, and supplies, and we can deliver personnel and material where it’s needed. We have a desalinization plant onboard to make fresh water, and we can produce a lot of ice, as well, so people without power will be able to keep their perishables.”

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January 2015 Bowe says the Bahamas has very good relations with their neighbors in the TCI to the south. “We’re all in this together,” he says. On occasion RBDF vessels will visit the Turks and Caicos. “Sailors always welcome a port of call,” says Bowe. The Defense Force is also a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)’s Regional Security Task Force. With unmanned aircraft systems becoming more common in both civilian and military applications, Bowe says the Bahamas is looking at UAS for SAR, intelligence, reconnaissance and target acquisition. “We spend a lot of man hours and fuel on patrol. We can investigate areas of interest with a more sustainable presence and make better and more informed decisions.” Bowe says it is important to strengthen partnerships and increase collaboration, in part, he says because the “criminal enterprises have more resources than we do.”

Minister of National Security Dr. Bernard Nottage says the cost for the nine vessels is $149 million, with another $75 million for the port construction and improvements. He says the investments prove that the government is serious about protecting the country’s borders. Caribbean Challenges Bowe says the RBDF is charged with maintaining law and order, defending and protecting the country, assisting people in need and conducting other duties as assigned. “We are the lead agency guarding our heritage, responsible for the safety and security of all who live in and visit the Bahamas.” Operations are often coordinated with the U.S. and neighboring Turks and Caicos as part of Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos (OPBAT). The OPBAT task force joins the U.S. Coast Guard, and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) with authorities in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Island (TCI) to combat drug smuggling, human smuggling and other illegal activity, as well as conduct and search and rescue cases throughout the AOR.

“We cannot operate in a vacuum. We need to unify our efforts,” he says. The Bahamas has surface surveillance radars, as does Turks and Caicos. “We’re looking at placing a radar system in the southern Bahamas to close the radar gap.” Bowe says the RBDF also has reservists, with the first reserve members of the force joining about two years ago. Bowe says the U.S. model works well. “The reserve program allows me to enlist persons beyond 25 years of age who want to work their regular jobs and give service to their country. We’re still working through it, but I don’t think we can exist and be the professional force we want to be without them.”

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Danish Frigates and Flexible Support Ships Have Much in Common With More Than 9,000 nm Range, Danish Combatants Can Operate Far From Home By CAPT Edward Lundquist, USN (Ret) HDNS Niels Juel is the newest ship in the Danish fleet, and the third and final ship of a new class of air defense frigates. The frigates are very close relatives of Denmark’s two Absalon-class flexible support ships (see “Absalon-Class Littoral Support Ships: Danish Contribution to International Maritime Security” in the October 2012 issue of Surface SITREP). They share essentially the same hull, but with less volume for mission modules and more sensors and weapons. The two classes of ships effectively replace the Danish Niels Juel corvettes and Flyvefisken-class patrol vessels, and supplement the aging hetis patrol frigates, all are also Standard Flex vessels, but share the same modularity. In fact, all five ships have reused some of the modularized weapons from the earlier ships, including guns, Harpoon and ESSM launchers.

ARABIAN SEA (Jan. 2, 2013) The Royal Danish Navy frigate HDMS Iver Huitfeldt (F361) underway in the Arabian Sea. Iver Huitfeldt is assigned to Commander, NATO Task Force 508 supporting Operation Ocean Shield, maritime interception operations and counter-piracy missions in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Deven B. King)

According to Lieut. Thomas Ackerman, the weapons electronics officer, Niels Juel is the newest vessel in the Danish fleet. “We’re still getting to know the ship,” Ackerman says.

The frigate has the space, facilities and comm u n i c at i o n s bandwidth to be the flagship for an embarked staff. There is also room and facilities for a surgical unit and special operations forces as required. The frigates have twice the propulsion power of the Absalons, with four 20-cylinder MTU diesels (vice two for the flexible support ships), and are able to sustain speeds of over 28 knots. “We have a crew of 94 now,” says Ackerman. “We will grow to 117, and can have as many as 164 with embarked teams.” A significant feature of the Iver Huitfeldt-class is its 9,300 nm range at 18 kts. This compares favorably with other surface combatants of similar size, such as the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer (7,000 nm) Dutch De Zeven Provinciën (5,000 nm); the French/Italian FREMM (6,000-6,700 nm); German Sachsen class (4,000 nm); or the

Norwegian Nansen (4,500 nm). The increased range is due to the more efficient hull design and the fuel efficiency of the diesels engines.

The third of the three-ship class of Iver Huitfeldt anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) frigates for the Danish Navy, HDNS Niels Juel, recently participated in the 2014 Bold Alligator exercises off the East Coast of the U.S., and made port calls at Norfolk and Baltimore. There is a lot of reuse SNA’s Capt. Ned Lundquist visited her on this ship. Some in both ports.

of the 76 mm guns, Harpoon and ESSM launchers came from the Flyvefiskens, and Niels Juel corvettes. “These are tested and proven systems, so there is not a lot of risk,” Ackerman says. According to Capt. Per Hesselberg, who oversaw the construction of Niels Juel and her sisters as the Project Manager for the Danish Frigate Program, the frigates and flexible support ships share much in common—80 percent— including the modularity. “With standardized modularized systems, we are able to reuse design elements. The ships are very similar. The frigates have twice the power, a better radar and a more sophisticated ASW capability. But otherwise they are much the same.” Although the two Absalons have the ability to fire Harpoon and ESSM missiles, the Iver Huitfeldts will be able to also fire the SM-2 Standard missile from its VLS tubes. The RDN has held off purchase of the actual missiles and their associated “black box” controls pending their government’s recent decision to participate in ballistic missile defense (BMD). Like the Absalons, the frigates have the Terma C-Flex combat management system, the Thales Smart L long-range air and surface surveillance radar and APAR air and surface search radar, along with the Terma SCANTER 6000 surveillance and helicopter guidance radar. “We have C-Flex version 2,” says Ackerman. “The Absalons have version 1.” “We use the same CMS network on our frigates and flexible support ships as our Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels,” says Hesselberg. There are 24 flexible consoles in CIC. Each user has “rights” to perform certain functions. So when they log on to a terminal, that console can perform those functions. The Absalons actually have a larger gun, the BAE Systems 5-inch (127mm)/54-caliber Mk 45 gun, while the frigates have a pair of Oto Melara 76 mm guns—one mounted above the other forward

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January 2015 The ships are built to DNV naval classification standards, and uses some commercial equipment to keep costs below that expected when building to strictly military specifications alone. Decisions on whether to use commercial or military specifications were based on a risk assessment of the criticality of a particular system or piece of equipment and whether it was expected to survive the NATO standard for shock. Often commercial equipment was found to be more durable than its military equivalent, and sometimes additional shock mounting was installed to further mitigate risk, reduce maintenance and decrease the ship’s acoustic signature. The ship is ice classed, but not to the same standard as the Thetis class patrol frigates which operate frequently in Arctic waters. “We can’t sail in very icy waters,” Ackerman says.

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Nov. 3, 2014) Canadian soldiers stand force protection watch during Coral Strait passage aboard the Royal Netherlands Navy landing platform dock ship HNLMS Johan de Witt (L801) as the Danish frigate HDMS Niels Juel (F363) transits alongside for air threat protection during Bold Aligator 2014. Bold Alligator is intended to improve Navy and Marine Corps amphibious core competencies. Working with coalition, NATO, allied and partner nations is a necessary investment in the current and future readiness of our forces. The exercise takes place Oct. 29 - Nov. 10, 2014, afloat and ashore along the Eastern seaboard. #BoldAlligator14 U.S. Navy photo courtesy of the Royal Netherlands Navy by SMJR Gerben van Es)

Once a target is acquired by the L-band signal multi beam acquisition radar for tracking—or SMART L—and is being tracked, it can be turned over to the APAR (active phased array radar). Four fixed non-rotational facings, able to handle up to 200 targets. A pair of Saab CEROS 200 fire control radars directs the guns, and can also direct the missiles. The high-resolution Terma Scanter 6002 is a 2-D system for helicopter approach and man overboard. “We have decoys for soft kill, integrated into the combat management system.” Ackerman says. The ships carry both the 12-barrelled Terma DL-12T 130 mm and 6-barrelled Terma DL-6T 130decoy launchers. The large helo hangar can stow a Lynx or Seahawk helicopter.

of the bridge—that came from the Flyvefisken-class. It is possible to mount a 5”-54 cal. gun at a later date. Like the Absalons, the frigates have the Oerlikon Contraves 35mm Millenium gun for point defense.

Training can be an issue, Ackerman says, because the ship has systems from different vendors from different countries.

With its MK 41 vertical launch system (VLS), it can carry up to 32 Standard -2 (SM-2) surface to air missiles, as well as 24 RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missiles (ESSM) with its MK 56 VLS launcher. The VLS systems also permits the ship to carry other weapons, such as Tomahawk strike missiles or new weapons as they become available.

With the completion of the third frigate at the Maersk Steel Shipbuilding (OSS) shipyard, the yard was closed, and with it Denmark’s last shipbuilder. Although the yard has shut down, the enginerering design and expertise continues with a new company, Odense Maritime Technology (OMT), which specializes in military and commercial ship design and optimizing shipyard processes.

“The ship is built around the missile launcher,” says Ackerman, referring to the MK-41 VLS. The frigates can also carry launchers for the Harpoon anti-ship missile. “This class hasn’t fired a Harpoon yet, but we hope to do so this spring,” Ackerman says. The complete ship was designed and built at a cost of $325 million in 2010 dollars, of which the basic platform was $140 million and the combat systems and integration $190 million. A third of that total cost is air defense. The Niels Juel and her sisters have the Terma EDO 3701 ESM and a FLIR system. For ASW, the frigates have a hull mounted Atlas ASO 94 sonar, and carry MU-90 lightweight torpedoes.

HDMS Niels Juel (F 363) Photo courtesy of Naval Team Denmark

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Navy’s Smallest Combatants Armed with Griffin Missiles By CAPT Edward Lundquist, USN (Ret) (Bahrain) The U.S. Navy’s smallest combatant, the 179-foot Coastal Patrol (PC), is armed with one of the Navy’s smallest missiles, the Griffin, giving the PCs a lethal weapon against fast attack craft. Griffin is not new. It’s been around since 2008 as an air launched weapon that could engage targets on the ground from aircraft not normally having such a capability, like a C-130 Hercules. Today, five of the U.S. Navy’s ten forward deployed PCs operating from Bahrain have Griffin, and the others will have it installed in 2015. The missiles are carried in fixed launchers which carry four containerized missiles, and mounted amidships in pairs facing to port and starboard on what was formally the Stinger deck, where the ships previously mounted Stinger missile launchers were located. Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class John Weinheimer of USS MONSOON (PC 4) says the Griffin’s Battle Management System (BMS) uses a ruggedized “Toughbook” laptop and is operated from the bridge. The BMS—which is linked to the ships computer system and draws position information from the ship’s GPS—presents the target imagery from the Bright Star EO/IR camera sensor mounted on the mast. The system locks onto and tracks the target, lases it, and then initiates the firing sequence. “It’s a laser guided weapon, so the target must be continually lased until the missile hits the target,” Weinheimer says. Because of the atmospheric limitations of lasers, the optimal range to engage the target is between about two to three nautical miles. The Bright Star is specifically used for Griffin (the PC’s two remotely operated 25mm guns have their own cameras). “The camera is phenomenal,” Weinheimer says. “This is the quarterback that puts the whole game together,” says Weinheimer of the BMS. The PC-based BMS was developed by Naval Surface Warfare Cen-

Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class John Weinheimer and  Chief Gunner’s Mate Jeremiah Ketels stand next to the portside Griffin launcher of USS MONSOON (PC 4).  Photo by LT Jason Stringfield ter Dahlgren in Virginia, based on the BMS for the C-130 launched version, while the launchers were fabricated by NSWC Corona in California. “The missile was originally designed to be dropped out of a C-130,” says Chief Gunner’s Mate Jeremiah Ketels of USS MONSOON. “They would have a full view of the battlefield, designate the target with the laser, and it would go down and strike. “The shipboard version needs a secondary booster to get it out of the launcher and on its way, and you have to keep lasing the target continuously.” Weinheimer says there is adequate stateside training to prepare crewmembers to use the system, but an onboard training capability is needed to retain proficiency and practice different engagement scenarios. A Mobil Training Team (MTT) is being looked at to provide the needed proficiency training semi-annually in Bahrain. The 331 ton PCs have a crew of four officers and 24 enlisted, and can achieve speeds of 35 knots. Capt. Phil Sobeck, Deputy Commander of Destroyer Squadron Fifty, which has operational control of the PCs, says Griffin provides a layered self-defense for the PC against a stacked threat. “It allows you to go after the most threatening target,” he says. Close Quarters “It is a valuable weapon for close quarters in the littoral,” says Ron Jenkins, Director of Littoral Combat Ship Systems for Raytheon Missile Systems. Griffin can be launched from fixed and rotary wing aircraft, and ground launched from a vehicle. It was recently test fired from a V-22 Osprey.

Griffin has been adapted for use on surface ships against surface targets

The sea-launched Griffin B version is slightly different from the airlaunched Griffin A weapon. The shipboard variant is forward firing

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January 2015

and launched at a fixed angle and needing a boost to get clear of the ship, whereas the air launched version is “gravity launched” by being aft ejected from its launch tube on the firing platform before igniting its flight rocket motor. The missile weighs just 34 lbs., with an additional 17 inches of length and 18 lbs. of weight for the extended range version. While the PCs currently have no reload capability it is quite possible to have a topside magazine and carry extra containerized rounds that can be loaded individually by hand. There are a few simple connections between the canister and launcher. Jenkins says the next generation of Griffin will feature a dual mode seeker and extended range rocket motor. The new configuration allows the operator to change targets in mid-flight to be able to engage a higher priority threat. Since it entered production, Raytheon has delivered more than 2,500 Griffin missiles. “There’s quite a demand signal, “Jenkins says. “The factory’s been hot since 2008.”

A Griffin missile is test fired at Yuma, Arizona (Raytheon Photo)

VICE ADMIRAL ROBERT L. WALTERS SNA SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 1 MARCH 2015 The Surface Navy Association Scholar receives an academic scholarship awarded for demonstrated leadership, community service, academic achievement and a commitment to pursuing higher educational objectives. SELECTION QUALIFICATIONS Must be a dependant child, stepchild, ward or spouse of a Surface Navy Association member. The member must be in their second or subsequent consecutive year of membership. Member can be serving, retired or honorably discharged and must be a Surface Warfare Officer pin or Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist pin. Qualified members must serve for a minimum of 3 years on surface ships of the U.S. Navy or a Coast Guardsman, Officer or Enlisted, with a permanent Cutterman Pin. Surface ships include carriers, combatants, amphibious, service force, mine force, tenders, and U.S. Coast Guard cutters of all classes. The 3 years need not be consecutive but must have been served on active duty.

Scholarship Award is a grant limited to $2000 per year for a maximum of four years provided a 3.0 grade point average is maintained. There is no minimum service period for children or spouses of personnel who died on active duty while serving in a surface ship or cutter. Surface Navy Association scholarships are for studies in an accredited undergraduate or postgraduate institution. Full-time status may be waived in the case of spouses as long as they maintain a course load of 6 semester hours. The Surface Navy Association will not discriminate on the basis of race, rank, color, sex, national or ethnic origin, or religion in the consideration and awarding of scholarships. Awards will be made on the basis of the individual’s application, using a “whole person” concept, considering the candidate’s scholastic proficiency, non-scholastic activities, scholastic and non-scholastic awards, and character. Note: applicants will be permitted to submit copies of their Federal Financial Aid Form but the absence of an aid form will not be detrimental to the candidate.

For more information and to obtain an application: http://www.navysna.org/SNA/Awards/Scholarship/ApplicationIndex.htm

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Thank you to ALL our corporate members including the following companies . . .

ATLAS North America (ATLAS-NA) was chartered in 2010 to support the US Navy’s Mine, Surface and Submarine Warfare mission areas. Staffed with senior officer and enlisted personnel, ATLAS-NA’s core capabilities include warfare subject matter expertise, systems engineering and integration, integrated logistics support and program management.

General Dynamics NASSCO has been designing, building, and repairing large ships for the U.S. Navy and commercial customers since 1959. Our proud team of shipbuilders represents the largest manufacturer in San Diego and the only full-service shipyard on the West Coast of the United States. Today, General Dynamics NASSCO continues to build ships of the highest quality in support of our nation’s defense and maritime transportation needs.  The hard labor and dedication of thousands of employees has made our company the great shipyard that it is now.

In 2014, ATLAS-NA added Marine Sonic Technology (MST) to the team. MST is a world leader in the development and manufacturing of ultra-high resolution side scan sonar systems capable of producing near photographic imaging. This cuttingedge underwater imaging technology is ideal for the Oil & Gas, Marine Construction, Search & Rescue, Law Enforcement, and Military Defense industries.

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A global leader in IT, business process, engineering and engineering support services, CGI partners with the federal agencies to provide end-to-end solutions for defense, civilian, and intelligence missions. For 36 years, we have delivered quality services to help the Navy achieve results at every stage of the program, product, and business lifecycle. www.cgi.com/usfederal.

Gibbs & Cox is an independent engineering and design firm specializing in naval architecture, marine engineering, management support and engineering consulting.  With over 200 USN surface combatants built to our designs, the firm focuses on maritime programs in systems engineering, platform design, sustainment and life cycle extension for government and commercial markets. The firm, headquartered in Arlington, VA, has offices in Newport News, VA; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; New Orleans LA, and Washington, DC.

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KONGSBERG Defence Systems (KDS) is Norway’s premier supplier of defence and aerospace products. Our portfolio includes state-of-the-art systems in missiles, command & control, weapons guidance, target surveillance & tracking, and we are also the world’s leading supplier of remotely operated weapons stations for ships and vehicles. KDS’s Missile Systems Division applies a wide range of competencies and technologies, ranging from electro-optics, software development and systems integration, to air, surface (including Aegis), and sub-surface platforms. Our Naval Strike Missile (NSM) – in production since 2010 - is a 5th generation, very low observable, highly maneuverable, precision strike missile that provides ships and helicopters with a survivable, lethal, long range attack option against heavily defended ships or land targets. In September 2014, KDS demonstrated NSM’s flexible mission planning system, “ship class” Automatic Target Recognition capability, and precise aim point accuracy during a long range, live fire demonstration conducted from USS CORONADO (LCS 4).

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January 2015 McKean is an employee-owned company that proudly supports the Surface Fleet. We specialize in Naval Life Cycle Management, Engineering, Information Technology, Training and Program Management for SURFMEPP, SPAWAR, CNRMC and other activities. McKean has over 600 engineers, developers, analysts and program managers who identify and deploy new shipboard technologies, refine maintenance strategies, and integrate information technology applications to support the Warfighter. Our strategic solutions help the Navy reach new levels of mission support and transform their organizations. To learn more go to www.mckean-defense.com.

Sonalysts, Inc. is an employee-owned, small business producing integrated Surface Warfare solutions by fusing full-spectrum multimedia capabilities with science and engineering. Over the past 37 years, we have developed core competencies in ISD, HSI, M&S, and advanced training technology, and have successfully developed and deployed a host of innovative training solutions to the Navy and Air Force. Sonalysts is a recognized leader in human-systems integration services, providing HSI solutions across a broad range of DoD programs.

For over 40 years SPA has been providing top-level decision makers in the U.S. Navy timely and objective assessments that integrate the technical, operational, programmatic, policy and business aspects of national security issues.  SPA’s expertise spans the program management disciplines, and our employees have first-hand experience with interpreting and implementing the latest Department of Defense Acquisition Policy, including all aspects of acquisition reform. SPA uses tested methodologies and tools designed to ensure sound management of programs and have proven program management and acquisition reform capability.

Deeply rooted in naval tradition, The Steelman Group is a culmination of proven leadership that assists clients in framing and presenting their capabilities to DOD, Congress, federal agencies and the defense industrial base decision makers. By working with clients to jointly develop positions we advocate for on their behalf, gain an intimate understanding of their business operations and their products. This equips us to effectively portray those products to decision makers and leverage their unique capabilities within the Pentagon, Joint Chiefs Staff, Homeland Security and the Intelligence Community. Whether its Above, On or Below the Sea, The Steelman Group has a commitment to a our clients’ success.

Textron Systems’ businesses have a reputation for bringing ingenuity, production excellence and valued support services to a roster of maritime defense and security solutions trusted by customers on six continents. The Aerosonde® Small Unmanned Aircraft System has amassed more than 90,000 flight hours with high operational tempos under an end-to-end, fee-for-service business model. The Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle, or CUSV™, provides capabilities for mine countermeasures and other mission sets.  Production is now underway on the successor to the Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC), the new Ship-to-Shore Connector, which will offer a modernized means for conducting amphibious operations, including humanitarian missions, for the next 30 years. And an expanding lineup of proven area attack and precision weapons systems offer delivery flexibility from vessels and aircraft systems. 

Facebook Join us today for all the latest news

www.facebook.com/ navysna

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Current SNA Corporate Members 901D, LLC

Exelis

Parsons

AAI Corporation

Fairbanks Morse Engine

Raytheon Company

Advanced Acoustic Concepts, LLC

Fincantieri Marine Group

RCT Systems, Inc.

Aerojet Rocketdyne

FLIR Systems

Rolls-Royce North America Inc.

Airbus Group

GE Marine

ALION Science and Technology

General Atomics

Saab Defense and Security USA LLC

American Defense International, Inc.

General Dynamics Mission Systems

Shield Technologies Corporation

American Systems

General Dynamics NASSCO

Sikorsky Aiircraft Corporation

AMS Group

Gibbs & Cox, Inc.

SimVentions, Inc.

AMSC

Gryphon Technologies, L.C.

Sonalysts, Inc.

Atlas North America

HiPK, LLC

SSS Clutch Company, Inc.

Austal

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)

Strategic Insight, Ltd.

Aydin Displays, Inc.

Innovative Defense Technologies

BAE Platforms and Services

Juliet Marine Systems, Inc

Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc.

BAE Systems Maritime Systems

Kongsberg Defence Systems

Barco Federal Systems, LLC

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Technology Service Corporation

L-3 Communications

Textron Marine and Land Systems

Bath Iron Works Company

Life Cycle Engineering

Thales Defense & Security, Inc

BecTech

Lockheed Martin Corporation

The Boeing Company

Bollinger Shipyards Inc

Marotta Controls, Inc

The Potomac Advocates

Booz Allen Hamilton

MBDA Missile Systems

The Steelman Group

CACI International, Inc

McKean Defense Group, LLC

Transformation Systems, Inc.

Camber Corporation

Mikros Systems Corporation

Transhield, Inc.

Capitol Integration

Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems

Ultra Electronics Ocean Systems, Inc

Northrop Grumman Information Systems

URS Federal Services

Northrop Grumman Marine Systems

UTC Aerospace Systems

Northrop Grumman Maritime Systems

Wartsila Defense, Inc.

Basic Commerce and Industries, Inc.

CGI Federal Cobham Comark Corporation Cubic Delta Resources, Inc. DRS Technologies, Inc. Energy Focus Inc Engility Corporation

Northrop Grumman Undersea Systems

SAIC

TASC Terma North America Inc

USAA VSE Corporation Whitney, Bradley & Brown, Inc.

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January 2015

CHAPTER NEWS CONSTITUTION President: CAPT Bill Mauser, USN (Ret) On 4 December 2014, SNA’s USS CONSTITUTION chapter presented its annual Senior Sailor of the Year Leadership Award onboard CONSTITUTION to Boatswains Mate First Class (SW/AW) William Sanchez, USN. Presenting the award was CAPT Bill Mauser, Chapter President. He was assisted by Chapter Board Members, RADM Ray Couture, Chapter Founder, and by CAPT Mike Hennessey, and CDR Justin Long. BMI Sanchez hails from San Antonio, TX. He enlisted in 2007 and served on USS NIMITZ (CVN-68) for the first few years of his career. He transferred to USS CONSTITUTION in 2012 and was subsequently advanced to BM1.

BM1 William Sanchez and CAPT Bill Mauser

He was selected as Senior Sailor of the Year due to his outstanding performance as Sailing Master, Deck LPO, Primary Command Fitness Leader, Sponsor Coordinator, and Assistant Safety Officer. CO CDR Sean Kearns noted that he particularly valued BM1 Sanchez’s efforts to create multimedia library of what it takes to be a Sailing Master. This will become an important training resource when the ship exits its upcoming 3-year dry-docking and overhaul. This award is part of the Chapter’s awards mission in Boston, featuring the Navy-wide George Sirian Meritorious Service Award for outstanding surface warfare E-7s, and academic leadership awards to ROTC programs at several Boston area universities. USS CONSTITUTION Chapter Board members: CAPT Mike Hennessey, CAPT Bill Mauser, BM1 WIlliam Sanchez, RADM Ray Couture, CDR Justin Long. Check out all the special deals for SNA Members at Club Quarters. Information on the program is available at the Members Only Section of our website - www.navysna.org • • • • • • • • •

New York, Midtown  New York, Rockefeller Center  New York, the Annex at Rockefeller Center  New York, Grand Central New York, Wall Street New York, World Trade Center Washington, D.C Boston Philadelphia 

• • • • • • • •

Chicago, Central Loop Chicago, Wacker at Michigan  Houston  San Francisco London, Gracechurch London, St. Paul’s  London, Trafalgar Square  London, Lincoln’s Inn Fields

www.clubquarters.com

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GREATER WASHINGTON, DC President: CAPT John Fuller, USN The Greater Washington Chapter enjoyed a great fall and is looking forward to a busy winter season. The GWC hosted a luncheon at the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City on November 6th. The guest speaker was CAPT Frank Castellano, former Commanding Officer of USS BAINBRIDGE (DDG 96). CAPT Castellano spoke about his experience during the rescue of M/V MAERSK ALABAMA and her Master, Captain Richard Phillips, from Somali Pirates. This event was very well attended and we were especially happy to see so many midshipmen make the drive from Annapolis! On November 13th, the chapter hosted an Enlisted Warrior Luncheon at the Spates Club in Fort Myer. The guest speaker was former Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Joe Campa who gave a fantastic presentation about leadership and his experiences as MCPON. New Chief Petty Officers were presented with complimentary memberships to SNA and a copy of Neptune’s Inferno: The US Navy at Guadalcanal. On December 11th, the chapter held its annual Holiday party/Toys for Tots Drive at Sine’s in Pentagon City. This was a superb event that gave everyone in the chapter an opportunity to celebrate the Holiday Season and give to a great cause. Over 40 toys were collected to donate to Toys for Tots. The GWC looks forward to seeing our shipmates from SNA Chapters around the world when they join us in Washington DC for the 2015 National Symposium in January. Until then, we wish everyone Happy Holidays!

Part of the Wreath Across America SNA Team

Upcoming Events: 13-15 January: SNA National Symposium 26 February: Luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City

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January 2015

HAMPTON ROADS President: CAPT Doug Nashold, USN It has been an exciting season to be in Surface Warfare; from the Navy’s strikes against ISIS to the discussion of Bryan Clark’s CSBA report, “Commanding the Seas” - surface warfare is on the forefront. Your SNA Hampton Roads Chapter is proud to have expanded that dialogue and discussion with Sailors, government, industry, and our families. First, in this month of December, I want to take a moment to honor the brave warriors of Pearl Harbor. Every December 7th, we take special care to remember those heroes whose legacy we strive to deserve. HRSNA was visited by one of those Pearl Harbor heroes, EM2 Vincent LaGamba, at our November luncheon. Surviving the direct hit on USS HONOLULU (CL-48) that day, EM2 volunteered for the USS MASACHUSSETES (BB-69) which went on to trade rounds with the Vichy Battleship JEAN BART during Operation Torch’s Battle of Casablanca. EM2 proceeded with the “Big Mamie” to the Solomon Islands campaign and the Philippines Campaign, where he fought in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. It was a pleasure to host such an inspirational participant and witness to history. This month’s Professional Development Luncheons have been particularly rewarding for both education and camaraderie. Vista Point Conference Center has continued its excellent service as a venue for our distinguished speakers. We started in October with a discussion led by RADM T.K. Shannon, USN, Commander, Military Sealift Command. RADM Shannon’s discussion on diversity in logistical platforms and the supporting mission of MSC was critical to understanding how to sustain surface forces forward. CAPT Bob Clark, USN, CO, NAVSTA Norfolk joined us in November to discuss the future plans and day-to-day operations of the world’s largest naval base. A lively discussion was had on the relationship between the base, local government, and law enforcement, as well as the plans for future base development and nature of that future

planning process. For those of whom Naval Station Norfolk has become part of the daily scenery, this was a particularly interesting and enlightening opportunity. Who knew CAPT Clark had so much on his plate! We continue our support of developing future Surface Warfare leaders this quarter at the November Mentoring Session hosted by RADM Pete and Ann Marie Gumataotao. These Basic Division Officer Course (BDOC) mentorship sessions offer students the opportunity to interact with waterfront leaders - active and retired, officer and enlisted - and to discuss the exciting challenges they and their families should expect to encounter. This support is greatly appreciated, and coupled with ongoing membership promotions, offers tremendous visibility for the Surface Navy Association. Additionally, the October SNA Golf Tournament at Eagle Haven was a great success. Amidst the serious discussion and business of Surface Warfare, taking time out for both recreational camaraderie and the opportunity to score a Harley-Davidson with a hole-in-one is important. We have accomplished the first, the second is still on the list. I’m still holding out; hope lives! The HR Chapter is looking forward to our coming distinguished speakers, but more at spending the coming holiday season with friends and family. Remember and support those of us who are called to duty and find themselves away from their loved ones during this joyful time. Looking forward to a new year of new events, new friends, and new discussions.

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MONTEREY President: LT Jason Grammar, USN SNA Monterey Bay members traveled to San Francisco on October 10-11, 2014 to support San Francisco Fleet Week and interact with Bay Area residents. Members departed Monterey in the early morning hours of Friday, October 10th and arrived at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco in time for a full day of Fleet Week festivities. These activities included a Parade of Ships under the Golden Gate Bridge and the Fleet Week airshow to include a performance by the US Navy’s Blue Angels. Chapter President Lieutenant Jason P. Grammar and Chapter Secretary James Hough remained in San Francisco to represent SNA Monterey Bay at the USS AMERICA (LHA 6) Commissioning Ceremony at Pier 32 on Saturday, October 11th. Naval Postgraduate School Surface Navy Association Graduation Award – December 2014 Lieutenant Chase Dillard, USN, is the recipient of the Surface Navy Association Award for Academic Excellence in Surface Warfare for December 2014. His thesis work is titled “Energy-Efficient Undersea Surveillance by Means of Hybrid AquaCopters.”  His thesis abstract reads:

of energy sources within the environment – the energy of ocean currents and the solar radiation. Using a motion planning algorithm which is based upon Rapidly-Exploring Random Trees (RRT), we incorporated predicted ocean currents in the planning of paths which optimize the tracking performance (minimizes the horizontal dilution of precision- HDOP) of the flock during required repositioning, all while minimizing required flight time. These paths are obstacle-free and include extended periods of drifting during which the photovoltaic cells attached to the exterior of the AquaQuad can replenish the battery in daylight hours. This specialized algorithm, designated DR-RRT* to denote its incorporation of “dead reckoning” (DR) drift paths, has been constructed and evaluated in simulation, showing significant improvement in energy efficiency as compared to that expended in direct flight. Furthermore, the UKF and DR-RRT* algorithms are implemented onboard of autonomous quadrotors in VICON-equipped laboratory at the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Autonomous Vehicle Research (CAVR) in Monterey, CA. The experimental evaluation of collaborative distributed tracking mission proves the feasibility of the onboard implementation of the proposed concept.

Undersea dominance is a core mission area for the United States Lieutenant Dillard is a Submarine Warfare Officer studying MechaniNavy. Despite our high level of sophistication and experience in cal Engineering. He has earned a Master of Science in Mechanical anti-submarine warfare (ASW), prosecution of increasingly quiet Engineering. After graduation, Lieutenant Dillard will be reporting diesel submarines continues to be an open problem. The use of to the Submarine Officer Advanced Course (SOAC) in Groton, Conforce multipliers like unmanned and autonomous vehicles can necticut to prepare for his department head tour. aid greatly in providing solutions to this problem, and are representative of our historical efforts to be on the leading edge of technology. This thesis considers a concept in which cooperative quadrotors with underwater acoustic sensing capabilities are positioned on the surface of the ocean and are tracking a submerged target using sparse distributed passive measurements. These measurements can represent either bearing to the contact (BOT), range to the contact (ROT), or the time difference of arrival (TDOA) between time instances of receiving an acoustic signal by each drifting sensor. We evaluate multiple estimation filters to determine their operational suitability for the tracking scenario, specifically focusing on an extended Kalman filter (EKF) and an unscented Kalman filter (UKF), and show that the UKF is a superior position estimating tool for the nonlinear equations which govern our distributed system. Collecting the measurements for filtering is done by the acoustic sensors which are suspended under the prototype platforms: hybrid air-water quad copters known as “AquaQuads” which primarily float on the surface of the ocean and Naval Postgraduate School Surface Warfare Officers on Marina Green in San Francisco have limited flight-time capability due to their finite for Fleet Week 2014. Front row, left to right: LT Elvy Asonye, LT Meagan Makarenko, LT battery capacity. Under this constraint, we sought Cory Hardy, LT Annie Patterson, LT Tony Grusich. Back row, left to right: LT Erv Mercado, to maximize on-station time by taking advantage LT Jason P. Grammar, LT James Hough.

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January 2015

NEWPORT President: CAPT Dave Welch, USN The Newport Chapter is proud to report another quarter of Surface excellence! Our join-ups continue to bring together the Surface Warfare community of Newport. On November 18th, the Newport Chapter hosted our final join-up for 2014 at the Naval Station Officer’s Club. The occasion was attended by CAPT Black (PERS-41), two of his detailers, and 75 guests representing the Surface War-

CAPT Dave Welch, Chapter President, congratulates a LT Sarah Smith, student in Department Class 231 and Prospective Ops on USS SAMPSON, winner of our SNA Join Up raffle at the November PERS 41 event. fare Officers School Department Head Classes (229, 230, and 231), Surface Commander’s Course Class (274), and Advanced Division Officer Course (ADOC) Class (002), as well as the Naval War College, Naval Leadership and Ethics Center (NLEC), and local business and retired Navy personnel. These join-ups allow active duty and retired personnel and their families, defense industry members, and the local citizens to socialize and develop relationships.

The Pensacola USMC Birthday Dinner was held on November 8 and was sponsored by Major General Gary Cooper USMCR (Ret). In attendance was Cadet Neil Goel, a USNA applicant candidate for class of 2018, the Spring 2015 nominee for the NJROTC SNA AWARD. Pictured from left to right are Cadet Primm, Cadet Douglas, Cadet Gilber, Rear Admiral Landolf, USN (Ret) Mobile Director of Public Safety, Cadet Leatherwood, and Cadet Goel WP Davidson NJROTC.

The Chapter has been taking an active role in the Newport area veteran’s community by sending Officers to the Rhode Island Veterans Home in Bristol, RI. In addition to sending SNA members to visit and socialize with the vets, the Newport Chapter delivered four HD televisions to the residents there as a donation for the Holiday season. We intend to maintain this important relationship as we move forward into 2015. The Newport Chapter of the SNA began a new tradition this year by teaming up with Wreaths Across America to support their mission of honoring and thanking veterans during the holiday season. To do this, we hosted a wreath laying ceremony at the Newport Common Burial Ground & Island Cemetery at 1200 on 13 December at the gravesite of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. This wreath laying ceremony is modeled after the annual wreath laying ceremony conducted at Arlington National Ceremony and was supported by the Surface Warfare Officers School (SWOS) command, neighboring Naval Station Newport commands, and the local veterans’ organizations of Aquidneck Island making this a truly inspiring event. Veterans’ groups including the American Legion of R.I., Team Red, White, and Blue, the R.I. Veterans’ Motorcycle Club, Women of the Sea Services (WAVES), and the Sea Cadets all attended and participated. It was the perfect way to for the Chapter to show its appreciation to the Newport Community’s fallen heroes. Over 160 wreaths were donated by Chapter members, local businesses, and friends of the Surface Navy Association. It is our intent to continue this ceremony each year, and expand the number of wreaths donated so that all 500 plus Veterans’ gravesites in the cemetery can be properly recognized.

PENSACOLA President: CAPT Tom Daniel, USN (Ret)

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PEARL HARBOR President: CAPT Chris Bushnell, USN The Pearl Harbor Chapter of SNA has hosted or assisted with several events this past quarter.  While Surface Warfare Detailers from PERS-41 were in town SNA sponsored a SWO Join-Up and mixer.  This venue provided an opportunity for Surface Warfare Officers to meet with their detailers, and also provided an evening where spouses and family members could listen to the SWO Community Brief presented by PERS-41 to help answer questions and make informed future career decisions based on the latest and greatest information. In October, we sponsored the annual Commander Naval Surface Forces Women’s Waterfront Leadership Symposium, a joint event that has grown every year and continues to provide an excellent platform for mentorship and interactive Q&A sessions with waterfront leaders . Our contribution supported a networking and informational luncheon for the attendees. Since some of the event planners were also SNA members, it also provided a great recruitment opportunity.

Trot” for those who wanted to get in a quick run that morning before consuming a lavish meal later that day. We had approximately 100 runners participate, and information was available to help raise awareness for men’s health issues such as prostate and testicular cancer. All proceeds from the run will be donated to The Movember Foundation, the leading global organization committed to changing the face of men’s health. On December 14, 2014, SNA will organize over 200 volunteers to man the two largest aid stations for the Annual Honolulu Marathon. These aid stations will provide water for runners at mile markers 6 and 21, and this effort is expected to support 30,000 runners. Lastly, we anticipate holding our annual SNA Leadership Awards ceremony in early January 2015. The Pearl Harbor SNA Chapter gives out three awards to deserving Sailors from our waterfront; the Doris Miller Leadership Award for worthy candidates in the ranks of E5 and below, the ADM Kihune Leadership Award for Junior Officers, and the BMC Harold Estes Leadership Award for Chief Petty Officers.

With our fortunate weather in Hawaii, Pearl Harbor Chapter was able to host a golf tournament in November, inviting Sailors from across the waterfront to a day of friendly competition on the greens. Twelve teams participated in a fun filled afternoon to bolster camaraderie and promote membership sign ups. SNA also sponsored a Surface Warfare Tailgater before one of the University of Hawaii football games at Richardson Field - near the Arizona Memorial Complex across from Aloha Stadium. This venue provided another opportunity to swap sea stories and enjoy some food and refreshments before the game. On Thanksgiving morning SNA sponsored the second annual SNA Surface Warfare Tailgate at Richardson Field before the University of “Must Dash” 5K.  This year’s run also counted as a “Turkey Hawaii football game. (Photo taken by LCDR Leo Leos)

SNA Runners assembled for 2nd Annual Must Dash/Turkey Trot 5K around historic airfield on Ford Island on Thanksgiving Morning. (Photo taken by Synjon Bushnell)

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January 2015

PUGET SOUND President: CDR Jeffrey Bessler, USN This quarter the Puget Sound Chapter has seen many transitions. USS MOMSEN and USS SHOUP are coming out of maintenance this winter. They are now training and preparing to rejoin the fleet “warfighting ready”! USS NIMITZ will be moving across the Sound for an extended maintenance period leaving a noticeable absence in the Everett waterfront. USS INGRAHAM and USS RODNEY M DAVIS will be decommissioning early 2015 after two very successful deployments. We at SNA wish all the ship’s crews all the best as they take on these challenges set before them in the New Year. Our chapter has now firmly established the tradition of a Holiday Join-up each December. With so much going on all across the waterfront many Sailors still made the time to take a moment to join in fellowship and camaraderie over lunchtime at Naval Station Everett organized by Afloat Training Group Pacific Northwest. We had to say another reluctant farewell to our Shipmate, Captain Will Triplett, Commander Destroyer Squadron Nine. The Puget Sound Chapter would not be where it is today without his is enthusiasm and desire to mentor others both as Commodore and as a leader in SNA for the last three years. Thanks Commodore. Come back to the Pacific Northwest when you’ve had enough of the rain and snow in D.C.! When the sun comes out this summer, SNA Puget Sound plans to get outside and enjoy some of the great outdoor activities the region has to offer. Chapter members, be on the look out for emails with details of future events and keep checking our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SNAPugetSound.

Chapter President CDR Jeff Bessler thanking CAPT Will Triplett for his support of SNA Puget Sound over the last three years. CAPT Triplett served as  Deputy Commodore and Commodore of Destroyer Squadron Nine.

MID-SOUTH President: CAPT Eugene Black, USN Holiday greetings from the Mid-South! We are in the midst of our annual Board season and this year we screened some very strong records, resulting in top-notch Officers being selected for Major Command and Commander Command at sea. If you have questions regarding your record please contact your detailer and they will gladly walk you through it. Finally, congratulations to all of our SNA members who successfully screened for Command this year. This past October we hosted the Fall SNA Golf Tournament at the Glen Eagle Golf Course in Millington. There was a strong SNA showing and all our proceeds benefit SNA scholarship programs. Thank you to everyone who participated, and we are in the early stages of planning the Spring Golf Tournament. If you’re in the Mid-South area, or plan to be this coming April, please come out for some golf, Memphis BBQ, and SWO camaraderie! Contact LT Joe Mills for more information ([email protected]).

This January we will kick off our PERS-41 road show schedule by travelling to the SNA National Symposium. In addition to SNA National, we are planning detailer trips to Japan, Newport, Bahrain, and Mayport. We look forward to getting out and meeting with you and your wardrooms. To best stay up-to-date on news regarding our community please do so by “liking” the PERS-41 Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/PERS41, and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ PERS41. You can also get the latest copy of the PERS-41 newsletter via our website. As always, whether you are a Mid-South chapter member or you find yourself in the area for boards, briefs, or detailer meetings, you are always welcome to drop by and see us.

Page 33

NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS

DIRECTORS AT LARGE

LCDR Jennifer Lorio, USN

ADM Arleigh Burke, USN (Ret) Honorary Chairman 1987-1996

LCDR Jeff Benson, USN

LCDR Robert McFarlin, USN

VADM Terry Blake, USN (Ret)

CMDCM Patrick Ortega, USN

CDR Matt Bonner, USN

RADM Robert Reilly, USN (Ret)

RADM Mark Buzby, USN (Ret)

LCDR Anthony Seifert, USN

RADM Dennis Conley, USN (Ret)

CAPT Matthew Sharpe, USN (Ret)

CAPT William Daly, USN

CAPT Troy Stoner, USN

CAPT Mike Davis , USN (Ret)

LCDR Rob Tryon, USN

GSM1 Osiris Gonzalez, USN

CMDCM David Twiford, USN

RADM Victor Guillory, USN (Ret)

LT Gordan Van Hook, USN

HMCS Brian Hock, USN

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CAPT William Erickson, USN (Ret)

ADM James R. Hogg, USN (Ret) Chairman of the Board VADM Barry McCullough, USN (Ret) President VADM Timothy LaFleur, USN (Ret) Vice President - West Coast VADM Hank Giffin, III, USN (Ret) Vice President - East Coast CAPT Jim Tackett, USN (Ret) Treasurer CAPT David Lee, USN (Ret) Secretary VADM Ronald Route, USN (Ret) Immediate Past President

CAPT Richard Hoffman, USN (Ret) CAPT Sam Howard, USN (Ret) LT Cameron Ingram, USN

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR CAPT Edward Lundquist, USN (Ret)

RDML James Kilby, USN

CHAPTER PRESIDENTS ANNAPOLIS CDR Glen Quast USN

KOREA Vacant

PENSACOLA CAPT Thomas Daniel, USN (Ret)

ARABIAN GULF CAPT Brendan McLane, USN

MAYPORT/JACKSONVILLE CAPT Ryan Tillotson, USN

PHILADELPHIA RADM Joseph Hare, USNR (Ret)

BATH, MAINE CAPT James Kirk, USN

MID-SOUTH (Memphis, TN) CAPT Eugene Black, USN

PUGET SOUND CDR Jeff Bessler, USN

CHARLESTON CDR J. Michael Cole, USN

MONTEREY BAY LT Andrew Stafford, USN

SAN DIEGO CAPT Mark Johnson, USN

CONSTITUTION CAPT Bill Mauser, USN (Ret)

NEWPORT CAPT David Welch, USN

SASEBO CAPT Heidi Agle, USN

DAHLGREN CDR Ernest Swauger, USN (Ret)

NEW LONDON CDR Michael Turdo, USCG

TAMPA BAY CAPT Jim McTigue, USN (Ret)

GAETA/NAPLES CAPT James Aiken, USN

NEW YORK LCDR David Rewkowski, USN

WASHINGTON, D.C CAPT John Fuller, USN

GREAT LAKES Vacant

PASCAGOULA LCDR Paul Colston, USN (Ret)

YOKOSUKA CAPT Shan Byrne, USN

HAMPTON ROADS CAPT Douglas Nashold, USN

PEARL HARBOR CAPT Chris Bushnell, USN

Page 34

January 2015

MEMBERSHIP POINTS OF CONTACT ANNAPOLIS LT John Woodside, USN [email protected]

NEW LONDON LT Nicholas Cichucki, USN [email protected]

ARABIAN GULF LTJG Nick Green, USN [email protected]

NEW YORK LCDR David Rewkowski, USN [email protected]

BATH, MAINE Michelle Caron [email protected]

PASCAGOULA LCDR Paul Colston, USN (Ret) [email protected]

CHARLESTON CDR J. Michael Cole, USN [email protected]

PEARL HARBOR ETCS Kathryn Harfmann, USN [email protected]

CONSTITUTION CAPT Ramon O’Hara, USNR Ret [email protected]

PENSACOLA CDR Mark Wenzel, USN Ret [email protected]

DAHLGREN CDR Ernest Swauger, USN Ret [email protected]

PHILADELPHIA RADM Joseph Hare, USNR (Ret)

FORCM Karen O’Connor, USN (Ret)

PUGET SOUND CDR Jeff Bessler, USN [email protected]

CAPT Chris Sinnett, USCG

GAETA/NAPLES CAPT James Aiken, USN [email protected] GREAT LAKES Vacant

SAN DIEGO CAPT Pat Marvil, USN Ret [email protected]

HAMPTON ROADS CAPT Fred Berck, USNR Ret [email protected]

SASEBO LCDR Tony Uniewski, USN [email protected]

KOREA Vacant

TAMPA BAY CAPT Jim McTigue, USN (Ret) [email protected]

MAYPORT/JACKSONVILLE LTJG Kellye Quirk, USN [email protected] MID-SOUTH (Memphis, TN) CAPT Gene Black, USN [email protected] MONTEREY BAY CDR Mike McMaster, USN Ret [email protected] NEWPORT CDR Christopher Senenko, USN [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C LCDR Joel Uzarski, USN [email protected] YOKOSUKA LTJG Darnell Deas, USN [email protected]

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE: RADM Robert Reilly, USN (Ret) Committee Chairman GSEC(SW/AW) John Bradshaw, USN OSC(SW/AW) David Brakebill, USN CAPT Chris Bushnell, USN CAPT Bill Campbell, USN (Ret) RADM John Foley, USN (Ret) RADM Charles Horne, USN (Ret) FLTCM(SW/AW) Tom Howard, USN (Ret) CMDCM Anthony Josey, USN HMCM(SW/FMF) Patrick Modglin, USN (Ret)

CAPT Robert Oldani, USN (Ret)

FORCM Bill Slingerland, USN (Ret) CNOCM(SW) Ashley Smith, USN (Ret) CAPT Robert Warner, USN (Ret)

SNA Staff Contact Info • Have a suggestion or article for Surface SITREP? • Want to Renew your Membership or refer someone to join? • Just have a Question?

www.navysna.org [email protected] 703-960-6800

Page 35

SNA MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION There are two ways to become a SNA member. Either go online to http://www.navysna.org/SNA/membership.htm and complete form or complete the following form and mail to address below. Name Date Mailing Address City

State

(H) Phone

(W) Phone

Duty Station or Employer:

Date of Birth:

Position/Billet:

Email: Status:

Zip Code

 Active Duty  Reserve on Active Duty

Alt Email:

 Retired

 Civilian

How do you want to receive the SNA quarterly newsletter (SNA SITREP)?

Rank:

Desig.



 Email USPS Mail

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Sponsor (if applicable): Active Duty/Reserve on Active Duty

Life Membership Dues (Payment plans are available)

Annual

Three Year

O-7 & Senior O-6 O-4/O-5 CWO/O-1, O-2, O-3 Midshipmen

 $30.00  $25.00  $20.00  $15.00

    

$75.00 $62.50 $50.00 $37.50 $15.00

E-7/E-9 E-6 & Below Retired Civilians

 $15.00  $10.00  $25.00  $25.00

   

$37.50 $25.00 $62.50 $62.50

 Active Duty or Reserve on Active Duty to age 50  $350.00  Active Duty or Reserve on Active Duty after age 50 $250.00 Retired or Civilian  Under Age 40 - $450.00  Age 41-50 - $350.00  Age 51-60 - $250.00  Over Age 60 - $150.00

 Yes, I would like to make a donation to the SNA VADM Robert Walters Scholarship Fund.  Check

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Credit Card Number : __________________________________________ Exp Date: ______________ Name as shown on credit card (please print): _______________________________________________________________________

Chapter Affiliation:  Annapolis  Arabian Gulf  Bath, Maine  Charleston  Dahlgren  Gaeta/Naples  Great Lakes  Greater New York

       

Greater Washington Hampton Roads Korea Mayport/Jacksonville Mid-South (Millington TN) Monterey New London Newport

       

Pascagoula Pearl Harbor Pensacola Puget Sound Philadelphia Rocky Mountain San Diego Sasebo

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Tampa Bay USS CONSTITUTION Yokosuka Non-Affiliated

Mail to: Membership Dept, SNA, 6551 Loisdale Court Suite 222, Springfield, VA 22150

Page 36

January 2015

Surface Navy Association 6551 Loisdale Court, Suite 222

Springfield, Virginia 22150

(703) 960-6800 · 1-800-NAVYSNA · FAX 703-960-6807 [email protected] · www.navysna.org

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Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 5371 Alexandria, VA

What’s in it for Me

The Surface Navy Association provides... • The chance to unwind and enjoy the camaraderie of a lunch, dining out, or a social with friends who share the common bond of Surface Warfare. • An opportunity to be a part of a professional organization made up of men and women of all ranks and rates in the Surface community. • An opportunity to meet people concerned about the future of the Surface Navy. • An opportunity to network with people who are dedicated to helping you develop as a Surface Warrior. • Opportunities to meet and hear from the active leaders of the Surface Navy in a relaxed, informal setting. • Mentoring for Surface Warriors both enlisted and officers. • Opportunity and information covering both military and civilian career paths. • Informative speakers and professional forums designed to promote professional development and enhance the Surface Navy. • Invaluable career advice, that may not normally be available in the traditional chain-of-command. • Informative newsletter and web page. • An avenue to inform others about the role of the Surface Navy in the Nation’s Defense.