Home

Foreword

Regional Response Forces ::

VALIANT SHIELD:
Building Trust and Security

GREEN LIGHTNING: Providing Security in the Asia-Pacific Region

Transnational Operations ::

KHAAN QUEST 2006:
Enhancing Multinational Peacekeeping

Humanitarian
Support ::

USNS Mercy Bringing Hope to Asia-Pacific Nations

C-17 Aircraft Marking A New Airlift Era in the Pacific

New Zealand Defence Force Providing Security and Reconstruction in Afghanistan

From BALIKATAN to Mudslide Relief

Happenings ::

Happenings

Foreign Observers Tour Guam Facilities and Embark Carriers
Before embarking on the U.S. Navy carriers, all 33 observers toured Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and viewed U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps aircraft including the B-2 bomber, as well as several F-15C, F-15E, and F/A-18C fighters.

Following the tour of Andersen Air Force Base, the observers departed for overnight embarks on one of three U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. While aboard the different carriers, the observers saw day and night time flight operations, air crew survival and maintenance demonstrations, and static displays of aircraft. They also toured the bridge, flight deck, combat direction center, and hangar bay.

After their stay on the carriers, the observers went to Naval Base Guam and Andersen Air Force Base where they observed demonstrations by the U.S. Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit Five and Mobile Security Squadron Seven, toured the U.S. Air Force Combat Readiness Group, and viewed flight operations.

USS Abraham Lincoln Hosts Foreign Military Observers At-Sea
Twenty-two foreign military officials and civilians from Russia, India, and Japan boarded the USS Abraham Lincoln during VALIANT SHIELD 2006. They arrived aboard the carrier on a U.S. Navy C-2A Greyhound flying from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. The visitors toured the combat direction center, hangar bays, and bridge, and watched flight operations from the flight deck.

While aboard, the observers discussed the exercise and their visit during a video teleconference with the Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Admiral Gary Roughead, and personnel aboard the USS Kitty Hawk, the USS Ronald Reagan, and the USS Blue Ridge.

“This was a great opportunity for this firsthand view of the professionalism of the crew of Lincoln,” said Brig. Gen. Vikra Goswami of India’s Joint Operations and Planning office.

Rear Adm. John W. “Bill” Goodwin, Commander, Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, told the visitors, “We are here to join with the other services and test our command and control capabilities, as we bring these three carrier strike groups together. It is a tremendous training activity that we don’t get to take part in very often.”

VALIANT SHIELD Uses Latest Electronic Warfare Technology
The U.S. Navy’s Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron aboard the USS Ronald Reagan flew their EA-6B Prowler aircraft equipped with Improved Capability (ICAP) Version III technology. ICAP III allows more jamming on certain frequencies, and it has several communications displays for enhanced situational awareness.

“Our main role in VALIANT SHIELD is to work on force protection issues, and then to test the coordination capabilities of the command to work with three different carriers simultaneously,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Chuck Luttrell. “We initially received ICAP III at the beginning of workups, and we have been continuing to build upon our experience and come up with new ways to employ it. It gives us a lot more capabilities than what we had before.”

The biggest challenge of the exercise was the coordination of the three carrier strike groups, particularly for the anti-ship missile defense scenarios. “The ability to work with multiple carriers in one location is an important tool and something that we have to practice to have that ability for future use,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Anthony Calandra. “It’s not as easy as it seems to park three aircraft carriers right next to each other and start operating. There is a lot of de-confliction and significant, detailed communication that has to happen for that to be effective and safe.”

Anti-submarine Warfare (ASW)
Operating off Guam, the USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) sank five simulated hostile submarines within the first few days of the exercise. “Our [sonar system] enables us to generate real-time sound-velocity profiles, greatly improving our ability to destroy a hostile submarine,” explained U.S. Navy PO2 Adam Lee. Sound-velocity profiles are key in ASW, as they determine how sound travels underwater, which helps sailors identify where to look for submarines.

“We can detect, track, and put weapons downrange on a target within [seconds],” said U.S. Navy Ens. Justin Ford. He noted that a typical submarine engagement follows a basic sequence of events. “Classifying submarines involves trying to determine a number of identifying aspects about the submarine, such as its actual type and whether it’s friend or foe. It is then evaluated by the combat watch team, and if designated hostile, is immediately engaged by the appropriate weapons system, either by McCain, one of the other ships in the strike group, or a supporting asset,” said Ens. Ford.

Aircraft Missions
During the exercise, U.S. Air Force B-2 aircrews flew long-duration missions and integrated with other aircraft participating in the exercise. The B-2 training missions kept aircrews and maintenance personnel at a high operations tempo for the majority of the exercise. “VALIANT SHIELD gives us the opportunity to integrate [U.S.] Air Force global-strike assets with carrier-based sea power in an intense leveraging of firepower,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Mark Pye.

“It’s a rare opportunity to bring together platforms that normally do not regularly exercise together – Air Force fighters and bombers and Navy carrier strike groups – to ensure an integrated U.S. air, sea, land, space, and cyberspace force capable of an overwhelming and decisive response in any future contingency,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Paul Tibbets IV.

B-2 and B-52 bombers, F-15C, F-15E, F-16CJ, F/A-18 fighters; E-3 airborne and control aircraft, and KC-10 and KC-135 tankers launched from Andersen to conduct sorties in simulated events, while aircraft from the Navy’s carrier strike groups launched from their decks.

“The operation is designed to make sure that we have a seamlessly integrated environment where we can conduct deterrence type missions, and if deterrence fails, high intensity combat operations,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Wheeler. “That’s really the purpose of involving all the different kinds of airplanes whether they’re support, for combat, if they’re fighters or bombers all across the spectrum – it’s one location and fight as a team,” he added.

“It’s Navy, Air Force, and Marines working intensely together to make sure that there are no seams from a combat operations perspective, and that’s the training we get here,” said Col. Wheeler. “We’re trying to make the ground-based aviation and the naval-based aviation coming off the carriers [work] as a team and make sure no pieces or parts are being missed ...”

U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet fighters flew missions involving simulated attacks on ships posing a threat to the USS Kitty Hawk. The fighters also searched the area around the carrier for aircraft simulating a threat and refueled friendly aircraft on extended missions.

“Whether its ability to conduct aerial refueling, protect the carrier from enemies, or survey the area using radar, a simple configuration change allows the [Super Hornet] to be ready for anything,” said U.S. Navy pilot Lt. Patrick O’Connor. He noted, “Fuel consumption is a big issue for carrier- based squadrons. We don’t have the luxury of returning to an air base, so we have to constantly make sure we’ve got enough fuel to land safely on the ship. By exchanging our payloads for fuel tanks, we can help other [aircraft] stay in the air long enough to complete their missions.”

Conclusion
“We had a very successful exercise,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Paul Hahn. “This was a great opportunity to practice joint interoperability with our Navy counterparts as if it were a real-world situation.”

Commenting on the future of joint exercises, Lt. Gen. Deptula said, “As the military gets leaner, determining who will be selected as the functional air component commander will depend more on which service component has optimal command and control capabilities rather than the number of forces assigned. KHQ is ready to oversee this responsibility whenever called upon and our airmen look forward to working with our sister services and regional partners in projecting peace, power, and presence throughout the Pacific for many years to come.”

VALIANT SHIELD 2006 is the first of what will become a biennial exercise that allows U.S. forces to exercise joint skills in peacetime to prepare for success during any contingency. Keeping U.S. forces trained, agile, responsive, deployed to the Western Pacific, and working with partner nations ensures peace and stability in the region. VALIANT SHIELD also highlights U.S. commitment to fulfilling its treaty obligations and security arrangements.

E-mail: apdforum@apan-info.net