US Pacific Fleet Launches New Warfighting Assessment Federation

By Troy Clarke, Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona Public Affairs

NORCO, Calif. (NNS) -- U.S. Pacific Fleet Command (COMPACFLT) established, for the first time ever, a new warfighting assessment federation Aug. 3 to strengthen the Navy's analysis efforts across the warfighting assessment community.

The federation's inauguration coincided with a planning session for exercise Valiant Shield 2010 hosted Aug. 4-5 by Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Corona, and brought together Sailors and Navy civilians from the training, operational and acquisition communities.

"I wanted to bring a group of professionals from the various assessment groups to work collaboratively across organizational boundaries so all participating organizations benefit," said Dave Yoshihara, director, COMPACFLT Warfighting Assessment and Readiness. "We all see different parts of the big picture and a collaborative federation is the best way to leverage all our individual viewpoints so we can merge those perspectives into a single, integrated picture."

Yoshihara, the Pacific fleet's key official for warfighting assessment and readiness, said this group will help take gauging warfighting capability to a new level.

Yoshihara asked Corona to host the inaugural meeting since it is the Navy's warfighting assessment data analysis center, using its Joint Warfighting Assessment Lab and Daugherty Memorial Assessment Center to process, analyze and distribute performance data around the world during naval operations.

"We're honored to host this historic meeting for the Warfighting Assessment Federation," said NSWC Corona Commanding Officer Capt. Jay Kadowaki. "As the Navy's independent assessment agent, we have the right analytical talent, right assessment tools, right facilities to help the Navy gauge our warfighting capability and support the federation concept."

Yoshihara expects the federation to inform operational and strategic planning, training, doctrine and force-structure development through a data-driven process coming from wargames, modeling and simulation, synthetic and at-sea training exercises, and real-world operations, as well as the assessment of tactical and operational performance.

"The fleet will benefit from robust operational assessments, and participating organizations will gain insight from the real-world data access and exposure to current fleet challenges, and participation in operational events," said Yoshihara.

Initial membership includes Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, Chief Systems Engineer; Center for Naval Analysis; systems commands; program offices; Surface Warfare Group; Naval Sea Systems Command warfare centers; university affiliated research centers and others.

Yoshihara expects federation membership to expand in the future to include warfare centers of excellence, the type commands, and other navy labs, and that team makeup for each event will vary depending on each participating organization's tasking, funding and availability.

The first exercise for the warfighting assessment federation will be Valiant Shield 2010, being held in late 2010, which focuses on integrated joint training among U.S. Armed Forces.

"We're eager to test the federation concept and continue developing its role to enhance our fleet's performance," said Yoshihara. "It comes down to building the right team, sharing our collective knowledge and expertise to increase capability and performance. This is uncharted territory, and we're really excited about the possibilities."

COMPACFLT, the world's largest fleet command, encompasses more than half the earth's surface, covering 100 million square miles from the West Coast of the United States into the Indian Ocean. It includes approximately 180 ships, nearly 2,000 aircraft and 125,000 Sailors, Marines and civilians, as well as type commands for surface ships, submarines and aircraft, and the operational commands of 3rd Fleet in the Eastern Pacific and 7th Fleet in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean.

NSWC Corona is the Navy's premiere independent assessment agent and the newest federal lab responsible for gauging the warfighting capability of weapons and integrated combat systems, through assessment of systems' performance, readiness, quality, supportability and the adequacy of training. The base is home to three premiere national laboratories and assessment centers: the Joint Warfare Assessment Lab; the Measurement Science and Technology Lab; and Daugherty Memorial Assessment Center.