NMCB 133 Crosses Joint Service Gap with Bridge Building Class

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Steven Myers, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 Public Affairs

GULFPORT, Miss. (NNS) -- Seabees from Naval Construction Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 133, and Marines from the 8th Engineering Support Battalion (ESB) gathered aboard Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport's Contingency Construction Crew Training (CCCT) facilities for a bridge building class April 2-13.

While Seabees and Marines have historically worked close with one another, NMCB 133's Bridge Detachment and the 8th ESB recently began their relationship while assembling bridges during Operation Bold Alligator 2012.

For the Marines, this class was an opportunity to not only work beside familiar faces, but an opportunity to learn additional skills building the Mabey Johnson bridge that will assist them.

"We gained a better understanding of this bridge, so we will be better able to help commanders when they ask us to check out a bridge we may not be as familiar with," said Staff Sgt. Paul Cascell, bridge building platoon sergeant.

Cascell said he would love to see more Marines training beside their Navy counterparts as this could enhance the understanding of all parties involved.

Steelworker 3rd Class Ryan Budreau of NMCB 133, whose only previous joint experience was during Bold Alligator, said he learned a lot during the class including the importance of teamwork.

"This [class] took a lot of working together to accomplish," he said. "It went really smooth and fast, and made for a good experience. I look forward to working with other services again."

NMCB 133 is preparing for their next deployment with training classes, such as this one, to gain technical knowledge and experience while honing their construction skills.

Iwo Jima Changes Command

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW/AW) Morgan E. Dial, USS Iwo Jima Public Affairs

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) held a change of command ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk Feb. 28.

Capt. Grady Banister relieved Capt. Thomas Chassee as commanding officer.

"I would like to say one last time what an honor and privilege it has been to be a part of Iwo Jima's ship's company," said Chassee during his farewell address. "I had it easy because I had over one thousand of the best Sailors on the planet."

This assignment will be considered a fleet-up tour for Banister, who reported to Iwo Jima in 2010 as the ship's executive officer.

"This is the most combat ready ship on the waterfront and Capt. Chassee led this group through it all," said Banister. "Iwo never missed a mark, nailed every single certification and set records all the way. No one, certainly not I, could come close to the success in bringing this group to such a fine edge."

Banister, a Sunnyside, Ga. native, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1987. His sea duty assignments include Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 6; USS Duluth (LPD 6); Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 8 "Dragon Whales"; and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26 "Chargers."

Banister's staff and shore duty assignments include: Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 3 "Pack Rats"; Joint Staff J-2, personal aide de camp to the secretary of the Navy and a tour U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany.

Chassee reported to Iwo Jima in 2008 as the executive officer and took command of Iwo Jima in July of 2010. During his tour on board, he led the ship through Continuing Promise 2010, Bold Alligator 2012 and many other operations including Fleet Week(s) New York and Port Everglades, Fla. His next assignment will be president of the Board and Inspection and Survey.

Iwo Jima along with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group and 24 Marine Expeditionary Unit are scheduled to deploy in March 2012.

Wasp, ESG-2 Begin Bold Alligator "D-Day" Operations

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Drae C. Parker, USS Wasp Public Affairs

USS WASP, At Sea (NNS) -- Amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) started "D-Day" operations Feb. 6 as Exercise Bold Alligator switches from its initial stages into full exercise combat operations.

"D-Day" marks the transition to land operations, where more than 3,600 Marines, Sailors and Coast Guardsmen representing 11 countries will begin to take back beaches in Virginia and North Carolina during a complex training scenario in which parts of the United States belong to hostile forces.

"This was the first day," said Lt. Cmdr. George Pastoor, lead planner for Bold Alligator. Pastoor added that the strike group will continue putting people on the beaches over the next few days.

Bold Alligator is the largest amphibious exercise conducted by U.S. forces in the last decade and since it is based on real-world situations, the exercise will run in real time and will not end until the mission is complete.

Wasp is serving as the flagship of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 2 for the exercise, and the ship's crew spent the past few days loading the equipment and personnel necessary to conduct well deck and flight deck operations.

"We are here to train like we fight," said Rear Adm. Kevin D. Scott, ESG-2 commander, in a ship-wide address over the ship's intercom system. "I know we are ready; to not only learn but to strike. Give it everything you've got and we will be victorious."

While Wasp handled command and control operations during the first day of D-Day operations, its crew will launch landing craft, air cushions and amphibious assault vehicles along with coordinating efforts with international forces and carrying out normal day-to-day evolutions.

"It's the most amphibious operations the ship's done in two years," said Boatswain's Mate 1st Class (SW/EXW) Joseph Costa, a member of Wasp's well deck control crew. "This allows the junior Sailors to see how their efforts contribute to the ship's larger mission."

The overall exercise involves 24 ships at sea conducting operations as well as numerous synthetic ships and personnel that aid in the overall training.

Pastoor said Bold Alligator involved a huge planning effort that went on for a year, starting in January 2011. The future plan for Bold Alligator is to switch between live and synthetic exercises each year.

"We worked hard for this," said Pastoor. "When you see all the ships in their place and ready to go, all the planning is worth it."

Wasp began Bold Alligator Jan. 30 and is expected to continue in the scenario until Feb 12.

Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command Supports Exercise Bold Alligator 2012

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman (SW/AW) Molly Treece, Navy Public Affairs Support Element, Norfolk

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- The Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command (NMAWC) conducted a synthetic underwater mine-clearing exercise in support of exercise Bold Alligator 2012 (BA12) at Naval Warfare Development Command onboard Naval Station Norfolk Feb 3.

BA12 is the East Coast's largest joint and multinational amphibious assault exercise in 10 years and is an opportunity for NMAWC mine warfare battle staff to integrate with a combined force maritime component commander to support amphibious operations by mitigating and disabling underwater anti-access/area-denial efforts. The exercise reinforces the role mine countermeasure forces play in enabling Marine Corps' forces to launch ashore.

"It's extraordinarily valuable that the Navy and Marine Corps' team, as sister services, conduct this exercise," Rear Adm. (select) Ken Perry, vice commander, NMAWC and the mine warfare commander of Bold Alligator. "This is to regenerate that partnership and renew those capabilities as sister services, to train as we operate. It's really very valuable."

NMAWC's mission includes providing mine warfare commander battle staff to support operational maritime component commanders in executing operational control of air, surface and underwater mine countermeasure forces.

During Bold Alligator, as the Mine Warfare commander, Perry coordinates the efforts of more than 320 mine warfare Sailors across several U.S. and coalition platforms and units.

Mine warfare forces participating in the exercise include Mine Countermeasures Squadron 3, Mine Countermeasures Division 31, Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 14, Mine Warfare platoons from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Units 1, 6, 12; as well as Naval Oceanography Mine Warfare Center's Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) Platoon and the Naval Oceanographic Office's Data Fusion Cell.

Lt. Cmdr. Tyrone David, the Canadian liaison officer for the exercise, said that operating with Canadian and United Kingdom dive units and UUVs increases U.S. and coalition mine warfare proficiency. "We train as we fight. It's a tremendous rehearsal for real-life operations."

Divers operated from Canadian Kingston Class coastal defense vessels HMCS Summerside (MM 711) and HMCS Moncton (MM 708).

BA12 will be a live and synthetic, scenario-driven, simulation-supported exercise designed to train Expeditionary Strike Group 2, Second Marine Expeditionary Brigade (2nd MEB) and Carrier Strike Group 12. Staffs will plan and execute a MEB-sized amphibious assault from a seabase in a medium land-and-maritime threat environment to improve naval amphibious core competencies.

The exercise is in its second week and will run through Feb. 12, ashore and afloat, in and off the coasts of Virginia, North Carolina and Florida.

Bold Alligator Exercise Takes Fight to the Shore

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW/FMF) Chad V. Pritt, USS Kearsarge Public Affairs

USS KEARSARGE, At Sea (NNS) -- Four months to the day before the 68th anniversary of the landing at Normandy, the Navy and Marine Corps team conducted another historic amphibious operation.

Exercise Bold Alligator 2012, the largest amphibious exercise in the past 10 years, culminated Feb. 6 with a D-Day landing on the beaches of Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Amphibious craft and thousands of U.S. Marines and British and Canadian commandos deployed from multiple ships to the shores of North Carolina following a week at sea practicing all facets of amphibious operations. The exercise's scope and scale were last seen during the opening days of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"This type of an amphibious operation occurred at the start of the war as we brought forces over into the [Arabian] Gulf off the coast of Kuwait, in about this size of a task force," said Marine Col. Scott S. Jensen, commanding officer of Marine Air Group (MAG) 29. "The difference being, is once we got there we offloaded onto the shore and our command and control shifted into a friendly country, and we reset ourselves land-based and were ready to support the combatant commander."

Landing craft air cushions and amphibious assault vehicles delivered Marines and coalition forces from the United Kingdom and Canada from amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) to the beach in a mock amphibious landing. The exercise is a revitalization of amphibious capabilities and re-investment in the Navy-Marine Corps team.

Marines from Regimental Landing Team 2, MAG 29, 2nd Marine Regiment, and British and Canadian commandos embarked Kearsarge Jan. 23 through Feb. 3 in preparation for the landing. The combined nature of the exercise allowed the U.S. and its partners to share amphibious tactics.

"A lot of times we say, 'oh they're coming to learn our tactics, techniques and procedures,'" said Jensen. "But I think these are smart people from great countries who bring a lot to the table from what they've learned, and we're seeing a lot of that sharing."

While the exercise is the largest in 10 years, the ability to launch an aggressive amphibious assault has always been a capability the Navy and Marine Corps have maintained.

"What a lot of people don't realize, is that the assault on Afghanistan was launched from the sea, to 700 miles inland," said Capt. Peter Pagano, commander, Amphibious Squadron 4. "Those initial forces from amphibious ships and aircraft carriers, kicked off OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom)."

The importance of amphibious capability lies not only with a tactical edge, but also a logistical need to provide from the sea. Sea basing, the maritime services' revolutionary power projection doctrine, provides American and coalition forces the ability to sustain a fighting force anywhere in the world.

"There are a lot of places around the world that just don't have the infrastructure or the political position to allow a huge American force to fly in and operate," Jensen said. "There aren't many places with capabilities in the world that can match what we see in this team."

Bold Alligator began Jan. 30 and will continue until Feb. 12 afloat and ashore, in and around North Carolina and Virginia.

House Committee Leaders Visit USS Enterprise

By Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Kristin L. Grover
Enterprise Carrier Strike Group Public Affairs

USS ENTERPRISE AT SEA, Feb. 5, 2012 – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon of California, Vice Chairman Rep. William “Mac” Thornberry of Texas and Navy Adm. Kirkland Donald, director of naval nuclear propulsion, arrived aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise today as the ship was underway in the Atlantic Ocean.

The visitors witnessed carrier operations at sea and met with members of the ship’s crew.

During their time aboard the more than 50-year-old ship, the visitors toured the navigation bridge, engineering and medical spaces, weapons assembly area and the hangar bay.

The guests also took part in a brief lunch with Enterprise Carrier Strike Group leaders and observed aircraft launch and recovery operations on the flight deck before departing the ship on a carrier onboard delivery aircraft.

Enterprise is underway to participate in exercise Bold Alligator 2012. Bold Alligator 2012, the largest naval amphibious exercise in the past 10 years.

Bold Alligator began Jan 30 and takes place afloat and ashore in and around Virginia and North Carolina. The exercise concludes Feb. 12.

Navy Warfare Development Command Plays Critical Role in Bold Alligator 2012

From Navy Warfare Development Command Public Affairs

NORFOLK (NNS) -- The Navy Warfare Development Command (NWDC) is playing a critical role in planning, executing and evaluating Bold Alligator 2012 (BA12) across every function of the command and as host facility for key components of exercise leadership and staff supporting U.S. Fleet Forces Command, beginning Jan. 30.

BA12, scheduled to run until Feb. 12, is the largest east coast amphibious exercise conducted by the Navy and Marine Corps in at least the past 10 years. The intent of the exercise is to revitalize Navy and Marine Corps amphibious tactics, techniques and procedures, and reinvigorate its culture of conducting combined operations from the sea at the Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB)/Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG)-level.

NWDC's state-of-the-art Navy Center for Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NCAMS) is the site of the BA12 Joint Exercise Control Group (JECG) and the Combined Force Maritime Component Commander (CFMCC) staff.

Vice Adm. David H. Buss, deputy commander, U.S. Fleet Forces and commander, Task Force 20, who will also serve as the CFMCC for the exercise, recently expressed his appreciation for NWDC's role in the exercise. "What happens here are at NWDC will have a profound impact on the future of Navy and Marine Corps interoperability," Buss said.

As the Navy's forward-leaning command directed to develop, test and deliver solutions to the maritime warfighter, NWDC's directorates are contributing to BA12 in several ways.

The Modeling and Simulation (M&S) directorate is operating the technical infrastructure known as the Navy Continuous Training Environment (NCTE) in support of BA12, in addition to hosting the JECG, CFMCC and significant portions of the controlling organization in NCAMS. The M&S directorate also engineered and installed voice communications and simulation networks specifically designed to support BA12's live, virtual and constructive exercise requirements.

For experimentation, the Allied Command and Control experimentation team is providing an updated draft Allied Tactical Memorandum (TACMEMO) to the exercise participants. NWDC will also be supporting data collection efforts to ensure the appropriate capture of observations to best inform the final development of this document. Three ship riders and other NWDC personnel are capturing the data and, upon exercise completion, will distribute a final draft TACMEMO to stakeholders.

BA12 presents an invaluable opportunity for participants, observers, and evaluators to directly and rapidly influence the doctrine review and development process. NWDC Doctrine and Training Integration, has solicited input from BA12 exercise participants, observers and evaluators for potential updates to amphibious operations-related doctrine. Additionally, NWDC Doctrine has put together a ready reference "electronic bookshelf" of relevant amphibious related doctrine for quick reference by BA12 participants and watch standers in NCAMS, utilizing its online Navy Doctrine Library System (NDLS).

NWDC is collecting and analyzing many facets of the exercise both afloat and ashore to help develop lessons learned from BA12 in order to improve the Navy and Marine Corps' amphibious capabilities in the future.

The Navy Warfare Development Command is the Navy's conduit between the fleet and its leaders, directed to develop coherent, creative and timely solutions to operational capability challenges and help move the fleet forward through the 21st Century. Its core competencies; concepts, experimentation, modeling and simulation, information dominance, lessons learned and doctrine, make the command the solutions hub to meet the needs of the maritime warfighter in a challenging global environment.

NECC participates in Bold Alligator

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Kay Savarese, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command Public Affairs

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- Riverine Group (RIVGRU) 1 will command the Navy's expeditionary forces for Bold Alligator 2012 (BA12), the nation's largest joint forces and multinational amphibious exercise on the East Coast, which began Jan. 30.

RIVGRU-1 is part of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) that deployed to North Carolina as headquarters for the Navy Expeditionary Force (NEF) supporting BA12.

Units from NECC participating include RIVGRU-1, Riverine Squadrons (RIVRON), Maritime Civil Affairs Team (MCAST), Navy Expeditionary Intelligence Command (NEIC), and Expeditionary Training Group (ETG).

"The NEF represents the first live play on the ground and inland waters of North Carolina for Bold Alligator 2012, representing the historic flexibility of maritime services," said Capt. Christopher Halton, the commodore of RIVGRU-1 and commander of NEF.

The NEF provides command and control necessary to integrate NECC into any Navy operation. BA12 provides NECC the opportunity to further refine partnerships for worldwide Navy support, including joint operations and allied forces, extending global partnerships. In the BA12 scenario, the NEF deploys to assist a fictitious host nation.

"The NEF was the first U.S. force placed at the maritime-ground seam to help the host nation's security forces improve their capability and capacity," said Halton. "In addition, the NEF is assisting the host nation with countering insurgent activity, maintaining or developing goodwill in the local populace as well as preparing for the follow-on amphibious landing."

Expeditionary forces operate on or near coastal and waterway areas to execute the six core capabilities of the Maritime Strategy; forward presence, deterrence, sea control, power projection, maritime security and humanitarian assistance/disaster response.

"The NEF is extending the United States' 'Blue Water Option' further into the inland waterways and harbors of nations who request help," said Halton. "There is no other Navy force that can operate from a ship or ashore with equal ease and with the same operational capability."

ETG will assist in directing BA12 and evaluate NECC performance to further refine NECC procedures by coordinating synthetic training by utilizing realistic actors and contractors. Expeditionary forces will operate in at least seven different locations throughout the duration of the exercise.

In addition to NECC, units participating in BA12 include the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group (CSG), Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 2, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB), Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), as well as various other ships and units.

BA12 is a live, scenario-driven simulation held off the coasts of Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida from Jan. 30 to Feb. 12. Its purpose is to revitalize Navy and Marine Corps amphibious expeditionary capabilities and to test and strengthen the fundamental roles of amphibious operations by focusing on force readiness and proficiency.

Eight countries will join U.S. forces in the exercise, allowing American service members and coalition partners the opportunity to exercise amphibious operations in a real-world environment.

NECC is a command element and force provider for integrated maritime expeditionary missions, serving as a single functional command for the Navy's expeditionary forces.