Naval War College Students Graduate MAWS: Operational-Level Planning Course

By Chief Mass Communication Specialist James E. Foehl, U.S. Naval War College Public Affairs

NEWPORT, R.I. (NNS) -- Thirty-five students from the Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Air Force graduated from the U.S. Naval War College's (NWC) joint service Maritime Advanced Warfighting School (MAWS), Sept. 5.

MAWS, a 13-month program that begins in August, is leveraged around the core curriculum of the intermediate-level course (ILC) and focuses on operational art-of-war and the Navy and Joint planning processes.

"This school is important, not just to the Navy, but our country as a whole, because it teaches and gives a specific tool set to our military that helps us excel," said Capt. Richard LaBranche, NWC's MAWS program director.

Students who graduate from the MAWS program receive a Joint Planner-ONE (JP1) Additional Qualification Designator and normally go on to serve in operational-planning billets.

"Operational-level planning ensures that when you have a strategy and national policy that all the tactical actions that take place are in alignment with those higher level objectives," said LaBranche. "What the MAWS graduate is able to do is come up with a plan to use joint and maritime power in order to achieve the commander's objectives."

MAWS also serves as an integral component of the NWC educational mission to develop strategic and operational leaders with the skills required to plan, execute, and assess combined, joint, and naval operations.

Over the course of the academic school year, MAWS students complete 120 hours of electives in the first two trimesters, all focused on operational art-of-war and the Navy and joint planning processes. Their final trimester is Joint Military Operations (JMO), completed with MAWS in order to fulfill case study and planning process requirements for the course.

"We teach the JMO course, tailored to operational planning," said LaBranche. "We go over case studies of past operations, have students dissect the plan for the operation pertaining to the case study, find out where it was planned well and where it could've been planned better."

"Students then re-plan [the operation], do a staff-ride to the location of where that plan took place and look at the operational environment," said LaBranche. "They study the terrain and the environment so that they can apply their knowledge in actuality."

Following completion of the core-curriculum trimesters, students graduate from NWC but continue on with a three-month capstone project before completing MAWS and earning their JP1 designator.

During the capstone, students participate in a real-world planning problem for a combatant commander, fleet commander, or a numbered fleet commander.

"We were tasked with providing a concept of operations to Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT)," said 16-year Navy veteran, Cmdr. Spencer P. Austin, a MAWS program graduate. "They gave us an area they're looking to develop ideas about to work with."

The students worked together over the course of the summer to provide valuable inputs and ideas to influence real-world situations.

"We were able to apply that planning process, start to finish, as if we were out there in the fleet, go through the entire process without distractions, and provide a full brief and several white-papers to the maritime operations center director at COMPACFLT," said Austin.

Austin also noted the significance that comes with the preparation and delivery of briefing the commander.

"There's some maturation that happens when you do that. It also gave some of the students that are going to work out there an opportunity to talk with their future bosses and get a feel for what they're going to be doing."

"Anybody who's serious about their profession should consider attending this school. There's an educational opportunity here that you won't get anywhere else," said Austin. "This is the first time in my career I learned how to do planning properly. The operational-level of war requires a very detailed, structured approach to planning and the MAWS course teaches that."

Forward Deployed Aircraft Carrier, Air Wing Team Continues 7th Fleet Patrol

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Alonzo Archer, Task Force 70 Public Affairs

USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, At Sea (NNS) -- The United States Navy's only forward deployed air wing, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, flew aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) Sep. 5 to continue their 2014 patrol of U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations (AOR).

CVW-5 is composed of nine squadrons with approximately 1,900 Sailors and 67 aircraft, which complete the full capacity of operations and manning for George Washington.

"Carrier Air Wing 5 has been patrolling with the George Washington since 2008," said Cmdr. Brian Downey, CVW-5 Operations officer. "I look forward to the reintegration of our commands each time we're called upon. The respect we show each other during these patrols lends to the professionalism of both commands. They know their job, and we know ours, and we both trust each other to perform at the highest level."

During the first half of their 2014 patrol CVW-5 and George Washington completed exercise Malabar 2014, a multinational maritime event including the Indian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), a bilateral operation with JMSDF, four goodwill port visits and two air power demonstrations for Independence Day and a Tiger Cruise respectively.

"This is my first deployment with Carrier Air Wing 5 and the George Washington," said Lt. Andrew Ginnetti, an EA-18G Growler pilot with the "Shadowhawks" of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 141. "It's great to finally be in the fleet, applying the skills I've learned in flight school. I personally feel I'm a part of the most mission ready air wing in the Navy."

The aircraft carrier and air wing relationship is symbiotic in more ways than one; both units need each other to complete vital carrier qualifications and maintain pilot currency.

"By instruction, all fixed wing carrier pilots have to maintain periodic currency," said Cmdr. William Berryman, George Washington air operations officer. "We as a ship must also maintain certain qualifications by operating with aircraft. We work together to accomplish these qualifications across the board in order to keep the air wing-ship team combat ready."

CVW-5's squadrons are a collection of aircraft designed to perform various functions and missions. The aircraft are attached to: the "Diamondbacks" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 102 flying the F/A-18F Super Hornet; the "Royal Maces" of VFA-27, the "Eagles" of VFA-115 and the "Dambusters" VFA-195 each flying the F/A-18E Super Hornet; VAQ-141 flying the EA-18G Growler; VAW-115 flying the E-2C Hawkeye; the "Providers" of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 30, Detachment 5, flying the C-2A Greyhound; the "Golden Flacons" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 12 flying the MH-60S Seahawk; and the "Saberhawks" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 77 flying the MH-60R Seahawk.

CVW-5 is on patrol in the 7th Fleet AOR supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia- Pacific region.

USS Connecticut Holds Change of Command

By Lt. j.g. Robert Ford, USS Connecticut Public Affairs

KEYPORT, Wash. (NNS) -- USS Connecticut (SSN 22) bid farewell to their commanding officer, Cmdr. Ian Johnson, during a change of command ceremony at the Naval Undersea Museum, Sept. 5.

With the traditional reading of orders and a motivational battle cry "Hooyah Two Two" from the Sailors he commanded, Johnson turned over his boat and crew to Cmdr. Brian Taddiken.

Johnson said he is proud he had the opportunity to be in command of Connecticut and working with a fantastic team of Sailors.

"Leading you all has been the most rewarding and humbling honor of my career," said Johnson. "You are all heroes in my book. You are the best there is. You kept us at sea when we had a job to do and you continued to touch excellence, and to display grit, determination, and resiliency everyday, for two years, in a challenging shipyard environment. I cannot thank you enough. I want you to know that what you do everyday matters and has been of tremendous value to aiding in our national security. Thank you for what you do."

Taddiken said of his new crew, "I am humbled by the sacrifices you and your families make at work and at home. You should be proud of these sacrifices and yourselves. Because of you, Connecticut has a tremendously positive reputation for high performance in the face of adversity."

Taddiken, a native of Tacoma, Wash. and a United States Naval Academy graduate, most recently served as the Deputy Commander for Readiness on the staffs of Commander, Submarine Squadrons 1 and 7. He is looking forward to the challenge of getting Connecticut back to sea once they complete the Depot Modernization Period.

Johnson's next assignment will be at U.S. Pacific Command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.