USS Hampton Visits Yokosuka During Western Pacific Deployment

By Lt. j.g. Derek Roncaioli, USS Hampton Public Affairs

YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) -- The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Hampton (SSN 767) arrived at Fleet Activities Yokosuka for a port visit as a part of its deployment to the Western Pacific, June 8.

With a crew of approximately 150, Hampton will conduct a multitude of missions and showcase the latest capabilities of the submarine fleet.

"My crew is humbled and excited by the invitation to visit Yokosuka," said Cmdr. Lincoln Reifsteck, Hampton's commanding officer. "I have been impressed with the Japanese submarine force, their professionalism and skill. Strengthening our friendship as nations, and especially our partnership at sea, is vitally important for both countries and I'm proud to be a part of it."

Hampton is a San Diego-based submarine that has been conducting multiple missions for the past several months vital to national security in the Western Pacific.

After a brief port visit in Okinawa, Japan, Hampton is looking forward to a second opportunity to experience the Japanese culture before heading back to sea. The crew will use the port call to re-supply, complete scheduled maintenance, communicate with friends and family, meet and greet Japanese submariners and enjoy some time off.

"We've been working extremely hard these last couple of months," said Master Chief Machinist's Mate Richard Moss, Hampton's chief of the boat. "The crew has performed very well and Yokosuka is a great way to reward them for their accomplishments. Japan has always been good to Hampton, with good food, great sights to see and generous hospitality. The crew should be able to enjoy some well-deserved R and R."

For many crew members like Electronics Technician 2nd Class Jesus Garcia, this is their first time visiting mainland Japan.

"I am looking forward to taking in the culture and sampling the fine delicacies Japanese culture has to offer," said Garcia. "I am also excited to utilize the efficient public transportation while visiting Tokyo. It has been a lifelong dream for me to visit Tokyo and I am thankful for the opportunity."

Measuring more than 360 feet long and weighing more than 6,900 tons when submerged, Hampton is capable of supporting a multitude of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, and strike warfare.

Yokosuka is Hampton's second port call during its deployment. Deployed submarines generally visit several ports while supporting U.S. 7th Fleet objectives.

USS Fort Worth Completes ISATT

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joe Bishop, USS Fort Worth Public Affairs

SOUTH CHINA SEA (NNS) -- Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (35), Detachment 3, completed initial ship aviation team training (ISATT) while operating underway aboard the littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) June 7.

ISATT is the qualification period necessary to validate the basic flight proficiency of Air Department crew members, from maintenance personnel to pilots.

"The [aviation detachment] and Crew 102 conducted day and night DLQs [deck landing qualifications], emergency flight quarters, helicopter crash-on-deck drills, ELVAs [Emergency Low Visibility Approaches] and smoke light approaches for both the MH-60R and MQ-8B Fire Scout," said Lt. Cmdr. Philipp Lines, HSM 35, Det. 3 air boss. "We are gaining flight operation proficiency and preparing ourselves for the multi-faceted mission sets that are typically assigned to a littoral combat ship and aviation detachment unit in the 7th Fleet AOR [area of responsibility]."

During ISATT, personnel are graded on their ability to perform basic flight operations and flight-based damage control efforts on a non-carrier platform safely and efficiently. The ISATT qualification is a requisite for any deployment of two months or more, and will qualify Fort Worth for flight operations throughout this deployment.

"Manning on LCS class ships is about a third of the size (96 personnel) of a typical non-aviation class ship [i.e., Crudes, destroyers, and frigates]," said Lines. "When flight quarters are conducted, about two-thirds of the entire ship's crew is involved. We truly work as "One Team" to ensure manned and un-manned aircraft are launched and recovered safely and effectively."

Fort Worth is the first LCS to deploy under the "3-2-1" manning concept, which allows LCS to sustain a 16-month forward presence without fatiguing the crew during the extended deployment. It is named 3-2-1 because three rotational crews will support two LCS ships and maintain one deployed ship. Two crew swaps have already taken place and one more will occur during the remainder of Fort Worth's deployment.

Prior to getting underway, Crew 102 conducted a one-week in port turnover with Crew 103. During the at-sea period ending June 7, the crew, aviation detachment and surface warfare mission package team conducted underway workups to maintain the proficiency achieved during training in San Diego before their arrival in Singapore in late May.

Coordinating ISATT qualifications along with required crew exercises, air detachment and surface warfare mission package certifications, all in about 6 days, is an impressive feat, said Lt. Eric Cote, Crew 102 operations officer.

Throughout summer and fall, Fort Worth will take part in most of the 2015 Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise series. CARAT is an annual, bilateral exercise series with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the armed forces of nine partner nations including, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste.

"Everyone is excited to finally be aboard USS Fort Worth, and we are preparing for multiple CARAT exercises between naval partners in the Asia-Pacific region," said Lines.

Fast, agile and mission-focused, littoral combat ships are designed to operate in near-shore environments and employ modular mission packages that can be configured for surface warfare, mine countermeasures or anti-submarine warfare.

Fort Worth will employ the surface warfare (SUW) mission package for her entire deployment, augmenting her 57mm gun and rolling airframe missile launcher with two 30mm guns, two 11-meter rigid-hull inflatable boats, and two six-member maritime security boarding teams. Enhancing the SUW mission package is the embarked aviation detachment from HSM 35, the Navy's first composite expeditionary helicopter squadron, which consists of one MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter and one MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aircraft system. The Fire Scout complements the MH-60R by extending the HSM-35's range and endurance, enhancing maritime domain awareness.

The U.S. 7th Fleet conducts forward-deployed naval operations in support of U.S. national interests in the Indo-Asia-Pacific area of operations. As the U.S. Navy's largest numbered fleet, U.S. 7th Fleet interacts with 35 other maritime nations to build partnerships that foster maritime security, promote stability and prevent conflict.

Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System Team Arrives at NSF Deveselu

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW/AW) Luke B. Meineke, Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia Public Affairs

DEVESELU, Romania (NNS) -- The first group of Sailors charged with manning Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System (AAMDS) Romania recently arrived at Naval Support Facility (NSF) Deveselu, bringing the site one step closer to operational status.

NSF Deveselu is the host installation for Phase 2 of the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) to ballistic missile defense. The Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System has many of the same components used at sea on guided-missile destroyers and cruisers, to include the Aegis Weapon System, Vertical Launch System, and SPY-1 radar, but it can only fire the Standard Missile-3 (SM3).

Lt. Cmdr. Joshua Lewis, the AAMDS executive officer, and the Sailors who arrived with him, are part of the initial wave of personnel to arrive in Romania last month. According to Lewis, it is their job to lay the groundwork for a full team deployment.

"There's real value in actually seeing the facility first hand and formulating how you want to do business based on first-hand experience," Lewis said. "We can also liaison with the base team to formulate procedures and memorandums and understanding between us."

Similar to the blue and gold crews of a submarine or littoral combat ship, AAMDS has red, white and blue crews. Each crew is comprised of a fixed number of watch teams who deploy to Romania for a set period of time, while the other crews continue to train at their home base in Dam Neck, Virginia.

The arrival of the team is the most recent step in a month-long coordination effort between the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System tenant command and the base itself, said Capt. Bill Garren, commanding officer of NSF Deveselu.

"With the arrival of the first team, it shows us that we are getting closer to the actual operation of the site," said Garren.

On Sept. 17, 2009, President Obama announced that the United States would provide missile defenses to NATO, to include the deployment of SM-3 interceptor missiles at sites in Romania and Poland.

In addition to current ship-based assets, EPAA Phase 2 provides robust capability against short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles with the deployment of an advanced AAMDS with the proven SM-3 Block IB interceptors at the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System site in Romania.

Working closely with the host-nation 99th Military Base, NSF Deveselu will provide security and living accommodations for all assigned personnel. Currently comprised of temporary facilities, the base's permanent structures are being built simultaneously with the installation of the primary tenant command's systems.

Lewis said he can easily see much progress has been made since the base's inception and establishment.

"It's impressive to see all of the different organizations working in concert on this one system; this one common project," he said.

The Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System program was developed by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, and all construction in Europe is overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District. The installation will be turned over to the Navy later this year.

When completed, NSF Deveselu will be home to about 200 U.S. military personnel, government civilians, and support contractors.