ARLINGTON, Va. — The skies over southeast Europe are not normally associated with the history of U.S. naval aviation, but the current patrols being flown over the region by Navy aircraft from the aircraft carrier U.S Harry S. Truman are just the latest of at least three operations conducted by U.S. naval aviation in the region since the end of the Cold War. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered the latest operations.  

The USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group, with Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) embarked in the carrier, is deployed to the Mediterranean, operating in support of NATO operations. The CSG has operated in the restrictive waters of the Adriatic Sea and the Aegean Sea on this deployment as well. The routine deployment also is showing the value of forward-deployed naval forces, available on short notice to respond to international crises.  

“Conducting enhanced Air Policing from North Aegean waters further illustrates NATO’s continued ability to share and pool existing capabilities,” said Rear Adm. Curt Renshaw, commander, Carrier Strike Group Eight, in a March 7 release from the U.S. 6th Fleet. “We set out to prove that this dynamic employment of an aircraft carrier — in pretty restrictive waters — could be done, and in doing so, we have demonstrated the enduring U.S. commitment to Allies.” 

U.S. carriers in the region provided air cover and close air support in the early-to-mid-1990s during Operations Deliberate Force and Deny Flight during the civil wars that broke out as Yugoslavia splintered eventually into seven separate nations. 

In 1999, during Operation Allied Force, U.S. carriers in the Adriatic Sea launched strikes into Serbia and Kosovo to protect the Kosovars from Serbian action. Navy P-3C Orion patrol aircraft also launched Standoff Land-Attack Missiles against Serbian targets. Navy and Marine Corps EA-6B and F/A-18 aircraft operated from bases in Italy as well. 

In recent years, Navy P-3, P-8, and EP-3 maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft expanded patrols over the Black Sea region.  

This week, CVW-1 aircraft, including F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters and EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, have flown patrols in the region to defend NATO nations’ airspace as part of the NATO Response Force. The squadrons conducting the patrols include strike fighter squadrons VFA-11, VFA-34, VFA-81 and VFA-211 as well as electronic attack squadron VAQ-137.  

In recent weeks, CVW-1’s squadrons also have flown in training exercises with the Romanian and Italian air forces. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III made the following statement March 7 announcing the decision to close a Navy petroleum storage facility near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which recently leaked and affected the Navy’s drinking water system for the area: 

“After close consultation with senior civilian and military leaders, I have decided to defuel and permanently close the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility in Hawaii. 

“This is a multi-step process. Throughout the process, we will work closely with the Hawaii Department of Health and with the Environmental Protection Agency to safely defuel the Red Hill facility. No later than May 31, the Secretary of the Navy and Director of the Defense Logistics Agency will provide an action plan for safe and expeditious defueling of the facility, with a completion date target of 12 months. Then, as soon as we have made corrective actions to ensure that defueling will be safe, we will begin defueling. Then we will move to permanently close the Red Hill facility, including conducting any and all necessary environmental remediation around the facility. 

“This is the right thing to do. 

“Centrally located bulk fuel storage of this magnitude likely made sense in 1943, when Red Hill was built. And Red Hill has served our armed forces well for many decades. But it makes a lot less sense now. The distributed and dynamic nature of our force posture in the Indo-Pacific, the sophisticated threats we face, and the technology available to us demand an equally advanced and resilient fueling capability. To a large degree, we already avail ourselves of dispersed fueling at sea and ashore, permanent and rotational. We will now expand and accelerate that strategic distribution. 

“Moreover, when we use land for military purposes, at home or abroad, we commit to being good stewards of that resource. Closing Red Hill meets that commitment. 

“We will continue our work with the Hawaii Department of Health, national and local elected officials, and other community leaders, to clean up the water at the Red Hill well. And we will develop an environmental mitigation plan to address any future contamination concerns. When we begin to consider land-use options for the property after the fueling facility is closed, we will stay in lockstep with communities in Hawaii. Nothing will be decided without careful and thorough consultation with our partners. 

“The same goes for our workforce and their families. Your health has been impacted, your lives and livelihoods have been disrupted, and in many cases, your very homes have been rendered unavailable to you. We owe you the very best health care we can provide, answers to your many questions, and clean, safe drinking water. Quite frankly, we owe you a return to normal. And you have my commitment to that end.” 

Throughout this process, and moving forward, we have remained grateful for the partnership and guidance of our federal, congressional, state, and community stakeholders. These consultations, which will continue, have both informed and strengthened our planning, and we are deeply appreciative of this support. 

I set about achieving three priorities when I took this office: defend the nation, take care of our people, and succeed through teamwork. I believe my decision to shut down the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility aligns with all three of these priorities. 

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The U.S. Marine Corps declared initial operating capability for the AGM-179A Joint Air-to-Ground Missile on the AH-1Z Viper effective 1 March 2022, the Naval Air Systems Command said March 4. 

JAGM, a joint program with the Army, is a precision-guided missile that combines semi-active laser guidance and millimeter-wave radar. It is an air-to-surface precision-guided munition used on joint rotary-wing, unmanned aircraft systems, and fixed-wing platforms to destroy high-value, stationary and moving, land and maritime targets. 

“IOC marks a major milestone for the JAGM program and significant increase in capability for the AH-1Z,” said Cmdr. J. Reid Adams, deputy program manager for precision-guided missiles. “This accomplishment is a true testament of the tireless efforts made by so many across DoD and our industry partners to support the warfighter.” 

The JAGM program successfully completed a thorough initial operational test and evaluation period with a recommendation to field the missile. AH-1Z pilots tested JAGM off the coast of Florida in November 2021 and conducted land-based testing in Arizona in December 2021. 

IOC was achieved with missiles, training, and support equipment delivered to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 267 to support an upcoming deployment with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. 

“Incorporating systems such as JAGM on the AH-1Z is essential in keeping the platform at the forefront of warfighting capabilities,” said Col. Vasilios Pappas, USMC H-1 light/attack helicopter program manager. 

JAGM provides improved lethality, operational flexibility, and a reduced logistics footprint to the H-1 platform. It is part of an effort to upgrade the AH-1Z and UH-1Y aircraft in alignment with the Commandant’s vision of force modernization to maintain a competitive edge against potential adversaries. 

U.S. NAVY ICE CAMP QUEENFISH — Commander, Submarine Forces officially kicked off Ice Exercise 2022 in the Arctic Ocean on Friday, March 4, after the building of Ice Camp Queenfish and arrival of two U.S. Navy fast attack submarines, Submarine Force Atlantic Public Affairs said March 6. 

ICEX 2022 is a three-week exercise designed to research, test and evaluate operational capabilities in the Arctic region. 

“The Arctic region can be unforgiving and challenging like no other place on Earth,” said Rear Adm. Richard Seif, commander of the Navy’s Undersea Warfighting Development Center in Groton, Connecticut, and the ranking officer of ICEX 2022. “It’s also changing and becoming more active with maritime activity. ICEX 2022 provides the Navy an opportunity to increase capability and readiness in this unique environment, and to continue establishing best practices we can share with partners and allies who share the U.S.’s goal of a free and peaceful Arctic.” 

The Arctic is experiencing a trend of diminishing sea ice extent and thickness creating the likelihood of increased maritime activity in the region, including trans-oceanic shipping and resource extraction.

The Navy’s Arctic Submarine Laboratory, based in San Diego, serves as the lead organization for coordinating, planning and executing the exercise involving representatives from four nations and more than 200 participants over the five weeks of operations.

In addition to the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard personnel who are participating in the exercise, personnel from the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Canadian Navy and United Kingdom Royal Navy are participating.

U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Dave Swensen is leading a team of six from the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Center to assist in ICEX 2022. 

“Any opportunities we can get to provide our personnel access to experience in extreme cold conditions will be force multipliers to our institution and ultimately to the Marine Corps,” said Swensen, who added that five of the center’s personnel taking part in ICEX are instructors at the Bridgeport, California, cold weather center for excellence. “We will come back among the most cold weather-experienced personnel at the base.” 

A temporary ice camp is being established on a sheet of ice in the Arctic Ocean, known as an ice floe, to support testing submarine systems and other arctic research initiatives. 

The camp, named Ice Camp Queenfish, will serve as a temporary command center for conducting operations and research in the Arctic region. The camp consists of shelters, a command center, and infrastructure to safely house and support more than 60 personnel at any one time. 

“At Ice Camp Queenfish, our teams can test equipment in a very harsh and demanding environment,” said Howard Reese, director of the Arctic Submarine Laboratory. “It’s important that all the technology we’re testing can perform in all of the oceans of the world, including the Arctic. Here, we can learn what works well in the Arctic and what doesn’t work as well, and we can make changes and improvements.”

The camp gets its namesake from USS Queenfish (SSN 651), the first Sturgeon-class submarine to operate under ice and the fourth submarine to reach the North Pole when it surfaced there on Aug. 6, 1970.

Submarines have conducted under-ice operations in the Arctic regions in support of inter-fleet transit, training, cooperative allied engagements and operations for more than 60 years. USS Nautilus (SSN 571) made the first transit in 1958. USS Skate (SSN 578) was the first U.S. submarine to surface through arctic ice at the North Pole in March, 1959.

Since those events, the U.S. Submarine Force has completed 97 Ice Exercises — ICEX 2022 is the 98th — the last being conducted in 2020.

SAN DIEGO — The Essex Amphibious Ready Group returned to port at Naval Base San Diego March 4, concluding a seven-month deployment to U.S. 3rd, 5th, and 7th Fleet areas of operation, U.S. 3rd Fleet said in a release. 

 Essex ARG is comprised of the multi-purpose amphibious assault carrier USS Essex (LHD 2), amphibious transport dock USS Portland (LPD 27), and dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) led by Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 1. 

Marines with the 11th MEU, embarked aboard the ships of the ready group, arrived off the coast of Southern California March 2 to disembark to Camp Pendleton, California, with a small contingent of MEU personnel remaining aboard the ships for the pierside arrival. 

“It is a great honor to welcome the Essex ARG and the 11th MEU back to San Diego,” said Rear Adm. Wayne Baze, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 3. “I’m excited to have them home after a successful deployment. Their integrated operations while at sea are a testament to the Navy-Marine Corps team’s ability to face any challenge to accomplish the mission. I could not be more proud of the Sailors and Marines and am incredibly thankful for the families and friends they rejoin today who supported them.” 

The Essex ARG and 11th MEU provided numbered fleet and combatant commanders with a responsive, flexible and forward-deployed asset capable of maritime power projection, contingency operations, and crisis response. Their capabilities enabled shaping of the operational environment to protect the United States and allied interests in any threat environment. 

“Throughout the ARG-MEU’s 212-day deployment, I have been most humbled to have served alongside a highly skilled team of Sailors and Marines,” said Capt. Karrey Sanders, commander, PHIBRON 1. “Our integration as a combined blue-green team was nothing short of exceptional, and I am thankful to have not only showcased our amphibious capabilities throughout three Navy fleets together but to have created and shared countless memories that will last a lifetime.”

During deployment, Sailors and Marines supported Operation Freedom Sentinel and Operation Inherent Resolve. The ARG-MEU team also supported Large Scale Exercise 21, Exercise Indigo Defender 21, Red Sea Maritime Security Operations, Marine Exercise Philippines 22, and Noble Fusion 22. 

In U.S. 5th Fleet, from September 2021 to January 2022, the ARG-MEU team operated in the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Indian Ocean. The team conducted theater amphibious combat rehearsals in Kuwait, sustaining their readiness and proficiency in multiple full mission profiles. During Exercise Indigo Defender, the Marines and Sailors spent two weeks with Saudi Naval Forces Western Fleet conducting bilateral training in amphibious operations, a mass casualty drill and integrated fires training to enhance proficiency and readiness while maintaining a tiered crisis response posture in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. 

While operating in U.S. 7th Fleet supporting U.S. Indo-Pacific Command from January to February 2022, the ARG conducted expeditionary strike force operations with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group in the South China Sea. ESF operations demonstrate U.S. capability to quickly aggregate an integrated naval force to operate all-domain warfare anywhere international law allows. 

KODIAK, Alaska — The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Midgett returned to homeport in Honolulu, Hawaii, Friday after a three-month long Bering Sea patrol, the Coast Guard 14^th District said March 4. 

The crew of the Midgett enforced federal laws and regulations in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands chain.

They played a strategic role in protecting the nation’s critical marine resources, enforcing fisheries and safety regulations, and were forward positioned to safeguard the U.S. commercial fishing fleet.

The crew of the Midgett also acted as a search and rescue platform while providing support to helicopter crews operating out of Dutch Harbor and Cold Bay, Alaska. This increased operational range for the aircrews and provided them with fuel for high-endurance missions.

The crew also conducted training and emergency response drills.

“Navigating Alaskan waters was extremely exciting and rewarding,” said the Midgett’s commanding officer, Capt. Willie Carmichael. “I’m proud and impressed by my crew’s service and commitment to promote safety and security in Alaskan fisheries that are so vital to the U.S. economy.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. — A Marine Corps F/A-18D Hornet strike fighter crashed shortly near Beaufort, South Carolina on March 3, according to the 2^nd Marine Aircraft Wing. 

The two Marines in the crew ejected safely and incurred no injuries, the Wing said in a release, which said the crash occurred approximately 3:15 p.m. 

“The aircraft crashed in an unpopulated area near Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, and there was no damage to civilian property,” the Wing said. 

According to television station WJCL, the Hornet crashed on the Coosaw Plantation owned by former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford. 

The Hornet, assigned to the Hawks of Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 533 (VMFA(AW)-533), a unit of Marine Aircraft Group 31. The squadron is one of four Hornet squadrons based at MCAS Beaufort. 

The cause of the mishap will be investigated. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Marine Corps has taken another step in its ambitious force redesign to contend with near-peer militaries like China and Russia in the 21^st century: Creating the first Marine Littoral Regiment.

After more than a year of planning, the 3rd Marine Regiment was redesignated the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment in a ceremony at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, where the new regiment will continue to be headquartered.

While the 3^rd MLR is not expected to be fully operationally capable for at least a year, its establishment demonstrates progress in the Marine Corps’ Force Design 2030 modernization effort, a key priority of Marine Corps Commandant David Berger’s 38^th Commandant’s Planning Guidance.

“Marines on the leading edge of change is nothing new,” Maj. Gen. Jay Bargeron, commanding general of 3rd Marine Division, told attendees at the May 3 ceremony. “We are honing our capabilities to integrate and coordinate joint and combined fires and effects, extending the reach of and providing more options to our forces.”

The Marines’ evolving Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations concept envisions littoral operations by specialized mobile, low signature units within larger distributed maritime operations areas.

Marine Littoral Regiments will be uniquely designed to maneuver and persist inside a contested maritime environment. The MLR is organized, trained and equipped to support sea control and sea denial operations as part of a larger naval expeditionary force integrated with the joint force and allied and partnered forces.

Equipped with rockets, missiles and other long range fires, as well as sensors like the Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar, the MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle for extended range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, long-range unmanned surface vessels and light amphibious warships to increase mobility in the littorals, EABO units will control access to choke points while limiting an adversary’s ability to target them.

The Marine Corps’ second in command, Assistant Commandant Gen. Eric Smith, also attended the re-designation ceremony. Before leaving Washington for Hawaii, Smith told a Feb. 28 reporters’ roundtable the Marines are “equipping, training and organizing [the MLRs] so they’re able to deploy tonight — and I mean tonight — to do what they need to do.”

The new MLR will be divided into three elements: a littoral combat team made up of a one infantry battalion equipped with a ship-killing missile battery, an anti-aircraft battalion and a combat logistics battalion. Unlike traditional Marine regiments that deployed with three large battalions, the new MLR will operate with much smaller groups, between 75 and 100 Marines, Smith said.

Plans call for two more infantry regiments, the 4^th and 12^th Marines to be converted to MLRs by 2030, but Smith told reporters the process could take longer than the 3^rd MLR’s conversion did based on lessons learned going forward.

SAN DIEGO — The Defense Department’s Strategic Capabilities Office officially transitioned the Ghost Fleet Overlord Program to the Navy Program Executive Office, Unmanned and Small Combatants during a ceremony at Naval Base San Diego on March 3, 2022, the PEO’s public affairs office said in a release.  

Navy Vice Adm. Stephen T. Koehler, commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, was the keynote speaker.  

“The future of our fleet is a formidable manned and unmanned team,” said Koehler. “Where unmanned systems work in concert with, and enable enhanced capability of manned platforms; driving to an even more distributed and more lethal force.” 

SCO initiated the Ghost Fleet Overlord Program in 2018 to accelerate the Navy’s adoption of unmanned and autonomous systems.   

In partnership with the Navy, the objective of SCO’s Overlord Program was to convert large, commercially available vessels to autonomous operation. Designers installed perception and autonomy systems, automated and improved ship system reliability for extended missions and developed the command control and communications architecture. 

“The Strategic Capabilities Office partnered with the Navy, Unmanned Maritime Systems [PMS 406] specifically, from the beginning of the Ghost Fleet Overlord Program,” said Jay Dryer, director, Strategic Capabilities Office. “At transition, this enables PMS 406 and the larger team of operators, warfare centers and industry to not miss a beat, continue advancing this technology, and provide a real capability sooner. This is what SCO does best: Integrate mature technologies to accelerate service priorities and create new capabilities for the warfighter.” 

The program’s objective was achieved through long endurance transits and participation in fleet exercises. The fleet exercises demonstrated the feasibility of unmanned surface vessels. Specifically, the ability to host and employ modular payloads through a realistic set of concepts of operations.     

SCO was well positioned to mature unmanned systems using Other Transaction Authority agreements with industry-led development teams given the increasing commercial use of autonomous technology.   

SCO developed two prototype surface vessels to serve as test beds for the Navy’s Medium and Large Unmanned Surface Vessel programs of record.  

During the program, Overlord USV Prototypes 1 (Nomad) and 2 (Ranger) took part in multiple fleet level exercises and demonstrations, traveled 28,982 nautical miles in autonomous mode and tested numerous payloads.  

The advances achieved in autonomy, communications and payload integration by Nomad and Ranger are a catalyst for developing the Navy’s future USV programs of record, and in the acquisition of two additional Overlord USV prototypes for continued Navy experimentation and development.  

The SCO-led phase of this development culminates with the transfer of Nomad and Ranger to the Navy for follow-on development and fleet experimentation. The next phase will inform the Navy’s unmanned concept development and directly support the Department’s autonomy modernization priorities and Unmanned Campaign Framework.  

LAKE CHARLES, La. — Northrop Grumman Corp. was recently awarded the Integrated Modification and Maintenance Contract for the U.S. Navy’s E-6B Mercury aircraft, the company said March 3. The work will be performed at Northrop Grumman’s Aircraft Maintenance and Fabrication Center in Lake Charles.   

“We are laser focused on providing the most relevant capabilities while improving mission readiness,” said Mary Petryszyn, corporate vice president and president of Defense Systems at Northrop Grumman. “As leaders in aircraft sustainment and modernization, the U.S. Navy’s E-6B Mercury fleet is another example of our strong partnership with the Navy in achieving those goals.” 

Over the next five years, Northrop Grumman will perform modifications to the Navy’s E-6B aircraft improving command, control and communications functions that connect the national command authority with the United States’ Nuclear Triad. The company will establish a consolidated production line for core modifications required under the $111 million contract. Northrop Grumman may also take on additional, smaller modifications and select depot maintenance tasks as required. 

As part of the critical Take Charge and Move Out strategic communications mission, the E-6B operates across a wide frequency spectrum to transmit and receive secure and non-secure voice and data information. The aircraft provides survivable, endurable, reliable airborne command, control, and communications in support of the president, secretary of defense, and United States Strategic Command.