WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy is mobilizing 1,629 Reservists to support aircraft carrier and submarine maintenance at its four public shipyards starting in July, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) said in a release. This mobilization will help reduce the maintenance backlog that has developed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

NAVSEA authorized weather and safety leave for shipyard personnel who fell under the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) “high risk” category for extreme complications tied to the COVID-19 virus. With up to 25% of the production workforce unable to report to their duty location, the shipyards have not been able to execute all their work and have built a backlog of work that, if left unchecked, would result in delays in returning ships to the fleet.  

The Reservists are all part of the Navy’s Surge Maintenance, or SurgeMain, program. Established in 2005, SurgeMain has 2,200 enlisted Reserve Sailors and 240 Reserve officers across 75 units and was created to augment the Navy’s organic civilian shipyard workforce in times of need. 

SurgeMain Sailors have technical and trade backgrounds that allow them to have an immediate impact at the shipyards. 

“Our Sailors are electricians, pipe fitters, sheet metal workers, plumbers, hydraulic technicians, mechanics, machinists, carpenters, welders and more,” said Capt. Michael P. MacLellan, SurgeMain’s national director. “Many of our people have prior experience at the shipyard where they’re being sent, down to the specific shop where they will be working alongside the shipyard’s organic civilian workforce.”  

This is the first time SurgeMain has activated this many Reservists at one time. 

“We’re excited to mobilize and execute the mission for which we’ve been training,” MacLellan said. “This deployment presents a valuable opportunity for our Sailors to hone their skills, contribute to our national defense and allow us to gain valuable lessons you can only learn during mass mobilization.” 

SurgeMain Reservists will start arriving at their respective shipyards in phases starting in early July, with all 1,629 Sailors onsite by September. They will be functioning on one-year mobilization orders that may be extended or curtailed should circumstances change. 

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, will receive 267 Reservists; Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, will receive 486; Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington, will receive 676; and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, will receive 200. 

“We have been methodical in how we planned this mobilization,” said Vice Adm. Tom Moore, NAVSEA’s commander. “We did not mobilize anyone who already works in the ship maintenance or construction field, and we worked to place people into shipyards where they have previously drilled so there was a built-in comfort factor for both the Reservist and the shipyard personnel.” 

Once mobilized, the Reservists will abide by all Defense Department travel restrictions and protocols tied to minimizing the spread of COVID-19. Sailors are being assigned to their designated Reserve duty location, which is usually the shipyard closest to where they live. 

Once at their designated shipyard, Sailors will abide by all COVID-19 policies. These include conducting a daily self-screening and undergoing a temperature check prior to accessing the shipyard, wearing all required personal protective equipment and following the same social distancing measures as the rest of the shipyard workforce.

ARLINGTON, Va. ― FLIR Systems Inc. has received orders for more than 160 of the company’s Centaur unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) for the U.S. Navy and Army, the company announced. The two contracts totaling $23.5 million include related spares and accessories and are being sourced through the Army’s Man Transportable Robotic System Increment II (MTRS Inc II) program. 

Since March, FLIR has announced orders totaling more than $65 million for nearly 500 Centaur UGVs from the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and now Navy. Explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams will use the Centaur to assist in disarming improvised explosive devices, unexploded ordnance and similar hazardous tasks. Operators can attach different sensors and payloads to the robot to support other functions, such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear missions. 

“With the Navy joining the MTRS Inc II program, it means that all U.S. military forces will now use a common, medium-sized robotic platform for EOD and CBRN operations,” said Roger Wells, vice president and general manager of the Unmanned Systems and Integrated Solutions business at FLIR. 

“In an era of increased joint service operations in combat zones worldwide, having common equipment across EOD units can support more standardized tactics and techniques, plus add new efficiencies in sustainment and training for years to come.  

“Our team is incredibly proud to know all four branches of America’s armed services have chosen Centaur as their mid-sized EOD robot. And, more importantly, that our technology is helping so many warfighters keep out of harm’s way,” Wells said. 

In 2017, the Army selected Endeavor Robotics, acquired last year by FLIR, as its medium-sized robot provider for MTRS Inc II. The company designed Centaur as its MTRS solution. FLIR is delivering robots to the Army under that multi-year program of record, which upon award was valued at more than $150 million, including options. These latest orders fall under the current ceiling. 

Centaur is a medium-sized UGV that provides a standoff capability to detect, confirm, identify, and dispose of hazards. Weighing roughly 160 pounds, the open-architecture robot features an advanced EO/IR camera suite, a manipulator arm that reaches over six feet, and the ability to climb stairs. Modular payloads can be used for CBRNE detection and other missions.  

Deliveries are expected to begin in the third quarter of 2020.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy secretary and chief of naval operations on June 10 announced these flag officer assignments: 

• Rear Adm. Daniel L. Cheever will be assigned as director for plans, policy and strategy, J-5, U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. Cheever served as commander, Carrier Strike Group 4, Norfolk, Virginia. 
• Rear Adm. Thomas E. Ishee will be assigned as director, global operations, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. Ishee is serving as director, Undersea Warfare Division, N97, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.
• Rear Adm. Peter G. Stamatopoulos will be assigned as commander, Naval Supply Systems Command, and chief of Supply Corps, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.  Stamatopoulos served as director of logistics, J-4, U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany.  
• Rear Adm. (lower half) William J. Houston, selected for promotion to rear admiral, will be assigned as director, Undersea Warfare Division, N97, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Houston served as director, plans and operations, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-6th Fleet; deputy commander, 6th Fleet; and commander, Submarine Group 8, Naples, Italy. 
• Rear Adm. (lower half) Anthony C. Carullo is serving as director, plans and operations, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-6th Fleet; deputy commander, 6th Fleet; and commander, Submarine Group 8, Naples, Italy. Carullo served as deputy director, strategic targeting and nuclear mission planning, J-5N, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. 
• Rear Adm. (lower half) Richard D. Heinz is serving as director of logistics, J-4, U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany. Heinz served as commander, Naval Supply Systems Command Weapons Systems Support, Philadelphia. 
• Rear Adm. (lower half) Andrew J. Loiselle is serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group 4, Norfolk, Virginia. Loiselle served as commander, Carrier Strike Group 8, Norfolk.  
• Rear Adm. (lower half) Joseph D. Noble Jr., is serving as commander, Naval Supply Systems Command Weapons Systems Support, Philadelphia. Noble served as special assistant for audit readiness, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller), Washington, D.C.  
• Rear Adm. (lower half) Ryan B. Scholl is serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group 8, Norfolk, Virginia. Scholl served as deputy director, plans, J-5, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The most recent U.S. Navy warship to detect COVID-19 among crew members, the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall has been cleaned and sanitized and awaits a decision to move the crew back on board, according to a Navy spokesperson.

Several crew members tested positive for the novel coronavirus on May 23, at Carter Hall’s homeport, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia, as the ship prepared for duty as a standby surge force for this year’s Atlantic Coast hurricane season. Under Defense Department policy, the Navy does not report the number of COVID-19 cases detected on specific ships and other units.

Most of the approximately 400 Sailors and Marines assigned to the ship were moved ashore to barracks or hotel rooms at Navy installations in the Norfolk, Virginia, area, according to Lt. Commander Amelia Umayam, a U.S. Fleet Forces Command spokesperson. A portion of the crew remained on board to perform cleaning, maintenance and in-port watchstanding duties.

“The crew has been monitored by medical personnel and are receiving care as necessary. No Carter Hall crewmembers have been admitted to the hospital,” Umayam said in an emailed statement June 9.

She declined to discuss a specific timeline for restoring the Carter Hall to duty but noted “the ship has been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, and we plan to move the crew back aboard the ship as soon as possible.”

While ashore, crew members are being checked daily by their leadership and receiving deliveries of food and essential items. The entire crew, as well as the Marines assigned to the 609-foot, 16,700-ton Carter Hall, have been tested for COVID-19, she said. In addition to crew members, the Carter Hall can carry a complement of 400 Marines and two air cushion landing craft.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy is starting to see results from laws, policies and processes that make career progression more flexible and more accommodating to education, and the sea service is liking what it sees, the Navy’s deputy chief of personnel said. 

New provisions in law enacted in 2019 that allow personnel to interrupt their careers for such activities as advancing their education are bearing fruit, Rear Adm. Jeffrey W. Hughes, deputy chief of naval personnel, said June 8, speaking during a webinar sponsored by #NatSecGirlSquad, an organization that “builds and supports competent diversity in national security and defense through its professional development community and strategic advisory services,” its website says. 

Hughes cited an example of an officer eligible for promotion with a “compelling reason” — such as pursuit of an advanced degree — could defer consideration by a promotion board so that the officer was not disadvantaged by being behind his peer group in career progression. 

An officer who, for example, pursued a master’s degree for two years immediately after commissioning normally would be two years behind his year group in achieving career milestones in the fleet. By being able to defer promotion consideration at the normal milestones, the officer could compete for promotion with officers originally commissioned two years later. The same could apply to an officer who pursued advanced education mid-career.  

“This has been incredibly powerful,” Hughes said. “The first time we’ve used it is this past year. We have had seven people that have used it, and all seven of them were for in-residence graduate education at various levels, some right out of their commissioning source, some who took advantage of an opportunity at a high-end civilian institution, and some who were in residence at brick-and-mortar establishments such as the Naval War College or [Naval] Postgraduate School.”  

Hughes said that the Navy also has seen great value in a “career intermission program going for a number of years,” describing it as a “two-or three-year off ramp.” 

He said it “was not necessarily education-based but that probably more than half of the folks who take us up on this career intermission program are doing it so they can pursue education.” 

Sailors using the career intermission program transfer to the Individual Ready Reserve for two years while taking a pay cut but retaining full medical benefits and funds for making the change-of-station move. 

Hughes said the career intermission program has been used by many participants for pursuing advanced degrees or gaining the education that leads to commissioning as an officer. 

“We freeze them in time so that when they come back [to the Navy] they are not at a disadvantage from a promotion or advancement perspective,” he said. “Frankly, the numbers have been compelling. For the hundreds of folks that have taken us up on this [program] and come back, the promotion and advancement rates are in the high 90s [in percentage].”   

“We see a great return on investment,” he said, for the Navy and the individual Sailor.    

Hughes also said that educational incentives are proving to be powerful than monetary incentives in retention of Sailors, such as sending a Sailor on a demanding assignment overseas and rewarding the sacrifice with an educational opportunity afterward. 

ATLANTIC OCEAN — With Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 embarked, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) logged significant milestones this week during post-delivery test and trials (PDT&T) operations at sea, the ship’s public affairs department said in a June 7 release. 

During Ford’s largest aircraft embark to date, CVW-8 completed critical milestones on the first-in-class ship, testing secure communications and tactical data links, supporting the use of network-enabled weapons, combined fixed- and rotary-wing close air support integration and SIMDIS, a multi-dimensional interactive graphical and video display to playback large events for debriefs. 

Underway, CVW-8 conducted day and night cyclic flight operations totaling 324 catapult launches and arrested landings, qualifying 50 pilots, including Ford’s commanding officer, Capt. J.J. Cummings. To date, Ford has conducted 3,480 catapult launches and arrested landings with the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) and advanced arresting gear. Additionally, during this execution of cyclic flight operations with CVW-8, Ford moved thousands of pounds of inert ordnance via advanced weapons elevators to F/A-18 Super Hornets, employed during close air support and air-to-ground training missions. Executing cyclic operations and arming aircraft with bombs from the ship’s magazines were firsts for the team. 

The air wing’s embark provided the first opportunity for Ford’s weapons department to execute a full ordnance movement using a lower stage weapons elevator. Performing as advertised, Ford’s AWEs conducted more than 1,300 cycles during this latest at sea period that enabled the successful transfer of 176 inert bombs in support of air wing operations. Ford’s AWEs have conducted over 10,000 cycles to date. 

Commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12 also embarked Ford during this underway, marking the first time a Strike Group Commander and staff embarked Ford for operations. CSG-12 was able to successfully conduct all intended command and control operations, control and distribute the link picture, and coordinate with Ford and Truman Strike Group assets as well as higher headquarters. Rear Adm. Craig Clapperton, commander, CSG 12, assessed that the Strike Group and ship are ahead of schedule in this important command and control domain. 

Clapperton emphasized that this PDT&T phase is all about operating Ford systems with fleet operators and discovering anomalies and working solutions. These solutions will be key to ensuring that when Ford enters the fleet after operational testing, the ship is ready to support the war fighter.  

For example, on June 2, just prior to a scheduled flight deck operation cycle, the ship’s EMALS went down. Loss of EMALS curtailed flight operations to some extent, but the strike group, ship and air wing team still accomplished significant goals scheduled for the Ford-class aircraft carrier, according to the release. 

After several days of troubleshooting and assessing a fault in the launch system’s power handling elements, embarked EMALS experts and Ford’s crew restored the system to enable the safe fly-off of the air wing on Sunday morning, June 7.  

“The ship’s response to these EMALS challenges underscores our ability to identify and to correct issues impacting flight operations quickly. That’s the purpose of the PDT&T phase,” said Clapperton. “The learning and improvement that results from pushing the systems will make the ship and air wing team better and more effective in future underway events.” 

PACIFIC OCEAN — The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is underway, serving as America’s strongest symbol of resolve and navigating the global pandemic as its mission endures, in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific, the commander, Task Force 70 said in a June 8 release. 

This deployment marks USS Ronald Reagan’s (CVN 76) fifth year of service as part of U.S. forward-deployed naval forces. Reagan, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15 represent the cornerstone of the strike group. 

Following sea trials, Reagan commenced deployment by on-loading more than 1,000 tons of ordnance – enough combat power to cause the ship to sit five-inches lower on the waterline – in addition to personnel and aircraft from aviation squadrons within CVW-5. With more than 5,000 crew embarked, and 60-plus aircraft, Reagan is capable of sustaining around-the-clock maritime operations. 

While underway, the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group will work alongside allies and partners to strengthen regional capabilities, further develop warfighting concepts and improve distributed maritime operations that provide layered defense options to protect shared interests. 

The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of the Indo-Pacific region.  

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The U.S. Navy completed the first captive carry flight test of an Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER) missile on an F/A-18 Super Hornet on June 1 at the Patuxent River test range, Naval Air Systems Command said in a release. 

During the test, the F/A-18 Super Hornet conducted a series of aerial maneuvers to evaluate integration and structural characteristics of the AARGM-ER. Test points were completed across a range of flight conditions to demonstrate carriage compatibility of AARGM-ER with the F/A-18 Super Hornet.  

“This first flight represents a significant step in the AARGM-ER engineering and manufacturing development phase,” said Capt. Mitch Commerford, who oversees the Direct and Time Sensitive Strike program office (PMA-242). “Data collected from this testing will inform the planned build-up and overall expansion of flight testing with AARGM-ER.” 

Testing will continue over the next few years in preparation for initial operational capability in fiscal year 2023, he said. 

The extended range variant, which leverages the AARGM program that is currently in full rate production, has been upgraded with a new rocket motor and warhead. It will provide advanced capability to detect and engage enemy air defense systems. 

AARGM-ER is being integrated on the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G and will also be compatible for integration on the F-35A/B/C. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Defense Secretary Mark Esper has directed that U.S. military personnel assignments in some Middle East countries be unaccompanied, with families now in place ordered gradually withdrawn by 2022. The Pentagon policy, however, does not affect U.S. Navy crews forward-deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain, a Navy official said. 

In a June 2 announcement, Esper directed that tours under control of combatant commanders in the Arabian Peninsula and Iraq be unaccompanied and set at 12 months — except for Navy personnel in Bahrain, whose tour lengths will be 18 months. Families in Bahrain will be withdrawn as tours end, with withdrawal completed by August 2022. 

“This step is a byproduct of the department’s continuous reassessment of personnel policies worldwide, not just in the Middle East,” the announcement’s fact sheet said. “It is intended to ensure the operational readiness and deployment flexibility of U.S. forces’ mission support to operations in the region. A gradual drawdown of personnel will ensure mission-critical elements of the force continue to execute training and operations in the region with little disruption.” 

“Over the next two years, DoD military personnel who fall under Title 10 authority will transition to one-year unaccompanied tours, with some exceptions,” the fact sheet said. “This will be a gradual drawdown of dependents over two years as people regularly rotate in and attrite out of duty assignment in the Arabian Peninsula.” 

In a June 3 e-mail response to Seapower, Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, a spokeswoman for commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, and commander, U.S. 5th Fleet, said that the policy change would affect Navy personnel on shore duty in Bahrain but not the crews of the ships forward-deployed there. 

The crew members of the 10 coastal patrol ships and four mine-countermeasures ships operating from Bahrain already serve 18-month unaccompanied tours. The civilian mariners assigned to the expeditionary base ship USS Lewis B. Puller and other ships of the Military Sealift Command already serve unaccompanied tours and are not entitled to dependents in Bahrain. 

U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat crews of the Patrol Force Southwest Asia based in Bahrain also are rotational. 

Rebarich said that the “policy does not impact DoD civilians” and that sponsored U.S. military dependents currently in the region will be able to remain through the end of [their] sponsors’ tour and the Bahrain school will remain open.” 

“The change will not hinder deployed U.S. forces and capabilities to support missions, trainings and operations in the region, especially for U.S. 5th Fleet,” she said. “The Kingdom of Bahrain has been a gracious host to U.S. 5th Fleet for three decades. The U.S. Navy appreciates the support of our friendship and partnership with Bahrain.”

SAN DIEGO — More than 3,000 catapult launches and landings using the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) have been completed aboard USS Gerald R. Ford, said the systems’ manufacturer, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS). 

The milestone is significant for the carrier and its crew, as the Navy moves toward a goal of 8,000 launches and landings at sea scheduled through the end of 2020. 

“EMALS and AAG continue to perform as expected as the ship ramps up evolutions towards achieving combat operational readiness,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “Both systems’ capabilities are being rigorously exercised to meet the daily objectives for cats and traps in support of the various squadrons undergoing carrier qualification and training aboard CVN 78. In addition to marking the 3,000 milestone, on May 19, the ship performed 167 successful launches and recoveries in a single day, breaking the previous record of 135.”  

“Since January, CVN 78 has multiplied the total expected number of launch and landing evolutions by a factor of four,” Rolf Ziesing, vice president of programs at GA-EMS, added. “We’ve seen EMALS and AAG put through the paces day and night on CVN 78, utilizing a range of aircraft, including F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes, C-2A Greyhounds, EA-18G Growlers and T-45C Goshawks.”  

GA-EMS is building the launch and landing systems for two future carriers, USS John F. Kennedy and USS Enterprise. Cost savings are realized through multiple ship production contracts, which minimize production gaps while maximizing planning, scheduling and delivery to support all three Ford-class carriers.