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[PHILIPPINE SEA] – Sitting in Ready Room 3, Aviators listen intently during the safety brief. The ready room feels homey with personalized items throughout. The briefs are somehow informatively-formal, yet personal and professional. Of all the flight suits in the room, one stands out for having a different rank sewn on the shoulder.
“Everyone [in this room] has wanted to be a pilot since they were a kid,” said Lt. Fraser Nadin, a Royal Navy pilot. “My dad was a pilot, he used to fly for the Royal Navy. I’d say I’m the odd one out, I must have been 15 or 16 before I really made the push to become a pilot.”
Nadin finds himself as the odd one out once again, as the only Royal Navy pilot assigned to the “Golden Dragons” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 192. He is aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) as a Liaison Officer (LNO) courtesy of the Long Lead Specialist Program (LLSP).
“The whole point of me being [here] is that I’m a part of the LLSP working with the United States to get experience,” said Nadin. “We’ve got a number of squadrons that have British personnel in them. We get assigned here and the squadrons agree to take foreign pilots to train them to fly the F-18.”
Nadin said he learned a lot from his American counterparts in the Golden Dragons, and the biggest difference between both navies is the training he received.
“The greater amount of flight time you get in the U.S. gives you a lot more confidence in yourself and the jet,” said Nadin. “I’d like to remain on the F-18, and go back and teach. To go from VFA-192 to becoming a [replacement air group] instructor is my dream right now. It’ll keep me in the cockpit.”
LNOs like Nadin can serve a range of purposes to the fleet, from logisitics and planning to communication and training, with specialized skills or information to increase interoperability between our navies.
“LNOs come in a variety of flavors,” said Cmdr. Christopher Lindahl, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) ONE’s future operations officer. “[Lt. Nadin] is what’s called a PEP (personnel exchange program) LNO. For all our LNOs, the goal is to make sure everyone leaves a little enriched from the experience.”
Lindahl worked with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JSMDF) to host 11 LNOs aboard Vinson to help bridge communication during multinational exercises.
“There’s a lot of comms that need to flow from our ship to our partners, definitely when we’re trying to coordinate operations,” said Lindahl. “It’s helpful to have someone able to communicate to our partners what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Exchanging personnel between partner nations does more than just enhance communication during exercises. According to Cmdr. Daisuke Hayashi, assigned to JMSDF Escort Flotilla 1 staff, it is also a chance to exchange ideas and learn from your allies.
“Everyone [aboard Vinson] is smiling,” said Hayashi. “I would like to learn from the U.S. Navy how they deploy for long times and how their commanders keep Sailors motivated.”
Programs like these are designed to strengthen the bonds between partner nations and reinforce those relationships.
“In Japan, tomodachi means friend,” said Hayashi. “Right now, the U.S. Navy and Japan Self-Defense Forces are tomodachi. I hope to help make us shinyu, meaning close friends.”
| Date Taken: | 11.11.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 01.18.2024 03:32 |
| Story ID: | 461993 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 40 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Different Flavors of Liaison Officers- The Royal Navy and JMSDF: Vinson’s “Tomodachi”, by PO2 Terrin Hartman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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