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NORFOLK, Va. – Amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) returned to homeport after completing Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), Aug. 7.
COMPTUEX consists of multiple and various training scenarios designed to evaluate and certify that an Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) is ready to deploy as a unit.
Kearsarge participated in COMPTUEX with the rest of the Kearsarge ARG, which includes Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 4, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (26 MEU), the amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24) and the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51).
Rear Adm. Richard Butler, Commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 4, embarked Kearsarge during COMPTUEX leading the assessment team and said it was a challenging exercise that requires a lot of coordination, planning and people.
“I have complete confidence that the Kearsarge will represent the U.S. Navy and the United States of America well on your upcoming deployment overseas,” said Butler. “I would like to wish the crew all the best.”
Butler said contributors to the exercise include CSG-4, the Expeditionary Operational Training Group (EOTG), Marines from Camp Lejeune, crew members from Kearsarge and other ships in the ARG, as well as people from Norfolk and up and down the East Coast.
“We set up the scenarios and role players,” said Butler. “Out here on the water, we get a lot of Opposition Force, OPFOR we call it, in terms of surface ships and aircraft. That involves a lot of folks.”
Sailors from Kearsarge underwent three weeks of warfare scenarios, including simulated engagements from surface, air and undersea, as well as electronic attacks, maritime security operations, live-fire evolutions and strike group formations.
Butler said the goal was to test everybody in all different areas and mentioned an amphibious assault exercise specifically to illustrate how it was accomplished.
“That gives everybody down in the well deck, who are part of the operation, a chance to demonstrate their skill and their ability in their particular area,” said Butler. “We had a lot of OPFOR aircraft come out, and we had a lot of AICs (Air Intercept Controllers) who had a chance to demonstrate their radar skills and how well they can talk on the radio. They all did well.”
Surface OPFOR played a part in COMPTUEX as well, in the form of small boat attacks.
“There are a whole lot of people placed around the ship that have to talk to each other and coordinate to be able to assess whether or not those boats mean us harm,” said Butler. “The one particular thing that is common across all the different divisions and the different jobs on the Kearsarge is that nobody can do their job in isolation. There has to be communication because everything is impacted by what’s going on around them.”
While COMPTUEX is not a traditionally graded exercise, performance is reported to Fleet Forces Command in terms of meeting or exceeding standards. That recommendation determines whether an ARG is certified to deploy.
Butler said the Kearsarge did very well, especially Capt. David Bossert, Kearsarge commanding officer, saying that his enthusiasm was infectious.
“The enthusiasm of the crew was evident,” said Butler. “Capt. Bossert kept the crew very well engaged with what was going on. That was a particularly strong point. It’s a good technique on his part. Kearsarge did great.”
Butler had some final words for the Kearsarge crew before his departure.
“You’re going on deployment in a time of particular uncertainty, so you’ve got to be ready to be able to do everything,” said Butler. “We tried to expose Kearsarge to different mission sets, so that if something does pop up out there, you’ll be able to handle it. I have no doubt that between the Kearsarge, the other ships in the ARG and the MEU that you’ll be able to do that.”
Kearsarge is scheduled to deploy later this fall to provide overseas forward presence and maintain maritime security to the 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility (AOR).
| Date Taken: | 08.07.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 08.10.2015 10:48 |
| Story ID: | 172643 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 76 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Kearsarge completes COMPTUEX, Butler: ‘Kearsarge did great’, by Aren Everett, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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