Tripoli’s Hidden Sailors

SOUTH CHINA SEA

10.18.2022

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Sypert 

USS Tripoli (LHA 7)

Tripoli’s Hidden Sailors
Story by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Christopher Sypert
USS Tripoli Public Affairs

SOUTH CHINA SEA – On an amphibious assault carrier such as USS Tripoli (LHA 7), some jobs are inherently more visible than others. Sailors in Air Department can be found on the flight deck in broad daylight working with aircraft while Sailors in Supply Department can be found working in the galley or other high-traffic areas. However, Sailors in Operations Department often work in secured spaces the rest of the crew might never see.
Tripoli’s Operations Department is comprised of several divisions, each providing important information to Tripoli’s leadership as well as embarked staff.
“We are responsible for coordinating Tripoli’s underway operations and cooperation with other deployed units,” said Intelligence Specialist 1st Class Timothy Weiermann, Operations Department leading petty officer. “In the grand scheme of things, “OPS” is charged with maintaining situational awareness of our operational picture and providing indications, warnings, predictive analysis, and appropriate measured responses to ensure the safety of Tripoli.”
The Ship’s Signal Exploitation Space (SSES) is where Sailors use sophisticated equipment to intercept transmissions coming from surface and air contacts in Tripoli’s vicinity and interpret what they have collected.
“We are the ship’s eye in the sky,” said Cryptologic Technician (Collection) 2nd Class Tynajia Ford, one of Tripoli’s SSES supervisors. “We provide indications and warnings to the Combat Information Center (CIC), not only for situational awareness, but for precautionary measures as well.”
CIC is where Operations Specialists stand their underway watches. These Sailors are responsible for monitoring Tripoli’s radars which are constantly scanning for surface and air contacts.
“Working in CIC is really dynamic,” said Operations Specialist Seaman Muhammed Asif, a CIC watchstander. “Every day there are different things going on and to me that is the most exciting part of my job.”
All of the divisions in Operations provide their own important piece of the information warfare puzzle, and the Intelligence Specialists working in the Joint Intelligence Center (JIC) put all of those pieces together to present a clear picture to Tripoli’s leadership.
“We receive information from the various divisions in the department and assemble it into a briefing that we give to the commanding officer multiple times a week,” said Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class Ryan Constantine. “We also do threat briefs for the Wardroom and other divisions within Operations to provide a better understanding of our adversary’s capabilities and limitations.”
The information that the Intelligence Specialists brief to Tripoli’s leadership and the other Operations divisions allows the chain of command to understand the information landscape and how to respond to various situations.
“My favorite part of serving in Operations Department is being able to see what our actions and efforts are helping to accomplish,” said Weiermann. “It gives the daily grind a purpose and helps our Sailors work in pursuit of a common goal.”
Each department on a ship contributes to the mission in their own unique way. While some are more visible to the outside eye, that doesn’t mean there aren’t Sailors working tirelessly behind closed doors to keep the ship safe.
Tripoli is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
For more information about Tripoli, head to the command’s Facebook (www.facebook.com/usstripoli) and Instagram (www.instgram.com/officialusstripoli) pages.

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• Date Taken: 10.18.2022
• Date Posted: 10.18.2022 06:25
• Story ID: 431524
• Location: SOUTH CHINA SEA