Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) fully integrates Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12 as a cohesive, multi-mission fighting force to test the strike group’s ability to carry out sustained combat operations. Knowing where we might go on deployment and what we’d be likely to find there, this is our last chance to practice before we play for keeps.
But how did we get here? COMPTUEX preparation started the very day we returned from our 2023 deployment. Since then, the clock was counting down until the time Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group (GRFCSG) was back in the fight.
The first step: get the equipment back in working order after a long mission, ASAP.
“We learned a lot on our last deployment, and we took the opportunities during an extended maintenance phase to improve our software, our hardware, our procedures, and the way that we operate our equipment,” said GERALD R. FORD’s Commanding Officer, Capt. Rick Burgess.
While the maintenance days may have felt long, the months were short in terms of the amount of time the Wolverines had to prepare. GERALD R. FORD completed a successful CIA (Carrier Incremental Availability) to accomplish the larger maintenance jobs, like resurfacing the flight deck and repairing systems in the hangar bay, and upgrading equipment and spaces to make the ship both more effective and more habitable.
The next step: train the crew to use the ship to maximum effect.
Knowing that most of the Wolverines from the previous deployment would move on before this next mission, passing on lessons learned from deployment and getting new personnel spun up on GERALD R. FORD’s unique systems and technology became a key strategic pillar for a successful work-up cycle. Much of the credit for GERALD R. FORD’s success in the simulated combat we’re seeing today goes to those who mastered the ship before us.
“The easiest thing is doing what we know how to do, and the hardest thing is incorporating the people who aren’t used to how we do things,” said Fire Controlman 1st Class Trenton Cadwell. “We’ll take insight from what other divisions and squadrons recommend and give them insight on what we recommend so we come to a middle ground and everything goes smoothly.”
Finally, the ultimate step: put it all to the test.
From the end of summer to this spring, GERALD R. FORD pulled in and out of port for various underways, spanning several days to several weeks in length. Whether we were alone or accompanied by guided-missile destroyers from Destroyer Squadron 2, these mini-voyages served to try out our equipment and processes in the run-up to COMPTUEX.
Those tests included trapping more than 100 aircraft in a day for our Flight Deck Certification, recovering dummies from the middle of the ocean in a matter of minutes for a Search and Rescue qualification, and using Hollywood-esque special effects to simulate critical equipment casualties for the Total Ship Survivability Trial (TSST).
Needless to say, GERALD R. FORD conquered every step of the process. The crew demonstrated expert knowledge and capability, and accomplished increasingly difficult missions one after the other. To use a sports analogy, we advanced through the playoffs. Now we’re in the Super Bowl.
“COMPTUEX is different from other Navy training exercises because it’s faster paced, so the exercises and training we’ve done beforehand come into play,” said Lt. Samuel Perez, the communications officer assigned to the “Spartans” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 70. “The mission planning is quicker, and they expect us to know what we’re doing quicker so that we’re ready on deployment for the real thing.”
COMPTUEX is an all-out battle. Like Battle Stations at boot camp and Hell Week at SEAL training, it is engineered to test mind, body, and character by replicating how the Sailors who preceded us fought and sacrificed, won and lost, survived and fell.
With cutting-edge training technology, every movement, every keystroke, every operation is monitored and recorded to evaluate efficiency. Scenarios are adapted in real-time to expose potential weaknesses and create unpredictable and dynamic situations. Upon successful completion of COMPTUEX, a carrier strike group is considered ready to win in the most arduous combat in the world.
This underway is already noticeably different from those before it. Heads of Department and Senior Officers are randomly asked questions at their daily meetings to check for full awareness and knowledge of the situation and mission. Other real ships, aircraft, and drones came from all over the Atlantic to pretend to be our enemies for the next month. Personal Electronic Device Control and Emissions Control statuses fluctuate as they would to keep us safe from enemies close by.
The world is watching to see if the GRFCSG can defend itself from adversaries that would do harm to us and our homeland. Our adversaries are watching to see if they can get away with doing that harm on our watch.
The Navy considers this the most potent combat unit at its disposal, and expects nothing short of success from the caliber of Sailors and ships involved. Fortunately, this carrier strike group’s greatest strength is its personnel.
“I’ve met some incredible people on this ship, and being that our ship has won the prestigious Battenburg Cup Award for the entire fleet, I have the utmost faith that we will execute the mission and get the job done,” said Air Traffic Controller 1st Class Spencer George.
Subscribe
