American Legion Boys State: A week that shapes a lifetime

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower 2018 Change of Command Ceremony

Life Aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower - Work and Play

What's Up:Carrier Strike Group Deploys to Atlantic Doubletime

A powerful flotilla of US Navy and Royal Danish Navy assets,the USS Eisenhower (CVN 69) and  Carrier Strike Group 10 (CSG 10),were deployed in the U.S. 2nd Fleet AOR (the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic) on 20 February 2020.The deployment occurred immediately the Eisenhower,"the Mighty Ike",completed its COMPTUEX (Composite Unit Training Exercise) with NATO Allies France,Canada and Denmark,who each contributed a frigate to the COMPTUEX.
The COMPTUEX certifies that a CSG is ready to deploy and conduct the full range of maritime operations,including warfighting,following a maintenance period (the Eisenhower had an extended maintenance period of 18 months,versus the normal six months).Normally,the CSG will visit its home port-in this case Norfolk,Virginia-after the COMPTUEX to say goodbye before deployment.The abrupt departure this time is being seen as an example of the US Navy's new Dynamic Force Employment (DFE) strategy,which is basically an unpredictability intended to demonstrate the Navy's flexibility to our adversaries.The strategy was first executed in 2018,when the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and its CSG conducted back-to-back deployments.At that time,ADM James G. Foggo III,commander US Naval Forces Europe and Africa and Allied Joint Forces Command Naples,noted that:
The National Defense Strategy makes clear that we must be operationally unpredictable to our long-term strategic adversaries,while upholding our commitments to our allies and partners.*
According to RDL Paul Schlise,commander,CSG 10:
Carrier Strike Groups are visible and powerful symbols of US resolve to our allies and partners,and possess the flexibility and sustainability to fight major wars and ensure the freedom of the seas.*
RDL Schlise is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm (Iraq) and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan).Commissioned through Marquette University's ROTC program,RDL Schlise earned a Matser's degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College.His decorations include the Legion of Merit;Defense Meritorious Service Medal;Navy Commendation Medal;and Navy Achievement Medal.*
CSG 10 includes Carrier Air Wing 3 and its nine fixed wing and helicopter squadrons and detachments;
two guided-missile cruisers;
Destroyer Squadron 26 (three guided-missile destroyers plus the Royal Danish Navy frigate Iver Huitfeldt (F361);
and possibly an undisclosed submarine.*
Commanding officer of the USS Eisenhower is CAPT Kyle Higgins.*

Noon Meal Formation - official video,USNA Public Affairs Office

IKE Deploys Upon Completion of Training - 20 February 2020

Rifle Designed for Aircrew Ejecting in Hostile Regions Delivered to the Air Force | Military.com

Rifle Designed for Aircrew Ejecting in Hostile Regions Delivered to the Air Force | Military.com: Air Force gunsmiths completed delivery of an M4-style carbine designed to break down to fit under most pilot ejection seats.

AFSOC Airmen Set Up FARP For F-22 Raptors - Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson,Alaska finds Air Force Special Operations Command Airmen setting up refueling points for F-22 Raptors in the austere conditions of January 2020

Arctic Edge 20:Preparing North America for Advanced Threats

On 13 February 2020,General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy,US Air Force,commander of US NORTHCOM and NORAD,read a statement before the Senate Armed Services Committee.It was a chilling account of what our totalitarian adversaries have been doing recently to degrade American power and leadership in the 21st century:
However,our key adversaries watched and learned,invested in capabilities to offset our strengths while exploiting our weaknesses,and have demonstrated patterns of behavior that indicate they currently have the capability,capacity,and intent to hold our homeland at significant risk below the threshold of nuclear war.This is emboldening competitors and adversaries to challenge us at home,holding at risk our people,our critical infrastructure,and our ability to project power forward.
The threats facing our nation are real and significant.The Arctic is no longer a fortress wall,our oceans are no longer protective moats;they are now avenues of approach for advanced conventional weapons and the platforms that carry them.Our adversaries' capability to directly attack the homeland has leapt forward,and they are engaged in concerted efforts to weaken our national technological,economic,and strategic advantage.*
The strategic threat to the homeland has entered a new era.Key adversaries Russia and China have deployed and continue to advance a range of capabilities with nuclear,conventional,and cyberspace weapons,believing it to be an effective means of offsetting Western military advantages and limiting our options in a crisis.*
Hence the upcoming NORAD/NORTHCOM Exercise Arctic Edge 20 could not be more welcome than it is now.This biannual,bi-national joint training exercise with the Canadian Armed Forces from 24 February-6 March 2020 will range across Alaska,providing high quality and effective training in the extreme cold-weather conditions found in the Arctic,a press release stated.AE 20 will be the largest joint exercise to be staged in Alaska this year.About 1,000 US personnel from all the Armed Forces will participate.NORAD and NORTHCOM will contribute complimentary,multi-domain capabilities toward the defence of the US and Canada.
What is more,AE 20 will be linked to the National Guard's Arctic Eagle exercise and the US Navy's Ice Exercise (ICEX),the press release stated.All these drills will take place from February-March 2020 in order to prepare Arctic-capable forces across all domains of warfighting.Members of the Canadian Joint Operations Command are expected to participate in the preparation and testing of the joint military forces' ability to operate tactically in the extreme and austere Arctic environments.

Orion Spacecraft for Artemis I transported to NASA’s Plum Brook Station

NATO Secretary General, North Atlantic Council at Defence Ministers Meet...

What $600 Million Looks Like: We Caught a Glimpse of the US Air Force’s ...

U.S. Army Begins Movement for Europe's Largest Exercise - 28 January 2020

US,Greece and France Wrap Up Eastern Mediterranean Wargames

Exercise Alexander the Great 2020 was conducted from 27 January to 8 February by the US Marine Corps with the Hellenic and French Armed Forces.AG 2020 involved integrated battalion-level command and control drills,plus company/platoon-level combined arms training to increase interoperability;reassure Allies and Partners;improve readiness;reinforce relations;and improve the ability to deploy alongside partnered forces.Larissa Airfield,Greece was a logistics center for the exercise.*
France provided the aircraft carrier Dixmude for AG 2020,which embarks up to 19 NH90 helicopters and 100 armoured vehicles.US and Greek forces also contributed Apache and Blackhawk helos,with the US drawing from its contingent based at Stefanovikio Army Air Base near Volos,Greece.*
The culminating drill of AG 2020 was a joint effort to recapture part of the Greek island of Spyros from the hypothetical enemy.AG 2020 meshed perfectly with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' desire to draw closer to the US and Europe.Along those lines,the Greek Parliament has just ratified the Defence Cooperation Agreement with the US,which grants the US access to several facilities for training,refueling,maintenance,storage and crisis response,including access to the strategic port of Alexandroupolis,a Balkans and Black Sea gateway for the US and its NATO Allies.*
US Marines from the 2nd Marine Regiment,2nd Marine Division partnered with Greek Marines from the 32nd Marine Brigade,1st Division during AG 2020.*

Two Green Berets Killed in Afghanistan Battle Identified

Two members of the US Army Special Forces (Green Berets) died in a firefight in Sherzad District of Nangarhar Province in Eastern Afghanistan on 8 February 2020,the US Army said.The battle began when a person in an Afghan uniform opened fire on US and Afghan forces with a machine gun.Six other US troops were injured;while the Afghan Defence Ministry said one Afghan National Army Soldier was also killed and three others wounded in the battle.It isn't known whether the assailant,who was killed,was a member of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces or an infiltrator;the investigation continues.*
Those killed in action were SFC Javier J. Gutierrez,28,of San Antonio,Texas and SFC Antonio Rodriguez,28,of Las Cruces,New Mexico.The loss of the Green Berets brings the total combat deaths of US service members in Afghanistan in 2020 up to four.No one has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.It started as a key-leader engagement was dispersing.*
Both US troops were members of 3rd Battalion,7th Special Forces Group (Airborne),out of Eglin Air Force Base,Florida.They were posthumously promoted from Staff Sergeant and awarded the Purple Heart Medal.
SFC Gutierrez had previously served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster and the Army Achievement Medal.SFC Rodriguez had earned his Ranger tab and served with 3rd Battalion,75th Ranger Regiment before re-classifying as a Cryptologic Linguist (Spanish) with the Special Forces.He had completed a total of ten deployments to Afghanistan,eight of them with the Ranger Regiment and two as a Green Beret.His awards included the Bronze Star Medal;Army Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster and the Army Achievement Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster.*
Let them be confounded and confused that are adversaries to my soul;let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt.
But I will hope continually,and will yet praise thee more and more.
-Psalm 71:13-14

Bulletin:US Casualties in Afghanistan Combat

US and Afghan forces came under fire while on a combat operation in Nangarhar Province,a US official said.There were unspecified US casualties in the Eastern Afghanistan province,which harbours both Taliban and Islamic State militants.No further details are available at this time.

U.S. Navy Destroyer Fires Its Weapons - USS Paul Hamilton (DDG-60)

From Seabed to Space:U.S. 2nd Fleet Update

On 4 February 2020,US Navy VADM Andrew "Woody" Lewis,commander U.S. 2nd Fleet and NATO Joint Force Command Norfolk,gave an update on the U.S. 2nd Fleet at full operational capability to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington,DC.Here are some excerpts from his statement:
We're at the right place-and not just at the right time;but all the time.*
But the Atlantic is a battlespace that cannot be ignored.Our new reality is,when our Sailors cast lines and set sail,they can expect to be operating in a contested space once they leave Norfolk.We are seeing an ever-increasing number of Russian submarines deploying in the Atlantic-and these submarines are more capable than ever,deploying for longer periods of time,and with more lethal weapons systems.
Russia has returned to Soviet era outposts;it has built new military facilities in the Arctic Circle.Russia has even built an icebreaker that can carry the extended-range Kalibr missile.As such,our ships can no longer expect to operate in a safe haven on the East Coast,or merely cross the Atlantic to operate in another location...Our Sailors have the mindset that we are no longer uncontested,and should expect to operate alongside our competitors each and every underway.We have seen some of our ships-the USS Mahan (DDG 72),for example,in the early stages of their training cycle,co-operating on station in the Atlantic with a Russian intelligence ship that was visiting our coastline late last year.Real world requirements do not discriminate.The intelligence ship did not care at what phase of training our ship was in,or if it had achieved its first certification to deploy.As ADM Foggo  has stated in the past,we are in the Fourth Battle of the Atlantic,and we need to be prepared to operate at the high end alongside our Allies,Partners and adversaries alike as soon as we are underway.*
The US and NATO have answered the call by increasing our naval presence across the theatre,and increasing our exercises and operations with our Allies and Partners;but in order to encourage responsible behaviour by all,we must operate and engage from a position of strength.To do so,we must engage and conduct operations forward more deliberately,more strategically,and with more forethought.The US Navy through forward presence power projects in a technological advantage as the epitome of demonstrating resolve and capability,in the service of conflict prevention and deterrence.*
Every fleet commander wants more ships in their area of focus,and while our service leaders are building up the fleet,our reality is,we need to compete with what we currently have built and are manned for today.So we must prioritise learning as a strategic advantage.The influence of sea power in today's global commerce goes beyond anything we have seen in our history.Compounding the importance of the maritime with today's distributed battlespace and information warfare,we have our work cut out for us.The maritime isn't defined as merely what floats on or below it;but rather the battlespace from seabed to space-and that includes space,cyber,and information domain.*
Our adversaries are learning,too.If we were to look at how great power competition will be driven,it will be driven as much by investment in grey matter as in grey hulls.The gap that we'll have on a technological basis-weapons systems-will not be that great.It's how we fight.It's going to be our mindset approach that's going to give us our lead.
As a fleet commander,I am tasked with the development of our naval forces.So at 2nd Fleet,we are focused on operational learning.We're doing this through fleet battle problems;participation in exercises like the large-scale upcoming exercise Defender Europe 2020;and increased operations with our Allies and Partners.We are planning operations and exercises that will challenge our assumptions and test our hypotheses.And we are learning.This will only be accomplished by mission command,assuming the risk up high in the chain of command.*
We learned early on that relying on Allies and Partners in the new Atlantic-Arctic battlespace would be key to confronting future threats.To that end,2nd Fleet has taken the uncommon step of integrating Allied officers directly into the Fleet staff.Chief among the five foreign officers serving on the staff is Canadian Rear Admiral Steve Waddell,serving as my vice-commander...They are our planners,our logisticians,and our operators.Having perspectives from other nations is invaluable,and provides immeasurable insight and expertise.With a shared commander,mission and geography,2nd Fleet and NATO JFCN are natural partners.As JFCN starts to mature,on its way to full operational capability next year,we will seek to develop an innovative and collaborative effort between the two commands.Co-location in the same building;alignment of battle rhythms;and staff integration where possible are just some of the things that will enable us to do more for the mission,whether it's the one given to us by the US leadership,or the one given to us by the 29 Allies of NATO.*