CONTENTS:

 Membership

 Donation Form

 Photo Gallery

 Air Stations

 Reunions

 Special Articles

 Other Sites

 Contact Us

BULLHORN #20 

MEMBERSHIP SERVICES and CHANGE OF ADDRESS

Ann Burton, our Membership Coordinator is a truly busy lady – and her duties take sometimes prevent her from answering the phone to take your call.  When that happens, please just leave a voice message.  Remember, for routine issues, “snail mail” is always a very good way to get them to Ann.  Or, try email to her at anahqtr@aol.com.

We have had a number of queries about submitting a change of address.  The best way to get your change of address to us is via snail mail (SPS) or email to anahqtr@aol.com.  If you do it by email, it would help if you started the subject line with the name ANN – that’s a flag to Ann Burton, our Membership Coordinator.

CHANGE OF COMMAND

PATUXENT RIVER, MD - CAPT Mark “Stick” Converse, USN (Ret) has relieved CAPT Pat Gigliotti, USN (Ret) as the Commanding Officer of the Patuxent River squadron (Squadron #18).  Our many thanks to Pat who has worked very, very hard over many years to make PAX such an energetic squadron.

ANNAPOLIS, MD – CDR Jack Wallace, USNR has relieved CDR Frank Klein.

VFA-11 RED RIPPERS 80^TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION

15 – 17 August 2008     Oceana, VA

POC LTJG Derek "Jobu" Corbett  at derek.corbett@navy.mil

“CARRIER” – The PBS Special – STARTS Sunday 27 April

ALL HANDS are reminded that PBS will carry an 8-hour special called “CARRIER” – which looks at life aboard USS NIMITZ during a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf. CNO recently sent the following message to all Flag Officers and SESs:

NAVAL AVIATION MUSEUM FOUNDATION SYMPOSIUM ‘08

ANA will participate in the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation Symposium ’08, 7 (golf day), 8 and 9 May 08.  The Symposium is always a great event, full of very informative events all held in the most beautiful setting imaginable.  ANA will hold a membership meeting on Friday after the morning event – a great time to meet with our Headquarters leadership, learn what is happening in the New ANA and field whatever questions and concerns you may have.

Information on the Symposium can be found on the Museum opening page at

http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/  by clicking on “Register for Symposium” on the right-hand upper part of the Museum opening web page (right under the right-hand A-4).  That will take you to a Symposium information page at http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/getdoc/a5322efa-2eb2-4fe7-ac79-3379c049be2d/Symposium.aspx

The Symposium schedule is at http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/getdoc/090bd195-e18d-43ab-b3ea-88262ed8aa90/Symposium-07.aspx.

Naval Aviation Museum Foundation 2008 Symposium Schedule

CONTINUING EDUCATION – History

For a learned and interesting discussion of the French consideration of the F/A-18 HORNET for their Navy, go to 

http://frenchnavy.free.fr/projects/hornet/hornet.htm

Status of the Navy April 10, 2008

Navy Personnel

Active Duty:   332,251

Officers:   51,103

Enlisted:   276,801

Midshipmen:   4,347

Ready Reserve:   126,794 [As of 08 Feb]

Selected Reserves: 70,403

Individual Ready Reserve: 56,391

Reserves currently mobilized:   5,519 [As of 9 Apr]

Personnel on deployment:   69,593

Navy Department Civilian Employees:   178,739

Ships and Submarines

Deployable Battle Force Ships: 280

Ships Underway (away from homeport): 123 ships (44% of total)

On deployment: 114 ships (41% of total)

Attack submarines underway (away from homeport): 29 submarines (53%)

On deployment: 21 submarines (38%)

Ships Underway

Carriers:

USS Nimitz (CVN 68) - Philippine Sea

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) - Philippine Sea

USS George Washington (CVN 73) - Atlantic Ocean

USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) - 5th Fleet

Amphibious Warfare Ships:

USS Nassau (LHA 4) - Mediterranean Sea

USS Peleliu (LHA 5) - Pacific Ocean

USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) - Atlantic Ocean

Tarawa Expeditionary Strike Group:

USS Tarawa (LHA 1) - 5th Fleet

LOST AND FOUND

We have lost contact with the following members.  Every member is important!!  If anyone has information regarding their situation or whereabouts, please contact me at svwindmills@erols.com

Name	Full Name	Last Known Address
Atwood	Mr. Wallace Atwood	Wittmann, AZ
Baxter	LT William M. Baxter, USN	Honolulu, HI
Brooks	Mrs. Charles L. Brooks	New Orleans, LA
Burns	CAPT Richard H. Burns, USN (Ret)	San Diego, CA
Burns	CAPT David M. Burns, USN (Ret)	Camden, ME
Burns	Capt John A. Burns, USN (Ret)	Warren, ME
Convery	LT James J. Convery, III  USN	VF-151
Conway	CDR Michael Ray Conway, USN	San Diego
Dundas	CDR Geoffrey W. Dundas, USN	Kaneohe, HI
Heron	CDR Paul J. Heron, USN (Ret)	Camarillo, CA
Hyland	LCDR Joel Hyland, USN (Ret)	Port Orange, FL
Kellett	CDR John Kellett, USN (Ret)	Kaneohe Bay, HI
Lanham	Dr John Lanham	Muskego, WI
Lasker	CDR Lawrence J. Lasker, USN(Ret)	Hawaii
Lutche	CDR Michael W. Lutche, USN	Kailua, HI
Lynham	CDR Donald M. Lynham, USN (Ret)	Indiana
McDaniel	CDR Ronald A. McDaniel, USN	HC-4, FPO
Miller	Mr. Marvin Miller	Tampa, FL
Moreschi	LTJG John R. Moreschi, Jr, USN	Jacksonville, FL
Niedermair	LCDR Joseph Niedermair, USN	New Orleans, LA
Peterson	Mr. Bruce Peterson	Zephyrhills, FL
Phelps	Mr. Christopher Phelps	Kapolei, HI
Porter	COL Robert B. Porter, USMC (Ret)	Fresno, CA
Remington	LCDR Paul Remington, USN (Ret)	Smyrna, GA
Shurtleff	CAPT W. H. Shurtleff, USN (Ret)	Ewa Beach, HI
Sorensen	Ms Mary Sorensen	Tucson, AZ
Tillerton	Mr. George Titterton	Tarpon Springs, FL
Tower	LCDR Maury Tower , USN (Ret)	Virginia Beach, VA
Weisheit	MAJ Bowen P. Weisheit, USMC (Ret)	Bel Air, MD
Wilson	Mr. Michael P. Wilson	Honolulu, HI

USS MIDAY MUSEUM NEEDS HELP

Col Jerry J. Mitchell, USMC (RET) of the USS MIDWAY Museum is looking for the following officers who served on USS Oriskany in Viet Nam in 1965: CDR John W. Johnson, Air Boss.  From VAH-4 Det Golf:  LTJG Signorelli, I. A.,  LCDRTanner, J. t.,  LCDR Damen, T. A.,  LCDR Burkel, J. F.,  LTJG Norfleet, R. N. LTJG Borland, J. B., LT Bingham, T. F.  Please contact COL Mitchell via email at jmitch2895@san.rr.com or by phone at 619 429 0174.

Go NAVY!!  Its time for our high school seniors to get serious about post-graduation.  And its time that the juniors start looking for their follow-on education or other career choices.  The Navy web site has a lots of good information on career potentials, including college, at the Navy web site, http://www.navy.com/.  NROTC is featured at http://www.navy.com/careers/nrotc/.

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Commander 2nd Fleet Celebrates Women's History Month
Story Number: NNS080327-07
Release Date: 3/27/2008 12:17:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Tyler Wilson, Commander 2nd Fleet Public Affairs

NORFOLK (NNS) -- "Women's Art: Women's Vision" was the theme for Commander, 2nd Fleet's Women's History Month celebration held March 26 at the base chapel.
Guest speaker 2nd Fleet Deputy Commander, Rear Adm. Wendi B. Carpenter (Naval Aviator – biography is below the article – Dutch) told of the successes made by women not only in the Navy, but in the art community as well.
"It's important that we recognize the achievements of women in all facets of life - science, community, government, literature, art, sports and medicine," said Carpenter.
Carpenter also touched upon the fact that diversity is apparent in all aspects of the Navy.
"Our Navy is our people. People, and the diverse talents and skills they bring to their jobs, have been the key to the Navy's mission success for more than 230 years," she said.
Sailors from the command portrayed famous female artists such as Violet Oakley and Faith Reingold in the "'Who Am I?'" segment of the program, prompting audience involvement in guessing the names of the individuals they portrayed.
Second Fleet Communication Information Systems Director, Capt. Diane E. Webber provided closing remarks.
After thanking the participants and guests, Webber ended her speech with a quote from Helen Keller. "I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."
This year marks the 30th observance of women's history in the United States. It began as "Women's History Week" in 1978 and later changed to "Women's History Month" in 1987.

 

 

Rear Admiral Wendi B. Carpenter
Deputy Commander, Second Fleet

Rear Admiral Wendi Carpenter is the daughter of a career non-commissioned Air Force Officer (NCOIC) and was raised throughout the United States. She holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Georgia with a major in Psychology and has pursued graduate studies in Marketing.

Rear Adm. Carpenter began her naval career in October 1977, when she reported to Aviation Officer Candidate School, Naval Air Staiton (NAS) Pensacola, Fla., with Class 19-77. She was designated a Naval Aviator in July 1979 and was assigned as the Navy’s first Selectively Retained Graduate Instructor Pilot (SERGRAD) in the T-44 aircraft at Training Squadron (VT) 31, NAS Corpus Christi, Texas.

Following her tour as an instructor pilot, Rear Adm. Carpenter was ordered to sea duty at Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron (VQ) 3 (TACAMO), NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii, where she served as a Mission Commander and Aircraft Commander in the EC130F/G/Q aircraft. She deployed throughout the Pacific and the western U.S. and Alaska in support of the nation’s strategic nuclear triad.

After completing a shore assignment at the Naval Military Personnel Command as an Aviation Junior Officer Assignments Officer, Rear Adm. Carpenter left active duty and accepted a reserve commission in February 1985.

Rear Adm. Carpenter’s Reserve Unit Executive Officer assignments include Commander, Carrier Group 4 0466, Naval Air Facility Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces Europe (CINCUSNAVEUR) Joint Task Force Contingency Headquarters Unit DET 513, and Naval Reserve Commander, 6th Fleet DET 802.

Rear Adm. Carpenter’s Reserve Unit Commanding Officer assignments include Officer in Charge of VR 506 and CINCUSNAVEUR DET 108. Under her leadership as Commanding Officer of Reserve Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Fleet Readiness and Logistics (DCNO N4 106), the 75 member CNO staff unit shared the FY01 DON CIO Award for “E Business” in government. She also had a follow-on Commanding Officer tour with Naval Reserve Joint Force Air Component Commander  0186, assigned to Commander, 2nd Fleet.

Rear Adm. Carpenter's Flag assignments include: Deputy Commander of Navy Region Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla. from October 2004- September 2005, acting Director, OPNAV N31 (Information, Plans, Security Division) from April 2005-May 2005, and Vice Director, Standing Joint Forces HQ (SJFHQ), U.S. Joint Forces Command from December 2004-September 2006.

Rear Adm. Carpenter currently serves as Deputy Commander, 2nd Fleet.

Rear Adm. Carpenter’s awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (2 awards), Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (5 awards), Navy Achievement Medal, and various units awards. She has accumulated over 3500 military flight hours. Rear Adm. Carpenter is a distinguished graduate of the Naval War College Command and Staff College and completed Capstone with class 06-02. Additionally, she has completed executive programs and Reserve Component courses at the National Defense University, UNC Chapel Hill, and Defense Acquisition University.

Updated: 13 September 2007

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US Naval Institute Offers New Website

The US Naval Institute's new "Get the Gouge" website - Naval Slang for essential information - offers America's young servicemembers an edgy, modern, and up to the second resource for Insider Blogs, Combat Diaries, Interactive War Games, and Videos. The website is designed to encourage the free exchange of information among users not found on traditional military blogs and forums. Although the term 'gouge' is most often associated with the Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps, the site welcomes all Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Guardsman. Visit Get the Gouge   http://www.getthegouge.com/  to learn more.

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NEED SOME “GOUGE” ?

A top-level explanation of the carrier battle group is at

http://www.navy.mil/navydata/ships/carriers/powerhouse/cvbg.asp.  Each

of the ship silhouettes is a link to more detailed information, such as

for carriers at

http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=200&ct=4.

Information on the air wing is at

http://www.navy.mil/navydata/ships/carriers/powerhouse/airwing.asp. 

Again, the silhouettes are links to more information.

Information on the Expeditionary Group is at

http://www.navy.mil/navydata/navy_legacy_hr.asp?id=147

Just in case you have some real old barnacles at the presentation, a

full list of all USN carriers is at

http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/cv-list1.html.

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The DOD report, “Military Power of the People’s Republic of China”, A Report to Congress Pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act Fiscal Year 2000

Can be found as a .pdf file at http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/China_Military_Report_08.pdf

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Navy Faces ISR Deficit After P-3 Groundings

Aviation Week's DTI | Michael Bruno | March  2008

This article first appeared in Aerospace Daily & Defense Report.

The U.S. Navy's "deficit" in its P-3 maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft community has risen to a "significant" level after at least 39 P-3s, roughly a fourth of the service's family, have been grounded, according to Navy officials.

Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, told the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Feb. 28 that some aircraft were grounded due to wing cracks. In his remarks and prepared testimony, Roughead said the airborne ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) fleet's importance and high-operations tempo in Iraq operations, as well as traditional submarine-hunting missions, have stressed the aircraft and boosted the need to replace them more quickly.

"The recent groundings of high-demand P-3 aircraft highlight the need to bring the next generation of aircraft in service and retire our aging aircraft," Roughead said.

To that effect, the Navy has highlighted more than $548 million eyed for "critical maritime patrol improvements" as its top concern under the service's so-called unfunded fiscal 2009 programs list as recently delivered to Capitol Hill.

If provided by Congress, $384.1 million of that amount would go toward P-3 kit installations this fiscal year, which ends in September, along with another $312.2 in FY '09. Another $100 million would go toward accelerating P-8A Multimission Aircraft (MMA) research and development (R&D), minus an unidentified amount of funds already being transferred to MMA R&D via an existing Defense Department reprogramming effort.

Poseidon

The Boeing P-8A Poseidon is designed to replace legacy P-3C Orions and upgrade maritime patrol anti-submarine (ASW) and antisurface warfare, as well as armed ISR capabilities that reside in P-3 squadrons, for combat and theater security operations and homeland defense. According to the Navy, initial operational capability is expected in FY '13, while $1.1 billion is included in the regular FY '09 budget request announced Feb. 4.

According to the sea service's unfunded list, any additional funds for MMA R&D specifically would go to speed up testing ASW capabilities, leading to an accelerated low-rate-initial-production (LRIP) contract in the first quarter of FY '10.

"Funding P-3 wing crack kits in FY '08 and '09 while accelerating MMA LRIP helps bridge capability gaps in both the near and long term," the Navy said.

In testimony, the Navy stressed that despite "several" successes in delivering aircraft, such as the first E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, the high demand for air assets in Afghanistan and Iraq expended a "significant" portion of the "limited" service life remaining on EA-6B electronic attack aircraft, MH-60 multimission helicopters, F/A-18 C/D strike-fighter aircraft and P-3s.

"The accelerated depletion of service life could translate into aircraft shortfalls if the expended aircraft are not replaced," the service said.

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U.S. Navy Mulls New F/A-18E/F Buy

By philip ewing
Published: 5 Mar 16:48 EST (11:48 GMT)

The U.S. Navy is considering buying 69 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters to bridge a "strike-fighter gap" that commanders fear could imperil aviation readiness at a time when older jets are wearing out before new aircraft are ready to take their place, top service officials said March 5.

                                         Planners worry that many F/A-18E/F aircraft would be at
                                         the end of their service lives by about 2015. (MC3 Ricardo J. Reyes / U.S. Navy)

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, who appeared before a Senate panel with Navy Secretary Donald Winter and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway, mentioned the "fighter gap" in written testimony submitted to the Senate Appropriations Committee defense subcommittee, which convened to review the Department of the Navy's fiscal 2009 budget request.

After the hearing, Roughead said Navy planners worried that many of today's Super Hornets would be at the end of their service lives by about 2015, but their scheduled replacement, the F-35 Lighting II, might not be ready to fill the vacancies in carrier air wings. They also worried that the exiting fighters would wear out quicker than planned. Roughead said he doesn't know if the Navy would buy the existing E- or F-variants of the venerable fighter or if planners would be interested in a so-called "4.75 generation Hornet" with improved avionics that manufacturer Boeing has mentioned as an option for some defense clients.

"We're still a ways away from all that," Winter said.

The Navy is to be just one of many customers for the Lockheed Martin-built F-35, which also will be manufactured in two other versions for the Air Force and Marine Corps, as well as export versions for several countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. But it isn't the first future client to consider buying a batch of new Super Hornets as a stop-gap measure in case the F-35 doesn't enter the fleet on schedule: In 2006, Australia's defense ministry said it wanted to buy 24 F/A-18Es or Fs to be sure it had a reliable air defense capability until its first F-35s arrived.

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There has been a lot going on lately on the little island of Guam which we should all know about.  This article does a good job of setting history and bringing us up-to-date - Dutch

The island is the pivot of a sweeping realignment of US forces in the Pacific.

Guam, All Over Again

By Richard Halloran

Two days after Christmas 1972, the sky over Guam was black with B-52s returning from a massive raid on North Vietnam. One by one from the west came 78 of them, a minute or so apart, landing lights blazing, engines whining as they let down over the lagoon and then turned left to touch down at Andersen Air Force Base, from which they had launched 18 hours earlier.

Before, the BUFFs had been bombing South Vietnam in milk runs, usually in cells of three that laid down carpets of devastation 3,000 feet wide and 9,000 feet long. They rarely ran into opposition and their main enemy was boredom.

When the B-52s shifted to targets in North Vietnam for Operation Linebacker II, they used the same formations but flew into perhaps the thickest air defense assembled since World War II. Unlike in World War II, however, these air defenses were composed mostly of surface-to-air missiles. The US suffered heavy losses of crews and bombers.

During a stand-down on Christmas Day, Strategic Air Command and 8th Air Force decided to return to a principle of war: mass. A raid of 120 B-52s, 78 from Andersen and 42 from U Tapao AB, Thailand, was mounted during the night of Dec. 26. They overwhelmed North Vietnam’s defenses by striking 10 targets, with all bombing runs completed within 15 minutes.

It was the largest launch of B-52s in history. Having accomplished their mission with only two bombers lost—both from U Tapao—they returned to Andersen.

Today, Guam is being revived as a pivot point in a sweeping realignment of US forces in the Pacific and Asia. The island will be a centerpiece in the American response to 21st century national security threats—notably a potential adversary in China.

Until now, the deployment of air, naval, and ground forces to the island reflected decisions made from World War II through the Cold War. Command lines, in particular, had become encrusted and needed to be streamlined. So, too, did the deployment of forces. Simply put, after Vietnam, Andersen and Guam fell into a lull that some called a “sleepy hollow.”

Three times in subsequent years, however, the air base provided a haven. First it was for Vietnamese refugees, then for Americans fleeing from the Philippines after a volcanic eruption, and finally for Kurds from northern Iraq in 1996. Over those years, the island absorbed numerous typhoons and an earthquake.

Conceptual backing for Guam’s strategic rebirth has come from several military thinkers. Retired Army Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey recently wrote that the looming challenge to the US in the Pacific and Asia is “the legitimate and certain emergence of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] as a global economic and political power.”

McCaffrey said that China was acquiring “the military muscle to challenge and neutralize the deterrence capacity of the US Navy and Air Force in the broad reaches of the Pacific maritime frontier.” In addition, he wrote, “by 2020 we will face resurgent and expanding Russian Federation military power projection capacity as well as the likely emergence of other major maritime and air nuclear powers.”

A Frontline Base
Guam has thus once again been thrust into the front lines of the US security posture.

Missions from the island are evolving into four: Deterrence, warfighting, supporting anti-terrorist and anti-piracy operations, and humanitarian assistance.

Deterrence is aimed at China, with its swiftly expanding military power; at North Korea, which has long threatened to assault South Korea; and at Russia, which has been reasserting itself with unknown consequences.

If deterrence fails and hostilities break out, Guam will become a front-line base. “We will fight from here,” said Air Force Col. Joel S. Westa, vice commander of the 36th Wing at Andersen. The island’s benefits are clear: It is sovereign US territory, it is central to numerous possible flash points, it provides strategic depth, and it has space available for a military buildup.

Not so incidentally, Guam is also situated along what the Chinese call the “second island chain” to which the communist military intends to project air and sea power in the foreseeable future. That island chain is anchored in central Japan, passes through Guam, and extends into the South Pacific. (The first island chain passes from southern Japan through Taiwan into the South China Sea.)

A buildup of forces from all four military services on Guam over the next 10 years has the potential to cause a clash of cultures on the crowded island, however.

“The services have different cultures and approaches to doing business,” said Air Force Lt. Gen. Daniel P. Leaf, the deputy commander of US Pacific Command, who has been charged with overseeing the Guam buildup. “Those differences can cause a clash that is counterproductive, but we’re committed to building a compatible construct for co-located units.”

Accommodating this expansion of forces will require extensive construction, both on the existing bases and the civilian side of Guam. A master plan is under discussion within the military community there and between the military staff and the government of Guam. It is due to be completed in the spring of 2008 and to cover a period of 10 years.

A critical element will be protection from typhoons as Guam sits in a typhoon alley. Air Force officers said they would need 48 small, hardened hangars to house fighters against the weather. A large hangar for the Global Hawks and other large aircraft is under construction at a cost of $40 million. It is designed to withstand typhoon winds up to 170 mph and will be earthquake resistant. Bombers and tankers will not have new hangars but will necessarily be flushed to Kadena Air Base in Japan or to Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu before a typhoon strikes.

Officers said initially they planned hangars for deploying B-2s because their stealth characteristic required that they be housed when not flying. That requirement has gone away because new technology made that protection unnecessary.

Some of Andersen’s runways, known for the dip in the middle that makes a bomber almost disappear from sight before it climbs out and takes off, have been reinforced and others will be improved later.

The runways on the auxiliary Northwest Field, adjacent to the main base, still need to be resurfaced. PACOM has directed that Northwest Field be preserved with nothing built on it.

Facilities to support the Navy’s incoming fast-attack and cruise missile submarines are mostly in place, but the Apra Harbor must be dredged and maintenance shops built to service nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

It is the Marines Corps, thinking of 50 to 70 years on Guam, that will need to do the most work to accommodate a coming influx of 17,000 people. The bill for buildings, hangars, embarkation points, repair shops, housing, and moving costs is estimated to come to $10 billion, of which the Japanese government has pledged to pay 60 percent.

Marine Corps survey teams have identified several sites they could use. An area known as Andersen South has an old and not well-maintained housing area that could be used for training in house-to-house fighting. Two sites in the waist of the island could be used for maneuvers. Similarly, an old Navy ammunition storage area in the south might be used for small-arms training.

The Air Force already maintains what it calls a “persistent presence” of bombers at Andersen. Normally, a squadron of B-52s, B-1s, or B-2s is on the island on a four-month rotation. That presence may increase if the Navy’s aircraft carriers are away in the Indian Ocean or elsewhere, with bombers being called on to backfill.

Four stealthy B-2 bombers from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB, Mo., deployed to Andersen in October, for example, to replace six B-52s from the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, La.

Fighters will also often be at Andersen, again on four-month rotations, but not necessarily with the continual presence shown by the bombers. Eighteen F-16 fighters from the 27th Fighter Wing, Cannon AFB, N.M., were at Andersen in mid-2007, but were not immediately replaced.

In later years, the fighters deployed to Andersen will include the new F-22 Raptor. Three of the Air Force’s seven F-22 squadrons are to be assigned to Pacific Air Forces, with two to be based in Alaska and one in Hawaii. One Raptor squadron has already done a familiarization tour on Guam and at Kadena.

The Raptor performs both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions and is designed to penetrate thick air defenses such as that the Chinese are constructing.

Further, the Air Force will station three Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft at Andersen, with the first due to arrive in mid-2009; a fourth is possible later.

These high-flying, long-endurance drones will give commanders near-real-time intelligence. During a typical Global Hawk mission, the aircraft can fly more than 1,300 miles at 65,000 feet and remain on station for 24 hours. Shanghai, on the coast of China, is 1,900 miles from Guam, while Seoul, the South Korean capital, is 2,000 miles distant.

A Tanker Presence
Besides its conventional combat missions, PACOM officials said Global Hawk could target terrorist training camps in Southeast Asia or pirates in the South China Sea. From Guam to Singapore is 2,900 miles. The intelligence UAVs could also support humanitarian missions such as the disaster relief operation mounted after the destructive tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004.

Tankers have also begun rotations to Andersen. Earlier this year, an expeditionary squadron from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., and Grand Forks AFB, N.D., did a 120-day rotation on Guam. Air National Guard tankers will also come.

Bomber and fighter squadrons will bring tankers with them, but several will need to be stationed at Andersen to support permanent missions. “We are tanker dependent,” says Lt. Gen. Loyd S. Utterback, who commands 13th Air Force at Hickam. “We need [tankers] to get there and to stay there,” he said, noting that tanker recapitalization is the No. 1 modernization priority for the Air Force.

The Navy’s role in the military expansion on Guam centers on attack submarines already deployed to the island; on a way station for two newly converted submarines armed with cruise missiles; and on a new berth for an aircraft carrier. This carrier berth will mean a flattop need not return to Hawaii or the West Coast for routine maintenance or resupply.

The three fast-attack submarines (fast-attack being one word in submarine lingo) are supported by the tender Frank Cable. The advantage of having these boats based in Guam is that it helps to overcome “the tyranny of distance.” In a crisis, a submarine can get to the Taiwan Strait, for instance, in 48 hours as opposed to the six days the trip would take from Pearl Harbor—or the more than eight days from San Diego.

The cruise missile carriers, based in Bangor, Wash., have been converted from ballistic missile submarines, or boomers, and can each be armed with up to 154 cruise missiles. Those missiles can be fired singly or in salvo and at ships or targets on land. The two being assigned to the Pacific Fleet are Michigan and Ohio.

Each will have a Blue and a Gold crew, like the boomers, so they can stay on patrol for up to 400 days. In the middle of that deployment, they will surface and pull into Guam for 21 days to swap crews, undertake maintenance, and take on fresh supplies. The submarines can also take aboard special operations forces, land them to infiltrate a target area, then return later to pick them up.

For many months, naval officers, political leaders, and a variety of lobbyists for commercial interests argued over where a sixth Pacific Fleet aircraft carrier should be based. Guamanians wanted the carrier there, some in Hawaii wanted it at Pearl Harbor, and others in California sought to have it based on the West Coast.

Permanent Assignments
San Diego won out, largely because the facilities to support a nuclear-powered carrier were in place already. Thus, when Carl Vinson comes out of overhaul in 2010, it will be based in San Diego.

The 97,000 ton carrier, its 85 aircraft, and crew of 5,700, however, will spend a lot of time in the western Pacific, the South China Sea, and the Indian Ocean. By building a berth at Guam, the Navy will be able to keep Carl Vinson and other nuclear-powered carriers based on the West Coast on station much longer than would otherwise be possible. A carrier can also be serviced in Japan, where the nuclear-powered carrier George Washington will replace the conventionally powered Kitty Hawk in 2008.

Other moves to Guam are permanent assignments.

The Army will have the smallest and as yet undetermined element in the new Guam. It is slated to post a ballistic missile defense unit on the island, but, Pacific Command officers said, just what that will be hasn’t been decided. Whatever comes to Guam will be interlocked with Army missile defense units in Japan and naval vessels at sea.

Army Special Forces may use Guam and the Marianas for training, particularly for small units heading into the southern Philippines and the islands around the Sulu Sea. The Special Forces and other unconventional warriors from other services have been assisting Philippine forces in combating Islamic terrorists affiliated with al Qaeda where they are trained and then infiltrated into Malaysia and Indonesia. The Green Berets may invite Asian counterparts to Guam to train.

The largest personnel change involves the Marine Corps, which is scheduled to move almost half of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, including its headquarters, to Guam from Okinawa. Some 8,000 marines and 9,000 civilian employees and Marine Corps dependents will leave Okinawa for Guam by 2015. A heavy helicopter squadron will move at the same time from Iwakuni, an air station near Hiroshima on Japan’s main island of Honshu.

The impetus for the move initially came from the Japanese government, which wanted to ease the friction between Americans and Japanese on Okinawa. It was resisted by the Marine Corps, which argued that this political decision was militarily unsound. Over time, however, Marine Corps leaders found that training sites in Guam and its neighboring islands were more than adequate and their resistance lessened.

Moreover, the Marine Corps came to realize that they would have freedom of action on Guam because the political restrictions under which they operated in Japan would evaporate.

Guam is US territory, as are the other islands in the Northern Marianas, and thus the marines can come and go without notifying the Japanese government, which might or might not be receptive to the policies of whatever Administration is in office in Washington then. Indeed, after 2015, the US could even pick up marines on Okinawa, bring them to Guam, and then dispatch them wherever in the world they have been ordered, without consulting Japan.

In the neighboring Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas north of Guam, the Marine Corps foresees joint use of Rota and Saipan for aviation landing practice, and Farallon de Medinilla, Anatahan, and Sarigan for both live and inert ordnance targets. Tinian and Pagan would be sites for amphibious assaults, maneuvers, and artillery live fire training.

Getting agreements with the government of Guam, which has been mostly supportive of the military expansion because it will bring in jobs and a boost to the economy, will be more complicated. The Marine Corps is working on what it calls a “contiguous base concept” in which family housing, work places, and individual training sites are within easy reach of one another.

At the same time, the military staff say they want to see military people absorbed into the culture of Guam. “We don’t want a fence between us,” says a marine official. “We want to be neighbors.”

The arrival of roughly 17,000 people will put pressure on medical facilities, schools, child care, and other social services. In particular, the infrastructure needs a thorough overhaul, as the electrical grid, solid and liquid waste disposal, and the transportation system are not in good shape.

An initial estimate says it will take $10.3 billion to refurbish the infrastructure.

All this must be accomplished, Marine Corps officers said, while they mitigate the effects on the environment and find ways to prevent friction between their forces and the civilian community in Guam when everyone is living and working in close order on a tight little island.

SECDEF Announces Flag Officer Nominations

Reserve Rear Adm. Raymond P. English has been nominated for appointment to the grade of rear admiral (upper half). English is currently serving as deputy director of operations, U.S. Transportation Command, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. {RADM English is a Supply Corps officer – Dutch}

Reserve Rear Adm. Karen A. Flaherty has been nominated for appointment to the grade of rear admiral (upper half). Flaherty is currently serving as deputy commander, force integration, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Washington, D.C. {RADM Flaherty is a Nurse Corps Officer – Dutch}

Reserve Rear Adm. Garland P. Wright Jr. has been nominated for appointment to the grade of rear admiral (upper half). Wright is currently serving as deputy commander, Task Force 134, Multi-National Force – Iraq

 

Rear Admiral Garland P. Wright, Jr.
Deputy Commander, Task Force 134, Multi-National Force-Iraq

Rear Admiral "Gar" Wright is a 1977 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy where he was co-captain of Navy’s first National Championship Sailing team and named an intercollegiate “All American."  After designation as a Naval Flight Officer (NFO), he joined the Sea Control Squadron (VS) 38 “Red Griffins”, completing two Western Pacific deployments aboard USS Constellation (CV 64). His next assignment was with VS-41, where he served as a Fleet Readiness Squadron (FRS) instructor and Tactics Training Department Head, with concurrent duty as the Anti-submarine Warfare Sea Control Wing Pacific (ASWWINGPAC) Tactical Development/Evaluation officer and AIREM/BGAREM exercise officer.

In 1986 he accepted a reserve commission and was assigned to the VS-0294 "Moonlighters", serving sequentially as NFO NATOPS, Training officer, and Maintenance officer. He was reassigned to ASWWINGPAC 0194 as the FRS augment team Officer in Charge (OIC) when VS-0294 was disestablished in 1991.

Rear Adm. Wright’s Command tours included: Constellation 0294, Tactical Support Center 1294, Naval Air Station North Island 0194, Force Protection/Law Enforcement Physical Security Unit 0194, and Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMNAVAIRPAC) 1094. Non-command assignments included serving as Operations Officer for Joint Force Air Component Command (JFACC) 0194, and Operations Officer for Area Air Defense Command Pacific (AADCPAC).

In 1998 he was selected to join an initial cadre of officers to launch the Navy Reserve Officer Leadership Course (OLC). From 1999 to 2002 he served as an adjunct instructor at the Command Leadership School, in Newport, R.I, and in 2000 he was appointed as forcewide director for Navy Reserve Leadership Training.

Rear Adm. Wright’s first flag assignment was with U.S. 3rd Fleet where he served as the Maritime Operations Center (MOC) Director, and Deputy for Maritime Homeland Defense (MHLD). In this capacity he advised the Commander on the training/certification of surge-ready forces, development of operational plans, and force employment/joint integration options. In August 2007 he was mobilized to Iraq to fill the billet of Deputy Commander, Task Force 134 (Detainee Operations), Multi-National Force Iraq (MNF-I).

Rear Adm. Wright’s personal awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (3), Navy Commendation Medal (4), and Navy Achievement Medal (2). He holds an MBA in Finance and is a graduate of Executive and Reserve Component programs at the Naval War College, Naval Postgraduate School, National Defense University, San Diego State University, and Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Updated: 20 August 2007

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            No. 133-08         

Flag Officer Assignments  

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead announced the following flag officer assignments:

Rear Adm. David J. Mercer is being assigned as commander, Navy Region Europe/commander, Maritime Air Forces Mediterranean, Naples, Italy. Mercer is currently serving as director, Deep Blue, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.

 

 

Rear Admiral David J. Mercer
Director, DEEP BLUE

Rear Admiral David J. Mercer, a native of Prospect Park, Pennsylvania, is a 1974 graduate of Interboro High School and a 1978 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. Following flight training in Corpus Christi and Beeville Texas, he was designated a naval aviator in July 1980, then reported to Attack Squadron 42 at NAS Oceana for replacement training in the A-6 Intruder. Rear Adm. Mercer served in flying assignments with the “Fighting Tigers" of Attack Squadron 65, the staff of Commander, Carrier Air Wing 3 and the “Thunderbolts” of Attack Squadron 176. Following transition to the F/A-18 Hornet, he reported to the “Wildcats” of Strike Fighter Squadron 131 as executive officer, and assumed command in June 1996. Rear Adm. Mercer reported as Deputy Commander, Carrier Air Wing 8 in April 2000 and assumed Command in June 2001. On the night of 07 October 2001 the CVW-8/Enterprise team launched the first strikes into Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Sea duty assignments include deployments embarked in USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67), USS Forrestal  (CV 59), USS George Washington (CVN 73) and USS Enterprise (CVN 65).

Shore duties include assignments as Flight Instructor and Wing Landing Signal Officer in Training Wing 2, Kingsville Texas, to Commander, Naval Air Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet as Force LSO, Commanding Officer, Strike Weapons and Tactics School, Atlantic (SWATSLANT), and to the Bureau of Naval Personnel in Washington D.C., serving as Branch Head, Aviation LCDR/Junior Officer Assignments (PERS 432). From November 2002 to April 2006 he served as Executive Assistant and Executive Officer to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe/Commander U.S. European Command. Rear Adm. Mercer is currently serving as Director DEEP BLUE (OPNAV N3/N5).

Rear Adm. Mercer has logged more than 4,500 flight hours and 1,340 carrier arrested landings aboard 16 different aircraft carriers. Decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal (with Combat V), Strike/Flight Air Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal as well as various unit and campaign awards.

Updated: 21 August 2007

Rear Adm. Scott H. Swift is being assigned as commander, Carrier Strike Group Nine, Everett, Wash. 
            Swift is currently serving as deputy commander, U.S. Naval Forces, U.S. Central Command, Manama,
            Bahrain.

Rear Admiral Scott H. Swift
Deputy Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, U.S. Central Command

Rear Admiral Scott H. Swift grew up in San Diego and attended California State University, San Diego. Receiving his commission in 1979 through the Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate Program, he was designated a Naval Aviator in 1980. After finishing his training in the A-7E Corsair II with the “Flying Eagles” of VA-122 he reported to the “Shrikes” of VA-94, making three western Pacific deployments.

In 1985 Rear Adm. Swift returned to VA-122 as flight instructor. His second tour with VA-122 was cut short when he was selected to join Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11 as Staff LSO and Strike Operations Officer. While assigned to CVW-11, Rear Adm. Swift made two western Pacific deployments and was recognized as the Commander, Naval Air Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet Landing Signal Officer of the Year.

In 1989 Rear Adm. Swift joined the “Warhawks” of VA-97 for his department head tour. While with the Warhawks he made the last west coast A-7E cruise, transitioning to the F/A-18 Hornet following the cruise. At the completion of this tour he was awarded the 1992 Commander Michael G. Hoff award as the Commander, Naval Air Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet Attack Aviator of the Year.

Rear Adm. Swift spent the remainder of 1992 and 1993 attending the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island where he received his masters degree in national security and strategic studies.

In September 1993, he assumed command of Strike Fighter Weapons School, Pacific. Following his tour with the Weapons School, he began his second tour with the “Warhawks”, assuming command in December 1995, serving until February 1997.

In 1997, Swift reported to the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations as the Hornet Requirements Officer. While there, he oversaw the development and deployment of numerous weapons and weapon systems improvements to the Hornet, as well as the introduction of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

Rear Adm. Swift began his third tour with VFA-122, assuming command i