[MilCom] NavNews for Wednesday, July 21, 2004

[Greg Brazil]

It should be busy in the Norfolk area soon.  I'll be at the Reagans
homecoming this Friday in San Diego.
Greg (SF Bay Area)

>                                    -USN-
> 
>  NNS040721-09. Four Carrier Strike Groups To Return From
>  Summer Pulse '04
> 
>  From Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet Public Affairs
> 
>  NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- After successfully demonstrating
>  responsive, credible combat power across the globe by operating
>  in five theaters with other U.S., allied and coalition military forces,
>  four carrier strike groups (CSGs), including their associated ships,
>  submarines, aircraft and more than 20,000 Sailors, are returning
>  July 22 through July 26. 
> 
>  These include forces from USS George Washington (CVN 73)
>  (GW), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), and USS Enterprise
>  (CVN 65) CSGs. USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) is pulling into its
>  new home port of San Diego over this same period. 
> 
>  These arrivals come after the concurrent deployments of seven
>  CSGs in "Summer Pulse '04," the Navy's first exercise of its new
>  operational construct, the Fleet Response Plan (FRP). 
> 
>  Summer Pulse '04 exercised the logistics and shore infrastructure
>  necessary to execute a large scale surge operation and stressed
>  the operational concepts in the Navy's Sea Power 21 strategy. It
>  also served to strengthen maritime capabilities by improving Navy
>  interoperability with more than 23 allies and coalition partners, as
>  well as other U.S. military forces. U.S. Navy ships and aircraft
>  participated in more than 13 exercises in the Atlantic and Pacific
>  Oceans, the Arabian, Baltic, Mediterranean, North and Red Seas,
>  and the Sea of Japan and Persian Gulf. 
> 
>  Since Summer Pulse '04 began June 3, the Navy exercised a full
>  range of skills in all maritime warfare areas, including but not
>  limited to surface, air, subsurface, and amphibious warfare, while
>  simultaneously deploying and employing CSGs around the world.
>  Summer Pulse '04 included scheduled deployments, surge
>  operations, joint and international exercises, and other advanced
>  training and port visits.
> 
>  The George Washington CSG, which was already deployed in
>  support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) when Summer Pulse
>  '04 kicked off, will be returning from a six-month deployment. The
>  GW/Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7 team conducted 7,592 sorties,
>  including more than 1,500 flown in direct support of OIF.
>  Additionally, USS Vella Gulf (CG 72), USS Bulkeley (DDG 84),
>  and HMCS Toronto (FFH 333) participated in the boarding
>  process of more than 200 vessels during maritime interdiction
>  operations in the Persian Gulf. 
> 
>  Under the FRP construct, the Navy can provide six CSGs in less
>  than 30 days to support contingency operations around the globe,
>  and two more CSGs can be ready in three months to reinforce or
>  rotate with initially responding forces, to continue presence
>  operations in other parts of the world, or to support military action
>  in another crisis. 
> 
>  For more information about Summer Pulse '04, visit the CFFC
>  Web site at www.cffc.navy.mil/summerpulse04.htm or visit the
>  Summer Pulse '04 Navy NewsStand site at
>  www.news.navy.mil/local/pulse04. 
> 
>  For related news, visit the Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet/NATO
>  Striking Fleet Atlantic Navy NewsStand page at
>  www.news.navy.mil/local/c2f. 
> 
>                                    -USN-