[MilCom] Official USN News Release: Seven Carrier Strike Groups Underway

[Larry Van Horn]

Seven Carrier Strike Groups Underway for Exercise "Summer Pulse 04"
Special release from the U.S. Department of Defense

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Department of Defense announced June 2 that this
summer, simultaneous deployment of seven aircraft carrier strike groups
(CSGs) will demonstrate the ability of the Navy to provide credible
combat power across the globe by operating in five theaters with other
U.S., allied and coalition military forces.  

"Summer Pulse 04" will be the Navy's first exercise of its new
operational construct, the Fleet Response Plan (FRP). FRP is about new
ways of operating, training, manning, and maintaining the fleet that
results in increased force readiness and the ability to provide
significant combat power to the President in response to a national
emergency or crisis.

Beginning this week and continuing through August, the Navy will
exercise the full range of skills involved in simultaneously deploying
and employing carrier strike groups around the world. Summer Pulse 04
will include scheduled deployments, surge operations, joint and
international exercises, and other advanced training and port visits.

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. Summer Pulse 04
will exercise the logistics and shore infrastructure necessary to
execute a large scale surge operation, stress the operational concepts
in the Navy's Sea Power 21 strategy, and improve Navy interoperability
with numerous allies and coalition partners, as well as other U.S.
military forces.

The seven aircraft carriers involved in Summer Pulse 04 will include:
the Norfolk-based USS George Washington (CVN 73) CSG and the San
Diego-based USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) CSG, both currently deployed,
and Yokosuka, Japan-based USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63). The Mayport,
Fla.-based USS John F Kennedy (CV 67) CSG will begin a combined and
joint exercise early this month, followed by a scheduled overseas
deployment. The Norfolk-based USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) CSG will
conduct a scheduled training exercise followed by overseas pulse
operations with the Norfolk-based USS Enterprise (CVN 65) CSG, beginning
early this month.  USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) will conduct operations in
the U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Southern Command theaters during the
ship's interfleet transfer from Norfolk, Va., to its Pacific Fleet
homeport of San Diego.

The near-simultaneous deployment of seven carrier strike groups provides
the Navy and the joint combatant commanders an opportunity to exercise
the FRP while maintaining the ability to respond to crises around the
globe, enhance regional security and relationships, meet combatant
commander requirements including forward presence, and demonstrate a
commitment to allies and coalition partners. Summer Pulse 04 is
scheduled to conclude in August.

Larry Van Horn -- N5FPW
Monitoring Times Assistant Editor/Milcom Columnist
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