[MilCom] USS HST off the East Coast

[AllanStern at aol.com]

     Here is the US Navy announcement concerning the USS Harry S Truman.  
Many of us are hearing the comms of acft from the USS Harry S Truman for the last 
few days as they are hitting targets at both Pinecastle and Avon Park Bombing 
Range.

AL STERN  Satellite Beach FL
================
NNS040616-11. Truman Strike Group Conducting Composite Training Unit Exercise

 From USS Harry S. Truman Public Affairs

 ABOARD USS HARRY S. TRUMAN AT SEA (NNS) --
 Ships and aircraft of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group
 (CSG) are in the midst of their Composite Training Unit Exercise
 (COMPTUEX). 

 The exercise, which began June 5, is scheduled to run through
 late June and will use the Virginia Capes and Jacksonville, Fla.,
 operating areas and training ranges along the East Coast and
 Gulf Coast of Florida. 

 Additionally, the exercise will involve complex strike group
 training events, naval surface fire support training and
 air-to-ground events.

 COMPTUEX is an intermediate-level exercise designed to forge
 the strike group into a cohesive fighting team and is a critical step
 in the new Fleet Response Plan (FRP). 

 "The first part of the exercise has engaged only one warfare area
 at a time, whether it's surface, air or undersea," said Cmdr.
 Richard Fraenkel, combat direction center officer. "The second
 part will involve multiple warfare areas, with each competing for
 resources."

 The Truman Strike Group is making use of the following ranges
 for air-to-ground events during the exercise: Pinecastle, Fla.;
 Avon Park, Fla.; and Dare County, N.C. Harry S. Truman is the
 Navy's most recent carrier strike group to exercise using these
 ranges as part of the comprehensive Training Resource Strategy
 (TRS). Under this plan, ships and aircraft will use existing East
 Coast and Gulf Coast range training facilities, and improved
 simulation technology now available to the fleet. 

 In implementing the TRS, Atlantic-based carrier strike groups
 train among existing training ranges and facilities throughout the
 region. Throughout COMPTUEX, the Harry S. Truman Strike
 Group will demonstrate that the Navy is enhancing its training
 flexibility and effectiveness through geographical and
 technological diversification. 

 "We will face increasingly complex scenarios to include low,
 slow flyers, swarm tactics from small boats and dhows
 approaching from multiple axes," said Lt. j.g. Mark Michel, one
 of Truman's intelligence officers. "If we can effectively execute
 these missions during COMPTUEX, we will be ready to handle
 the real threat during deployment."

 The upcoming deployment will be Truman's first under FRP,
 which allows the Navy to provide combatant commanders ready
 forces able to respond quickly in times of crisis. The FRP will
 enable the Navy to consistently deliver six forward-deployed or
 surge-ready carrier strike groups within 30 days, plus two
 additional strike groups that are in basic training phase in 90 days
 or less. 

 Summer Pulse '04 is the first exercise of the Navy's new FRP,
 which aims to increase fleet readiness throughout the Navy and
 improve the ability of the United States to respond appropriately
 in the event of a crisis. 

 "We are ready to go out for Summer Pulse '04 where we will
 show the skill and ability of the Navy. We are proof of concept,"
 said Truman's commanding officer, Capt. Michael
 Groothousen."

 Commanded by Rear Adm. Michael C. Tracy, commander,
 Cruiser Destroyer Group 2, the Truman Strike Group is
 comprised of the Norfolk, Va.-based Harry S. Truman,
 commanded by Groothousen; the guided-missile cruiser USS
 Monterey (CG 61); the guided-missile destroyers USS Mason
 (DDG 87) and USS Barry (DDG 52); the attack submarine
 USS Albuquerque (SSN 706); USNS Leroy Grumman (T-AO
 195), and Carrier Air Wing 3 - commanded by Capt. Mark A.
 Vance, embarked aboard Harry S. Truman. 

 For related news, visit the Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet/NATO
 Striking Fleet Atlantic Navy NewsStand page at
 www.news.navy.mil/local/c2f.