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Destroyer Squadron 15: Eyes of The Hawk

Navy NewStand

Story Number: NNS030428-23
Release Date: 4/29/2003 11:21:00 PM

By Journalist 1st Class Janet M. Davis, USS Kitty Hawk Public Affairs

ABOARD USS KITTY HAWK, At Sea (NNS) -- While ship's company and air wing personnel dominate the ship and are known as the "Hawk-5 Team," other units are also embarked aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) and contribute significantly to the mission. One such unit is Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15.

Responsible for surface and subsurface defense of the Kitty Hawk Strike Group, the DESRON's job is to use the available assets, aircraft or ships, to come up with the best plan to counter whatever the threat is looming at the time, according to Senior Chief Sonar Technician (SW) Charles Krokel, DESRON 15's Zulu watch officer.

"We do as much as we can to identify the ships that are out there," he said. "The waters of the Arabian Gulf, for example, are some of the most crowded in the world and are filled with things that, at a different time, would just be fishing boats going from one place to another. But now every one of them could be a potential threat. It really takes close scrutiny on each contact that comes in."

The DESRON also develops plans with surrounding ships well in advance for the security of all the assets involved. Plans to move to another area can make it necessary to coordinate with all the ships in the current area, according to Krokel.

"We have to look at the surface picture of an entire area," he said. "It's not just where we are right now, but where we are going to be in a few hours or a few weeks."

The equipment provided in Kitty Hawk's combat direction center, such as the sea combat commander module, supports the DESRON's mission. "We are also the screen commander responsible for arranging the ships in the order of escort," said Krokel. "The module in the combat direction center is specifically designed to gather as much information about the surface picture. It is always displayed on the big screen to make it easier for us to make decisions on where we're going to put ships and how we would react to any perceived threats that should come up."

DESRONs such as DESRON 15, forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, are the nomads of the fleet. Not only do DESRON personnel spend much of their time at sea, but they also spend it on different ships. According to Operations Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Jorge Blancarte, who has been with DESRON 15 for almost three years, it's a great experience.

"As far as being an OS (operations specialist), you can learn a lot about your rate. We do a lot of administration work, and we get to see the overall picture. When you are just on one ship, you only see what your ship is doing. Here, we see what all the ships are doing," he said.

Being embarked on a carrier has its benefits, too. According to Operations Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Sid Sandridge, DESRON 15 has a great working relationship with Kitty Hawk.

"It's a little different than what I'm used to," said Sandridge, who transferred to the DESRON from USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) five days before Kitty Hawk deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom in the fall of 2001. "But, it's an experience I'll always remember."

America's oldest active warship, Kitty Hawk with embarked Carrier Air Wing 5 and DESRON 15 recently operated with coalition forces in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the multinational coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and end the regime of Saddam Hussein.