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Below the Baltic

Navy Newsstand

Story Number: NNS030619-16

Release Date: 6/19/2003 10:20:00 PM

By Journalist 2nd Class Joseph R. Holstead, Commander, Carrier Group 8 Public Affairs

ABOARD USS VELLA GULF, At Sea (NNS) -- "You try to think like a submarine captain, then stay one step ahead; it's like a chess match," Senior Chief Sonar Technician (Surface) (SW) James Inzana said, summing up his approach for tracking submarines.

Inzana is the undersea warfare specialist aboard Aegis cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72), which is participating in Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2003. BALTOPS 2003 is a multinational maritime exercise, intended to improve the interoperability of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations with peace keeping operations, including exercises in gunnery, replenishment at sea and undersea warfare among others.

The exercise, which runs from June 5-23, is in its second phase, in which cooperation at the coalition level is emphasized with scenario events. Vella Gulf is currently operating as part of an exercise-based coalition including 12 other countries.

June 15, Inzana and his crew were staying on top of the competition, as they tracked the Swedish submarine HSWMS Haelsingland and the Polish Kilo class submarine Orp Sep (SSC 295), which are part of the exercise's opposing force.

"The multinational nature of BALTOPS provides an excellent opportunity to work on communications, which can be the most challenging aspect. It also gives the crew a lot of hands-on training tracking diesel submarines, similar to those that might be used by aggressors," Inzana said.

Benefiting from the BALTOPS hands-on training was Sonar Technician (Surface) Seaman Travis Knight. "The onboard trainer and exercises in the depths of the Atlantic with Los Angeles-class subs are good, but this has been particularly useful, because the Baltic is only 100 to 300 feet deep at points, and we're working against actual diesel submarines."

Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class (SW) James Jackson is satisfied with the positive undersea warfare results thus far at BALTOPS 2003, saying "We've not seen any green flares, indicating that an enemy has successfully fired on us; nothing has gotten past us.we've done well."

Jackson went on to explain the training he has received since reporting aboard Vella Gulf, including for BALTOPS 2003, has prepared him well for any challenges that future exercises or deployments may bring.

For the moment, continuing success during BALTOPS is the crew's focus. "We trained hard for BALTOPS during the past two months. An additional challenge is that we are a multiwarfare ship, with air, land, and undersea components. Coordinating all the pieces takes a lot of team work and knowledgeable personnel," Inzana said.

All of the training has paid off.

"We're ahead of the game right now, because we have an outstanding division and crew on the ship," he said.