• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Enterprise Strike Group Projects Naval Power Across 5th Fleet

Navy Newsstand

Story Number: NNS031113-04

Release Date: 11/13/2003 4:30:00 PM

By By Journalist 1st Class Misty Trent, USS Enterprise Public Affairs

ABOARD USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea (NNS) -- The USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Carrier Strike Group (CSG), the Navy's only deployed CSG, is currently taking charge of a range of military operations covering a geographical region larger than the United States from its station in the North Arabian Sea.

In fact, if one were to overlay a map of the United States on the Arabian Gulf and Northern Indian Ocean, and put Enterprise over Norfolk, one would see that Enterprise has flown strike, reconnaissance, and electronic attack missions to the very northern tip of Maine, corresponding to northeastern Afghanistan; operated and provide spec ops support near New Mexico, corresponding to the Horn of Africa; and directed complex maritime missions of leadership interdiction and counter-smuggling as far away as North Dakota, corresponding to the Northern Arabian Gulf.

Elements of the CSG are running anti-smuggling operations in the North Arabian Gulf, while in the Horn of Africa, aircraft from Enterprise's embarked helicopter squadron, Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (HS) 11, are flying missions in support of the multi-national coalition hunting terrorists there.

From the aircraft carrier, the embarked squadrons of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 are providing air support for troops fighting Al-Qaida and Taliban forces in the high mountains of Afghanistan. To aid the troops, E-2C Hawkeyes from the "Screwtops" of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 123 conduct missions between Enterprise and Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

"The Screwtops provide airborne command and control coverage between forces on ground and forces in the air," explained Cmdr. Robert Kapcio, flag operations officer for Enterprise CSG. "If necessary, the Hawkeyes would coordinate a strike between Special Forces on ground and the U.S. Air Force or Enterprise's own strike fighters."

According to Kapcio, Enterprise Sailors are in "a new kind of war. We have people in the Suez Canal, the Horn of Africa and the Northern Arabian Gulf. We're operating in the Northern Arabian Sea with people on the ground in Afghanistan. We're involved in simultaneous real-world operations all over the AOR [area of responsibility]. We are completely dispersed."

In its three weeks on station in the 5th Fleet, Enterprise CSG has been actively engaged in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). That kind of multi-tasking demands increased flexibility from the crew.

Nov. 3, with less than 24-hours notice, Enterprise got underway from the port of Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates. Even though the 5,600 Sailors still had two more days of liberty scheduled there, the ship's leadership recalled the crew, and steamed through the Strait of Hormuz out to the Northern Arabian Sea in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Before Enterprise was ordered to depart Jebel Ali, "We were fully expecting to head back up to continue supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, and [instead] we got called to help with Operation Enduring Freedom," said Kapcio. "We're very mobile in the area, and we go where we're needed."

"That's what the Navy is all about, the mobility and the ability to project power and presence from varied differences at short notice," said Enterprise Operations Officer Cmdr. John Lockler. "Getting underway on such short notice from a port call and being on station 700 miles away in less than 48 hours, ready to commence operations, is an example of why the Navy is so valuable."

But there's more to Enterprise CSG's role in the region than launching air missions. Embarked in Enterprise, the staff of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 18 coordinates many of the CSG's missions throughout the Middle East. "Here in the 5th Fleet, we've taken on responsibility as the Northern Arabian Sea and Northern Arabian Gulf Sea Combat Commander," said Lt. Cmdr. Eugene Bailey, DESRON 18 operations officer. "We've inherited 19 ships."

These ships include the Coastal Patrol ships USS Firebolt (PC 10) and USS Chinook (PC 9), and some Coast Guard cutters, performing maritime security missions in the Northern Arabian Gulf, along with coalition forces patrolling the Strait of Hormuz. Many of these missions involve clamping down on oil smuggling from Iraq and searching for terrorists seeking to travel covertly by sea.

In the Horn of Africa, two SH-60H Seahawk helicopters from HS-11, based out of Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., are currently operating from the flight deck of the amphibious transport dock USS Ogden (LPD 5) in coordination with Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa in direct support of OEF.

"We really do go all the way around the world in the span of control that we have," Bailey said. "It's an interesting new development in how far around the world can you reach."

"We have different staffs on different time zones throughout the AOR. We went from having six ships that we were working with and coordinating for in a single effort, to tripling things we are responsible for across the board," said Bailey. "It takes a lot of coordination between air wing, strike group staff and our staff to make sure everyone gets the resources they need."

"For the last 12 years, people came over to the Gulf, and things were pretty well defined," said Lockler. "You knew you were going to operate in the Northern Arabian Gulf, you knew you were going to fly missions in support of Operation Southern Watch. You had a mission to go to this target, bomb it and come back. We did that for 12 years. Now the mission is to go to these places, be on station for two to four hours, and wait to respond to a call for something that develops in real time on the ground."

For the crews of Enterprise, CVW-1, DESRON 18 and forces within the strike group, this is anything but a routine deployment. They are writing the textbook for how carrier strike groups will project naval power and presence around the world in the future.