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BALTOPS '04 Wraps Up

Navy Newsstand

Story Number: NNS040618-19
Release Date: 6/18/2004 3:39:00 PM

By Journalist 1st Class Eric Brown, Carrier Group 2 Public Affairs

ABOARD USS SAN JACINTO, Baltic Sea (NNS) -- For more than 5,000 service members from 13 countries, the 32nd annual maritime exercise Baltic Operations 2004 (BALTOPS '04) ended June 16.

Launched June 7 from Gdynia, Poland, 38 ships, submarines, amphibious craft and patrol boats were joined by more than 700 infantrymen for the exercise, which promotes confidence, interoperability and team building.

Before BALTOPS '04 drew to a close, sea, air and land forces practiced surface warfare and air defense gunnery, replenishment at sea, undersea warfare, radar tracking, mine countermeasures, seamanship and maritime interdiction operations.

"Personally, I had high hopes for this exercise, and they were realized," beamed Rear Adm. Thomas Kilcline, commander of BALTOPS '04. "One of the things I learned, long before I got here, is that a lot of our military people - no matter what countries they are from - are alike. We join for the same reasons, so I knew that the seamen, airmen and infantry would be competent. I looked for that, and I found it."

Kilcline oversaw the exercise from his flagship, USS San Jacinto (CG 56), homeported in Norfolk, Va. USS Oscar Austin (DD 79), also from Norfolk, took part, as well.

Kilcline was impressed with how well all the countries involved were able to work together: the United States, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden.

"It was great to see countries that have historically not gotten along work well together," he said.

The first few days of BALTOPS '04 were devoted to the serial phase of the exercise.

"The serial phase was driven by a schedule of events where you might go from a maneuvering exercise to gunnery exercises to boarding, search-and-seizure exercises - each one just an event in itself," explained Capt. Alan Eschbach, commanding officer of USS San Jacinto. "The serial phase offered all of us the opportunity to demonstrate the capabilities and interoperability of our ships."

With the serial phase ending June 11, the exercise moved into the scenario phase the same day. For this, three imaginary Baltic countries - Midland, Bluland and Lubland - were created, along with an equally fictitious geopolitical scenario.

"From beginning to end of the scenario, there was built-in resistance," Rear Adm. Kilcline elaborated. "That friction allows a couple of things to happen: it tests our seamanship, it tests our judgment and it tests our capability to build a picture that helps us understand what the threats are - mines, submarines, aircraft, for instance."

The unexpectedly heavy seas and strong gales provided some of the biggest challenges to the Sailors, ships and exercise planners.

"I think the weather caught a lot of people by surprise," the admiral recalled. "We were surprised by the fact that it is summer time here, and 50 degrees Farenheit. The Baltic is not a large body of water, but there were eight-foot waves and 40-knot winds at times."

The BALTOPS exercises play a role in ensuring greater peace and stability worldwide.

"Initially, it [BALTOPS] was an exercise devoted to trying to have an understanding of the region to create stability in and around the Warsaw Pact," Kilcline explained. "Now it's an engagement opportunity among neutral countries, Partnership for Peace countries, along with NATO countries and allies. BALTOPS provides us with an opportunity to understand two things: how they operate - their capabilities and their limitations - and how we might operate together."