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CNA Report SURFPAC's Sea Swap Experiment a Success

Navy Newsstand

Story Number: NNS040719-02
Release Date: 7/19/2004 10:59:00 AM

By Journalist 1st Class (SW) Hendrick L. Dickson, Navy News Service

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Vice Adm. Timothy W. LaFleur, commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (SURFPAC) discussed the findings of the Center for Naval Analyses' (CNA) Lessons Learned from SURFPAC's DD/DDG (destroyer) Sea Swap program during a media conference July 13.

Joining LaFleur in the conference call to discuss the lessons learned were Cmdr. Roy I. Kitchener, commanding officer, USS Higgins (DDG 76) and Master Chief George Dwyer, command master chief, USS Fletcher (DD 992), who were principally involved in Sea Swap.

Sea Swap demonstrated efficiency by deploying a single ship to te Western Pacific and Persian Gulf theater of operations for 18 months in order to increase forward presence. Higgins and Flectcher provided continuous presence, swapping crews at six-month intervals from November 2002 to June 2004.

CNA's evaluation of the initiative found it to be successful overall. The participating ships generated about 33 percent more forward presence than traditional deployers.

According to LaFleur, Sea Swap serves as an example of how the Navy can continue to be responsive to real-world contingencies while becoming more efficient in the process.

"Sea Swap allows us to increase our operational availability," said LaFleur. "To use the Fletcher example, it would have taken 5.16 ships and 5.16 crews to create the on-station time that Fletcher did with four crews. So there are inherent savings in manpower, fuel spent and parts used. Our goal was to explore ways to remain an effective force but to do it in a more efficient way."

According to the CNA report, the crew efficiently completed swaps in compressed time periods, and turnover evolutions took place with only minor snags. While on station, the crews demonstrated operational proficiency, despite modifications from the normal training patterns, and fulfilled all mission tasking. Also, the materiel condition of the ships was comparable to other deployed units over an 18-month time frame.

While Sea Swap did save money and increase forward presence, the CNA survey found the increased work and training took a toll on the participating Sailors. From a quality-of-life perspective, Sea Swap's success is still unclear. Retention data is being monitored to see whether or not the program has a positive or negative effect in reenlistments.

The report emphasizes this issue is part of a long-term assessment the Navy must track with future Sea Swap participants. Kitchener agreed, but he also noted that many other factors play a part in a ship's retention numbers.

"I have not seen a drop off in retention at this point," said Kitchener. "Am I concerned about the number? Yes, it is a data point I need to watch. But when you start prepping for a shipyard availability or training cycle and everybody is working hard, and you ask them 'Hey, are you reenlisting?' depending on the day, the answer is either 'Right away, captain' or 'No way.' It's an issue we have to work with, but I think as Sea Swap matures, the Sailors will grow into it."

The report also expressed concerns about the morale of the crew. Sailors complained about Sea Swap for a variety of reasons - including more work.

Kitchener recognized some of the concerns, but thinks as Sea Swap becomes more prevalent and the quality of life continues to improve, those problems will fix themselves.

"There were some things that should have been streamlined better - we experienced some difficulties with the transit," said Kitchener. "And there was a lot of work involved with working another ship up, but I think if we continue to provide quality of life port visits, the program will be successful as it becomes more common."

CNA also questioned how Sailors would respond to deploying aboard a ship they couldn't really call their own, and how it would affect the materiel condition of the ship.

According to Dwyer, it did not take long to answer that question and realize what really drives Sailors.

"We really got to examine where espirit de corps, morale and pride come from," said Dwyer. "Most people never really look at that. They associate it with the hull number on the ship. When you're going to do a Sea Swap, you're forced to examine 'how do we preserve the pride when we no longer refer to ourselves the way we used to?'"

"We found focusing on the mission and your sense of purpose is what really motivates Sailors," he added. "They want to follow you to take the challenge. When you do that together, it doesn't matter what is painted on the side of the hull. Having something you believe in and working hard at something that is going to make a difference, that's what motivates people."

The Navy is pleased overall with the results from the CNA and believes Sea Swap can play an important role in the future.

"If we can get 33 percent more operational availability, that's pretty powerful in terms of the efficient use of the taxpayers' dollars," said LaFleur. "I think that's a real win for us, and we're looking at other places to see if it's effective."

According to LaFleur, the Navy is currently in the final stages of planning for a DDG Sea Swap on the East Coast, and looking into other concepts in which Sea Swap might be applied in the future.