USS Bonhomme Richard - Refining the ESG
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS041112-02
Release Date: 11/12/2004 9:31:00 AM
By Chief Journalist Walter T. Ham IV, USS Bonhomme Richard Public Affairs
ABOARD USS BONHOMME RICHARD (NNS) -- During a Joint Task Force exercise off the coast of southern California, Amphibious Assault Ship USS Bonhomme Richard (BHR) (LHD 6) is serving as the command and control hub for a responsive and expanding arsenal of Navy and Marine Corps capabilities.
As command ship for Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 5, BHR is hosting three embarked staffs: Expeditionary Strike Group 5, commanded by Rear Adm. Christopher C. Ames; Amphibious Squadron 7, commanded by Capt. Michelle Howard; and the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, commanded by Marine Col. Thomas C. Greenwood.
"BHR has been transformed into a floating command center which is currently unrivaled in the Navy," said Bonhomme Richard's Commanding Officer Capt. J. Scott Jones. "We're self sufficient, robust, and we're providing the kind of flexibility needed to fight the war on terrorism."
Along with conducting ship-to-shore maneuvers and flight operations, Bonhomme Richard is also training Visit, Board, Search and Seizure teams to stop threats at sea.
"We've become more proficient in warfare areas that are not typically associated with an Amphibious Ready Group," said Lt. Cmdr. Liz Clifton, BHR's Combat Information Center officer. "We've always been good at power projection ashore. This just gives us the ability to start it at a greater distance."
Serving as the ESG command ship has called for greater logistical flexibility, as well, tripling the amount of personnel, mail and cargo BHR is transporting to other units in the strike group. "The Revolutionary Gator" is also refueling other ESG ships, a capability not routinely exercised by a big deck amphibious ship in the past, and has modified and expanded its battle force maintenance teams, developing new and innovate support shops, such as RHIB (rigid hull inflatable boat) repair.
Ship's Maintenance and Material Officer Lt. j.g. Nigel L. "Mac" McDonald said the ship reconfigured quickly to accommodate the different staffs and took advantage of local San Diego repair facilities to train repair personnel in the expanding equipment set of the ESG.
"We had to put a lot of things together in a relatively short period of time, coordinating with ship and shore facilities," McDonald said, adding that new command and control capability "has helped us to live up to the concept 'One Team, One Fight.'"
Jones said the Navy and Marine Corps have forged a seamless team on BHR. "We are all the same, except for the uniforms," he said.
According to Jones, BHR's crew of seagoing professionals has adapted superbly to the ship's increased scope of operations and earned the praise of embarked commanders, trainers and inspectors.
"Everyone who embarks tells me that our crew is performing their role in an outstanding fashion," Jones said. "We're working hard to expand the mission set, exploring and experimenting with new concepts and ideas. As a Navy, we need to take full advantage of each ship's capability as we enter a new age of maritime operations that continue to call upon the Navy/Marine Corps team to fight and win, wherever and whenever our nation calls. We're serving on the front line of defense in the global war on terrorism. We're trained, maintained and prepared to conduct prompt and sustained combat operations."
Bonhomme Richard and elements of ESG 5 are in the advanced phase of training in preparation for an upcoming deployment later this winter.
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