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DESRON 24 Departs for Neptune Warrior 06-1

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060210-06
Release Date: 2/10/2006 1:40:00 PM

By Lt. Bill Urban, Fleet Public Affairs Center Atlantic for DESRON 24 Public Affairs

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Three ships led by Commander, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 24 departed Norfolk, Feb. 10, to participate in a coalition course in the North Atlantic with ships from the United Kingdom, Germany, and Denmark.

Capt. Carl W. Cramb, Commander, DESRON 24, will also be evaluating the USS Ross (DDG 71), USS Barry (DDG 52), and USS Elrod (FFG 55) during Neptune Warrior to certify each ready for deployment.

The DESRON 24 staff will embark Ross as all three Norfolk-based ships transit to an operating area in the North Atlantic for Neptune Warrior. On arrival, the U.S. ships will be divided into two different Task Units, the first led by the Commander of DESRON 24 and the second led by the Commanding Officer of HMS Edinburgh (D97), a destroyer from the United Kingdom.

“We are looking forward to the opportunity to integrate and train with our counterparts from the U.K. and Germany in a challenging scenario,” said Cramb. “This coalition course is a great opportunity to certify our deploying ships.”

Joint Maritime Operational Training Staff (JMOTS) Northwood in the United Kingdom is leading the Neptune Warrior course. Unlike many Navy exercises, the object of each Task Group will not be the destruction of the other Task Group, but rather to act and interact in accordance with their “simulated country’s” policies and rules of engagement. The realistic scenario was crafted to better approximate current real world situations and is primarily why Neptune Warrior is considered a course rather than an exercise.

Neptune Warrior is designed to improve interoperability between allied navies as well as to prepare the participants for a role in a Coalition Joint Task Force during upcoming deployments. Neptune Warrior is the United Kingdom’s advanced certification course and is on par with an American Joint Task Force Exercise, which normally certifies U.S. ships. The U.S. ships participating in Neptune Warrior are expected to deploy in the spring with this being their last complex training event before deployment.

While the course emphasizes all of the normal ways that coalition navies usually train together, it also has a few interesting additional opportunities. One unusual aspect of the course will be the embarking of simulated media representatives to cover the scenario as if they were reporting on a real-world conflict. In fact, a Task Group may be ordered to alter priorities or postures to react to unfavorable media coverage. The media’s role is designed to add another layer of training and increase the realism of the scenario.

“We are looking forward to a complex course and the opportunity to train with other navies,” said Lt. Cmdr. Rick Hughes, DESRON 24 Operations Officer. “Neptune Warrior will produce some great training situations that we don’t normally encounter, and I think everyone is pretty excited to get started.”

Neptune Warrior is normally held three times a year and is open to allied navies with assets available to participate.