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Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group Successfully Completes COMPTUEX

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060510-09
Release Date: 5/10/2006 11:56:00 AM

By Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Nathaniel Moger, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Public Affairs

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group successfully completed its Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) May 8.

COMPTUEX is an intermediate-level strike group training exercise. It typically represents the first time in a training cycle that a carrier strike group operates together as a cohesive team and is a critical step toward the final certification to deploy overseas.

Strike Force Training Atlantic, commanded by Rear Adm. Richard O’Hanlon, is responsible for administering and grading the performance of the strike group during COMPTUEX.

"My duty over the last four weeks was to put every one of you through your paces in all warfare areas,” O’Hanlon remarked while addressing the crews of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7. “Whether it be air warfare, surface warfare, strike warfare, anti-submarine warfare, information warfare - you name it, there were people in this strike group being tested in each one of those areas, and I’ve got to tell you, Eisenhower Strike Group and each one of you shined like no other group we’ve ever seen.”

COMPTUEX began with training for warfare commanders and the rest of the strike group in operational tasking and decision-making before a four-day port visit in South Florida. The exercise then moved into a scenario-driven portion, containing “battle problems” of increasing complexity and difficulty, as well as Blue Water Certification, which now allows Eisenhower and CVW-7 to operate without a divert airfield nearby.

The scenarios were designed to measure the ability of the strike group to act as a coordinated, combat-ready force and were intended to closely resemble real-life situations the carrier strike group could encounter during deployment.

For "Team 769," the combination of Ike and CVW-7, this meant long days of flight operations and required a higher level of cooperation and coordination between Ike and the squadrons. Air Operations, in charge of the Carrier Air Traffic Control Center and creating the flight plan, began utilizing a sequenced flight plan to decrease the amount of time aircraft spent on deck.

While those involved with flight operations were kept in an alert status, the unpredictable nature of the battle problems had simulated hostile forces engaging units of the Eisenhower Strike Group in many warfare areas, from submarine warfare to surface warfare.

On the electronic warfare front, the team fended off simulated missiles using both Ike and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 28’s surface vessel missiles.

“It was a concerted effort between [USS Anzio (CG 68)], [USS Ramage (DDG 61)], and [USS Mason (DDG 87)]. At one point, we defended [against] three [simulated] missile attacks simultaneously,” said Lt. Gregg Dewaele, Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group electronic warfare officer.

By the end of COMPTUEX, the strike group had passed in all of the tested warfare areas.

“We demand precision in everything we do,” said Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group Commander Rear Adm. Allen Myers to the crew of Ike and CVW-7. "We demand it on the flight deck. We demand it when we load ordnance. We demand it when the pilots land. We demand it in communications. You did that; you performed.”

Now that COMPTUEX is completed, the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group will continue to train for a future deployment.

The Eisenhower Strike Group is comprised of Dwight D. Eisenhower and embarked CVW-7, and DESRON 28, including Anzio, Ramage, Mason, USS Newport News (SSN 750) and USNS Arctic (T-AOE 8).

CVW-7 includes Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 125 “Tigertails,” Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 143 “Pukin’ Dogs,” VFA-131 “Wildcats,” VFA-103 “Jolly Rogers,” Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 140 “Patriots,” VFA-83 “Rampagers” and Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (HS) 5 “Nightdippers.”