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USS Bonhomme Richard Hosts Trident Warrior 2006

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060620-05
Release Date: 6/20/2006 4:00:00 PM

By Journalist 2nd (SW) Ryan Valverde, USS Bonhomme Richard Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- After weeks of preparation and communication upgrades, Trident Warrior 2006 (TW 06), a multinational communications exercise, went into full swing June 16 aboard the multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6).

TW 06, led by the Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM) and co-sponsored by Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), seeks to accelerate the delivery of network-centric warfare capabilities to the warfighter. This annual experiment will enable ships at sea to better communicate with each other and allies.

“It was a target of opportunity for Trident Warrior and NETWARCOM,” said Lt. Cmdr. Peter Hakewessell, BHR’s Trident Warrior liaison and a resident of San Diego. “They took the opportunity to test these systems on our transit to RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific exercise).”

The Navy began the experiment while BHR was still in its homeport in San Diego. Ships from three other navies, including Canada, Australia and Great Britain, the U.S. Coast Guard, Emergency Services and several local municipalities are all testing new communication networks during the experiment.

“The Trident Warrior exercise gives the ship the opportunity to showcase new and upcoming systems,” said Hakewessell. “By experimenting and using these new systems, we give the program managers and contractors developing these systems new ideas for improvements before fleet introduction.”

TW 06 seeks to improve the warfighting capabilities of the fleet and enable the Navy to respond better to foreign and domestic emergencies. Another goal is to establish networks that federal, state and local authorities can use to share realtime information during any critical situation.

Hakewessell said an added benefit of the Trident Warrior experiment aboard BHR is that Sailors are getting the opportunity to test Navy Knowledge Online (NKO) Afloat.

“Our Sailors are going to test the Sea Warrior initiative where they can log on to NKO Afloat to access courses and career management information,” said Hakewessell.

According to Director of FORCEnet and Trident Warrior lead, Cmdr. Tony Parrillo, BHR has provided outstanding support to the experiments that will yield benefits to the Navy for years to come.

“BHR’s support has been absolutely fantastic,” said Parrillo. "The can-do attitude and willingness to support our experiments have been great. We are gathering tons of data and lessons learned that will help deliver FORCEnet capabilities to the fleet and Sailors faster.”

Bonhomme Richard is currently underway for an extended period in the Pacific Ocean for TW06 and RIMPAC.

For related news, visit the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/lhd6/.