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U.S. Ships Arrive in Scotland for Neptune Warrior Coalition Course

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS070427-03
Release Date: 4/27/2007 12:02:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Michael Starkey, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Atlantic

FASLANE, Scotland (NNS) -- Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 22, embarked aboard USS Bainbridge (DDG 96), arrived here April 20 with USS Laboon (DDG 58) and USS Simpson (DDG 56) in anticipation of the upcoming Neptune Warrior course to begin April 23.

Capt. John Gelinne, commodore DESRON 22 and his staff will use this opportunity to both train with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) navies and to evaluate and certify U.S. ships for their upcoming deployments.

Neptune Warrior, a course designed and led by the Joint Maritime Operational Training Staff Northwood in the United Kingdom, 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 invites all nations in NATO to participate twice each year.

During this 10-day course, ships will face small boat attacks, exercise air defense and anti-submarine warfare, and respond appropriately to simulated intelligence and media reports.

“There are tremendous benefits for the U.S. to participate in this exercise,” said Gelinne. “The most important is it provides the United States a tactically challenging venue to improve interoperability with our NATO partners.”

Working with various allied navies will inevitably add a new element of challenge into the training. The ships' commanding officers expect to observe various differences in tactics and trainings.

“The exercise is fast paced and the training environment is realistic,” said Gelinne. “We will be participating with navies to include Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and, of course, the UK.”

Bainbridge is one of the ships that will become part of a coalition joint task force later this year.

“It feels great to represent the U.S. in Neptune Warrior, or any place for that matter, particularly in a NATO organization,” said Cmdr. Stephen Coughlin, Bainbridge commanding officer.

Coughlin also understands the importance of training with allied navies and will use this opportunity to familiarize his crew with NATO policies and strategies that will benefit them later this year.

"What we hope to get out of Neptune Warrior is certification as an independent deployer,” said Coughlin. “More and more, the United States deploys ships with our NATO partners. There are slight differences in the way NATO operates at sea and the Neptune Warrior course is pivotal in closing those gaps while concurrently improving interoperability.”

The staff and ships will spend a weekend meeting with the other participants and enjoying the sites and people of Faslane.

The Scottish coastline with its lochs and islands offers many hiding places for small boats and that will make their detection difficult. Thus, the geography and environment will be a challenge for the American ships, tactically, and very different from most of the coastlines they have worked along in the United States.

Neptune Warrior is open to allied navies with assets available to participate. This month's Neptune Warrior course is expected to last 10 days and will include more than 25 air, ground and sea assets from various countries.