• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Expeditionary Sailors Breaking New Ground

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS080723-03
Release Date: 7/23/2008 4:29:00 PM

From Navy Expeditionary Combat Command Public Affairs

NORFOLK (NNS) -- Integrated active and Reserve forces from the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) are among more than 15,000 service members from four countries participating in Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) 08-4 "Operation Brimstone" July 21-28 off the U.S. coast from the waters of Virginia to Florida as well as ashore along the coast of North Carolina and the Cape Fear River.

NECC'S role in JTFEX 08-4 is to exercise an integrated adaptive force package and will focus on training an adaptive force package headquarters staff element, to provide command and control of participating NECC units operating primarily out of North Carolina as well as Virginia.

The exercise marks the first time that forces from NECC are participating in an East-Coast based JTFEX working for an NECC Task Group staff. NECC's Riverine Group 1 is the command and control element for this exercise, called Expeditionary Combat Task Group (NECTG) 955.6.

"This exercise will test our ability to operate as a command and control staff in an environment in which our forces are operating in different locations in North Carolina and Virginia," said NECTG 955.6 Commander Capt. Anthony Krueger. "It's a good test of the adaptive force package concept where we tailor our forces for each mission depending on what's needed to accomplish that mission."

Based on operational requirements, NECC forces can be formed into an adaptive force package (AFP) to provide a unit with a single specific expeditionary skill set (such as an explosive ordnance disposal detachment), an integrated unit with multiple skills (e.g., riverine boat operators, EOD, and expeditionary logistics), or an integrated unit with other naval or joint forces.

If the operational scope and responsibilities dictate, NECC will assign a tailored command headquarters element to provide mission planning, oversight, and execution of a deployable AFP or multiple AFPs.

NECC forces operating in the near shore, ashore in the coastal region and in the riverine environment are supporting integrated operations under the command and control of Expeditionary Strike Group 2, alongside the USS Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group and USS Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group.

JTFEX 08-4 increases interoperability and enhance cooperation among the Navy's diverse expeditionary forces that may be called upon as part of adaptive force packages to respond to real-world scenarios.

NECTG forces have been operating in the areas of Camp LeJeune, Elizabethtown, Wilmington, and Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point, N.C., as well and Williamsburg, Va., since July 13 in preparation for JTFEX.

"Just as in the real world, NECTG forces have been on the ground conducting expeditionary operations like civil affairs and Seabee construction projects in advance of the exercise. This truly is an exercise that has current operational application," Krueger said. "We're ready to test the AFP concept – what works, what doesn't and ultimately be ready to go should we be called upon to respond by a combatant commander."

For more news from Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/necc/.