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NATO Works with Eisenhower Strike Group to Improve Interoperability

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100122-29
Release Date: 1/22/2010 4:09:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Sean Burgess, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Public Affairs

USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, At Sea (NNS) -- Representatives from Naval Striking and Support Force NATO (STRIKFORNATO) visited Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) Jan. 13-15 to familiarize NATO staff members with U.S. carrier strike group operations.

Service members from Commander, Carrier Strike Group (CCSG) 8, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7, and Commander, Destroyer Squadron (CDS) 28 along with Eisenhower personnel participated in the familiarization.

U.K. Royal Marine Col. Robin Forster, Future Operations director, explained their mission of gaining a better comprehension of the Eisenhower Strike Group's (IKESG) capabilities and mission areas.

"We are looking to ensure we have the right connectivity between our systems and headquarters," said Forster. "We intend to develop and refine our understanding of the procedural and system differences and determine ways to work around them. Most importantly, this visit is about building relationships with the IKESG and other U.S. forces in our area of responsibility."

Representatives from the United States, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey and the United Kingdom participated in the familiarization exercise. Eisenhower Strike Group Deputy Information Warfare Commander Cmdr. William Peterson, said it was an honor to have STRIKFORNATO representative aboard the carrier.

"Having this chance to interact with a NATO staff and see where they stand with respect to operations together, made this a great jump-start for future interaction," he said. "We've always tested our interoperability with NATO forces. Although IKESG is heading toward 5th fleet, many of CCSG 8 and CDS 28 units will arrive in the 6th Fleet Area of Responsibility in the future, and this was a timely opportunity to conduct discussions and planning for those future engagements."

The NATO representatives said the working visit was very successful, and looked forward to working with other carrier strike groups in the future, and this familiarization provided STRIKFORNATO personnel insight as they plan on participating as a coalition joint force maritime component commander for a U.S. joint force training exercise.

"It's been an excellent visit with a fantastic reception," said Forster. "It was the first time for most of us on a major carrier, and we can't thank the ship's crew and staff enough."

Naval Striking and Support Force NATO's mission is to provide a rapidly deployable joint, but predominantly maritime headquarters to plan, command, and control maritime operations across the full spectrum of Alliance fundamental security tasks, including maritime Expanded Task Force operations, or limited scale maritime-heavy Joint Operations, within the Euro-Atlantic region or at strategic reach.

IKESG is currently deployed as part of an ongoing rotation of forward-deployed forces to support maritime security operations in the 5th and 6th Fleet Areas of Responsibility.

The strike group is comprised of Eisenhower, CVW-7, CDS-28, the guided-missile destroyers USS McFaul (DDG 74), USS Hue City (CG 66), USS Carney (DDG 64) and USS Farragut (DDG 99).

Another CCSG 8 and CDS 28 unit, USS Ramage (DDG 61) homeported in Norfolk, is currently deployed in the U.S. 6th Fleet Area of Operations.

For more news from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), visit www.navy.mil/local/cvn69/.