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Gunston Hall Begins COMPTUEX

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS111206-04
12/6/2011

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Lauren G. Randall, USS Iwo Jima Public Affairs

USS IWO JIMA, At Sea (NNS) -- Whidbey-Island class amphibious dock-landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) departed Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Virginia Beach, Va. Nov. 29, beginning the next phase of pre-deployment training exercises underway.

Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) is approximately a three-week long training scenario that is designed to test and evaluate the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), which includes amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), amphibious transport dock USS New York (LPD 21), Gunston Hall, Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 8 and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24th MEU) at both the unit level and at the integrated level with respect to how the ships and units work as a team.

"Basically, the way the training cycle works is that we had the basic phase, which was focused on unit level operations, then you go to the integrated phase. COMPTUEX is really one of the capstone events of the integrated phase, where now you aren't just by yourself, you're working with other ships," said Lt. John W. Meise, operations officer aboard Gunston Hall. "This is how the Navy and the rest of the Department of Defense do business. This is critical for us to be able to plan, communicate, coordinate and execute as a unified group in support of whatever the mission might be."

The exercises during COMPTUEX will hit on a broad range of training from information operations to surface and shore capabilities. It will be a complete scenario from getting underway to pulling into port with simulated exercises which could occur during deployment.

"It is my understanding that during COMPTUEX we are going to have a lot of opportunities to really give our teams a lot of training and preparation for the work that they are going to do during deployment," said Meise. "They really test us as far as all of the specific warfare defenses that we have, surface warfare, air warfare, amphibious warfare, information operations and composite warfare, they really make sure to cover the whole spectrum."

COMPTUEX is all about integrated operations. By the end of COMPTUEX, the Iwo Jima ARG, the MEU, and all the various detachments turn into a single cohesive unit able to respond quickly, efficiently and effectively.

As an ARG, the core competency is being a joint integrated unit; COMPTUEX plays a vital role creating team cohesiveness. The primary mission of the ARG is rapid buildup of combat power ashore support. The inherent togetherness and support is a special capability that the Navy-Marine Corps team brings to the table.