San Diego Union-Tribune August 22, 2003
Flotilla seen as an evolution in warfare
Strike group to improve military power, versatility
By James W. Crawley
When the amphibious assault ship Peleliu and four other warships leave San Diego today, they will usher in a new era as the Navy and Marine Corps adopt more innovative ways to fight the war against terrorism.
This flotilla, known as Expeditionary Strike Group One, will be able to land Marines on a distant shore, like its predecessor amphibious groups.
But this flotilla will travel with some punch - heavily armed warships capable of firing 5-inch cannons to support those Marines, launching Tomahawk cruise missiles at far-away targets, and better defending itself in enemy waters.
With a total of seven vessels and more than 5,000 San Diego-based Marines and sailors, the strike group is one of the initial ideas from the post-9/11 "Deep Blue" think tank created to revolutionize how the Navy combats terrorism and emerging opponents.
Rear Adm. Bob Conway said the first-of-a-kind flotilla is more powerful and versatile than other amphibious units.
"The spectrum of warfare is open to this group," he said.
Some defense experts think the change will increase the Navy's striking power. Others believe the new flotilla won't be right for future battles.
It can show the flag and threaten opponents, said A.D. Baker, editor of the authoritative "Combat Fleets of the World" reference book.
"It's gunboat diplomacy on a grand scale," he said.
Leaving from San Diego Naval Station at 32nd Street, the strike group is expected to deploy for nearly nine months on a cruise that could take it to the Persian Gulf, the Horn of Africa or other potential trouble spots.
The strike group is composed of three amphibious ships, a cruiser, destroyer, frigate and nuclear-powered attack submarine.
The amphibious unit includes the Peleliu, dock landing ship Germantown and transport dock Ogden - loaded with 2,200 Marines from Camp Pendleton and Miramar and Yuma, Ariz., air stations, along with Navy SEALs.
Peleliu, the group's flagship, serves as a perch for the flotilla's air power: Harrier jump jets, Cobra helicopter gunships and transport helicopters. It and the other amphibious ships also carry hovercraft and landing craft to transport Marines, tanks, armored personnel carriers, Humvees, artillery, trucks and supplies ashore.
Four warships complete the flotilla:
Cruiser Port Royal, based in Hawaii.
Destroyer Decatur, home ported in San Diego.
Frigate Jarrett, based here.
Submarine Greeneville, home-ported at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Port Royal and Decatur carry dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles that can fly up to 1,000 miles to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy.
The Greeneville will provide anti-submarine patrols for the group, but also is fitted to carry the SEALs' new mini-sub, which could be employed for the first time.
First discussed in May 2002, the new flotilla combines amphibious capabilities - Marines landing by sea and air - with a substantial naval combat force armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, anti-aircraft rockets and guns.
Previously, three-vessel amphibious ready groups have served as little more than floating barracks for Marines. For six-month stints, the lightly armed ships steamed off for likely trouble spots with Marines primed for combat, peacekeeping or humanitarian missions.
Now, the transports will be at the center of a heavily armed flotilla that can defend itself against enemy ships, aircraft and missiles, while able to launch long-range cruise missiles if the president gives the command.
With four heavily armed warships in the flotilla, Conway's ships can operate in more hostile waters.
"That's change. It's a hard change and some (people) have resisted because it's a cultural change," Conway acknowledged.
One innovation is the addition of a one-star admiral to head an amphibious group. Previously, command was split between a Navy captain overseeing the ships and a Marine Corps colonel in charge of the troops.
Now, those officers report to Conway.
When the second expeditionary group leaves here in 2004, command will fall to a Marine brigadier general - another first in modern naval history.
With no previous experience with amphibious warfare, the former destroyer captain has knocked down some walls, literally, to change the way the flotilla operates.
Conway gutted several compartments in the Peleliu's superstructure to install a joint operations center for senior Navy and Marine commanders. Previously, each had a separate command post on the ships.
In a high-backed roller chair, Conway will sit before a wall of video monitors that can display the latest radar display, Pentagon intelligence or news programs. To his right will be his top Marine and Navy commanders. Around the command center, officers in charge of intelligence, aircraft, cruise missiles, submarines and communications will monitor and feed information to Conway and his staff.
From their posts, he and his commanders can issue orders to other ships, troops and aircraft.
The changes are necessary, Conway added, for the sea service to transform itself into a better-suited fighting force.
But, Conway said, his command is no aircraft carrier group.
An aircraft carrier can launch up to 50 bomb-and missile-carrying jets, while Peleliu's aerial punch is six Harriers, four Cobra attack choppers and three Huey gunships.
Nor does he have the offensive power of three or four cruisers and destroyers, loaded with upwards of 200 Tomahawks, that escort a carrier.
"This strike group complements a carrier strike group. It does not replace it, nor was it intended to," Conway said.
Combining the seven ships has been challenging because it's a concept the Navy hasn't tried since World War II.
In addition to traditional destroyer duties, such as Tomahawk strikes and air and submarine defense, Decatur's crew has learned the ins and outs of amphibious warfare and gunfire support for Marines.
"We're forging new warfare concepts," said Cmdr. Cindy Thebaud, Decatur's commanding officer. "Some of it we're writing as we go."
But for the average sailor on board the Decatur, the new concept has little impact, said Master Chief Petty Officer Mike Johnston. Most sailors will continue to service equipment and complete watches.
"It's pretty much transparent (for most sailors)," Johnston said.
Analysts are split on the new strike group's estimated effectiveness.
"It's an enormous step forward," said Patrick Garrett, an analyst with GlobalSecurity.org, an Alexandria, Va., think tank.
Currently, the Navy's main strength is its fleet of 12 aircraft carriers, he said. But, with ships requiring overhauls and the vast distances from the home ports to global hot spots, the nearest available carrier could be weeks away.
The new flotillas give the Navy 12 additional strike groups, Garrett added.
"It may mean you'd have a (powerful warship) on the scene in hours or days instead of weeks," he said.
But, "Combat Fleets" editor Baker said, "It's too much force for most situations and not enough for the really critical ones."
An expeditionary group, with its battalion-sized landing force and a few short-range jump jets, isn't strong enough to fight a major conflict without help.
And the group's Tomahawks and air defense system are overkill for many peacekeeping and humanitarian missions, he said.
© Copyright 2003, Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
