• USS South Carolina (CGN-37)-Commanded by Captain David K. Brown, South Carolina will be the last U.S. nuclear-powered cruiser in commission. Because of budget pressures, this ship and her sister, California (CGN-36), will retire in 1999. Until then, South Carolina gives the GW battle group excellent service. Thanks to her nuclear power plant, she is the only escort in the group that can stay with the carrier in a long-range, high-speed dash to a distant crisis. South Carolina also has the "New Threat Update" (NTU), an electronics package that establishes a data link with Aegis ships, and accepts firing commands from their computers. This is especially useful, since South Carolina's missile directors (steerable dish antennas projecting an intense, narrow microwave beam to "light up" the target for a missile's seeker head) are considered more effective in coastal areas than those of Aegis ships.
• USS Carney (DDG-64)-One of the newer ships in the Navy, Carney is an Arleigh Burke-class (DDG-51) Aegis destroyer. Displacing only 8,300 tons (as compared to almost ten thousand tons for Ticonderoga-class cruisers), the Burkes are considered the finest surface combat vessels in the world on a ton-for-ton/capability basis. The first U.S. warships designed with stealth technology to reduce their radar and infrared signatures, they pack the same Aegis combat system and weapons mix as the larger cruisers. They carry fewer weapons (ninety-six missiles in her VLS launchers and a single 5-in/54 mm gun mount), though, and no helicopter hangar is fitted. Carney is based at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, and commanded by Commander Mark H. Buzby.
• USS John Rogers (DD-983)-An updated Spruance-class destroyer, John Rogers is based at Naval Station Mayport, Florida. Her skipper is Commander James M. Carr, and the two embarked SH-60B LAMPS helicopters are drawn from HSL-46 (headed by Commander Tim Alexander) at Mayport. For the GW battle group's 1997/1998 cruise, the HSL-46 Det. 6 OIC was Lieutenant Commander Kenan Shaffer.
Along with the four cruisers and destroyers, CRUDESGRU Two includes a pair of Oliver Hazard Perry-class (FFG-7) guided-missile frigates. These smaller (3,660 tons) escort ships are particularly useful for inshore work common in littoral operations. Though limited in gun and SAM capabilities, FFG-7's have good sonars for shallow-water ASW, excellent helicopter facilities, and vast experience in maritime embargo and joint counter-drug operations. Like their namesakes from the age of fighting sail, frigates are fast ships that frequently go in harm's way.[70]
• USS Boone (FFG-28)-Based at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, Boone is commanded by Commander Arthur S. Mobley. Her SH-60B Seahawk helicopter came from HSL-42 (commanded by Commander Robert Presler) during her 1997/1998 cruise with the GW group. This unit, HSL-42 Det. 1, is headed by Lieutenant Commander Stuart Howard.
• USS Underwood (FFG-36)-Underwood is based at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, and commanded by Commander Daniel M. Smith. She also has a single SH-60B Seahawk detachment, this one from HSL-44 (headed by Commander Wayne Tunick). The HSL-44 Det. 7 OIC is Lieutenant Commander Jack Shepard.
The last two combat vessels of the GW battle group are a pair of improved Los Angeles-class (1688) nuclear-attack submarines, which give Admiral Mullen additional capabilities that we can only describe in general terms because of the tight security restrictions that surround and protect the "Silent Service." In addition to hunting down potential enemy submarines inshore, they can fire Tomahawk cruise missiles, track maritime targets, gather electronic intelligence, and covertly deliver and retrieve special operations forces. The assigned SSNs are:
• USS Toledo (SSN-769)-Based at the submarine base in Groton, Connecticut, Toledo is commanded by Commander Bill Burke.
• USS Annapolis (SSN-760)-Also home-ported at Groton, Annapolis is led by Commander Daniel Parson.
Logistics may be the least "sexy" part of Naval operations, but supplies are always the first concern and constant worry of the professional warrior. You don't leave port without carefully planning how the fleet supply train will support your operations at sea over many months and thousands of miles. The mark of a real "blue-water" Navy is the ability to sustain operations at sea indefinitely. The U.S. Navy pioneered at-sea replenishment over six decades ago.
• USS Seattle (AOE-3)-The great advantage of nuclear-powered warships is that they do not require fuel oil for propulsion. With four nuclear ships (a carrier, cruiser, and both submarines), the GW battle group has no need for a flotilla of supporting oil tankers. Only one combat support ship is assigned to the GW battle group, but what a ship! With over 53,000 tons displacement fully loaded, USS Seattle (of the Sacramento class) carries bunker and aviation fuel, fresh food, spare parts, supplies, and ammunition. She can defend herself with a Mk. 29 Sea Sparrow SAM system, a pair of 20mm Mk. 15 Phalanx CIWS, and a full SLQ-32 ESM/ECM system. Captain Stephen Firks commands Seattle.
Partners: The Guam Amphibious Ready Group
When I wrote about the Marine Corps a few years ago, teaming CVBGs and ARGs/MEU (SOC)s into combined task forces was still a very new concept.[71] Though joining these two powerful and flexible units makes great sense, big technical, institutional, and cultural barriers had to be overcome in order to make it happen. Once the concept was implemented, however, it quickly proved its worth, in the Balkans, the Taiwan Straits, Africa, and the Persian Gulf. The CVBG/ARG/MEU (SOC) teams have held the line for American interests and kept a lid on the chaos of the 1990s.
For their 1997/1998 Mediterranean cruise, the GW battle group teamed with an ARG based around Amphibious Squadron Two (PHIBRON-2). These four ships are commanded by an "ARG Commodore," Captain Phillip Sowa, USN, from his flagship, the amphibious helicopter carrier (LPH) USS Guam (LPH-9). Though Guam lacks the larger flight deck, well deck, and hangar found on newer Tarawa (LHA-1) and Wasp-class (LHD-1) assault ships, the ARG has found ways to compensate for these shortcomings. To make up for the shortage of well deck space as well as vehicle and cargo capacity, the ARG has an extra Dock Landing Ship (LSD) to carry the full range of gear needed by an MEU (SOC). Since flight deck parking space on Guam is minimal, the AV-8B Harrier II detachment assigned to the MEU (SOC) was reduced to four aircraft. For close air support, the MEU (SOC) can rely on VMFA-251, the Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet squadron embarked on GW. Marines prefer to have their own aviators flying cover over a hot beach or landing zone.
70
Despite their intended "low mix" status in the Cold War structure of the U.S. Navy, the FFG-7's have frequently been in the thick of maritime operations and actions. Two of them, the
71
For more on the ARG, MEU (SOC), and their various components and missions, see my book