Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Jerome Johnson | 200303-N-VA915-020 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (March 3, 2020) Adm. Christopher W. Grady,...... read more read more
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NORFOLK (NNS) -- With a focus on fleet readiness, hurricane preparedness, and Sailor toughness, the United States Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) commander conducted several fleet unit visits, Mar. 2-4, 2020.
Adm. Christopher W. Grady, commander, USFFC traveled to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, and Naval Station Mayport, to visit with Sailors and Marines about readiness topics that affect the fleet.
In Kings Bay, Grady visited commander, Submarine Group 10, the Trident Training Facility, the Nuclear Regional Maintenance Depot, the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Maryland (SSBN 738), and the Kings Bay dry dock, the largest covered dry dock in the United States. Grady was also briefed on warrior toughness initiatives and hurricane preparation.
“Our Sailors and Marines are our greatest competitive advantage in a naval force that is the most ready and capable in the world. It is our obligation to give them, the center of the universe, everything they need to be safe and ready to carry out our Nation’s business,” Grady said.
To do that, it takes a strong team, working together to ensure our Navy and Marine Corps team continues to be a global force for security and stability.
“Our Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and civilians are dedicated to our Department of Defense’s top mission of strategic deterrence,” said Rear Adm. Mike Bernacchi, Commander, Submarine Group 10. “We all take extreme pride in our mission, and we’re thankful to have the opportunity to showcase the expertise we have at Team Kings Bay to Adm. Grady.”
Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is homeport to all East Coast Ohio-class submarines, to include five ballistic-missile and two guided-missile submarines.
“The accomplishments that are achieved here every day makes me incredibly proud to be a part of this team,” said Capt. Chester Parks, commanding officer of the base. “Every person here is an invaluable asset, and we are focused on ensuring our submarines are ready for tomorrow’s fight.”
During his visit to Jacksonville, Grady met with leadership at Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing (CPRW) 11, Patrol Squadron (VP) 5, and Unmanned Patrol Squadron (VUP) 19, where he viewed the Triton operations center.
“It was a privilege to host Admiral Grady,” said Capt. Craig Mattingly, commander, PRW-11, who discussed the important missions of VUP-19 and VP-5, which are part of the vital Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force (MPRF).
MPRF is the U.S. Navy’s long-range Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW), and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capability. VUP-19 is the Navy’s first unmanned ISR squadron currently executing Early Operational Capability (EOC) deployment in Guam supporting Commander, Pacific Fleet (CPF). VP-5 recently returned from deployment to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command with MPRF’s newest capability, the Advanced Airborne Sensor (AAS).
“Both of these squadrons are critical to the overall Navy Integrated Readiness synchronization and collective lethality to the global fleet standard in the era of Great Power Competition; VP-5 and VUP-19 represent the core naval functions of maritime security and all-domain access. The platforms of MPRF deliver the competitive advantage because of the women and men who execute the missions both home and abroad,” said Mattingly.
While in Mayport, Grady visited commander, Naval Surface Squadron 14 and ships on the waterfront including the Cyclone-class patrol ship USS Zephyr (PC 8), the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), and the Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Detroit (LCS 7). Grady also toured Mayport’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Training Facility, which trains Sailors in the operation and maintenance of ship systems with courses specializing in navigation, surface warfare, air warfare, electronic warfare and intelligence.
“We are grateful for this opportunity to demonstrate the Center for Surface Combat System’s LCS training capability to Adm. Grady,” said John Zuzich, Center for Surface Combat Systems, LCS Training Facility director. “Today he was able to see the tactical warfighting scenarios used by LCSRON 2 and LCS Surface Division 21 to certify USS Little Rock (Blue) as fully ready for their upcoming maiden deployment.”
From submarines to training facilities, Grady was able to see all of the great work taking place around the fleet to support the readying forces for combat operations. And with that mindset, Grady stressed to each Sailor and leader the importance of being relentless on readiness.
“Being combat ready means being relentless on readiness. We must dispense with the mentality where we build readiness just-in-time for the next deployment, and instead adopt the mindset where we are constantly preparing ourselves for operations at sea,” said Grady. “Being relentless on readiness means upholding our high standards and maintaining a steady strain in areas such as preservation and preventative maintenance, while refusing to live with temporary workarounds or leaving any redundancy on the pier.”
| Date Taken: | 03.04.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2020 15:26 |
| Story ID: | 364491 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 388 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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