Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Zachary Melvin | Rear Adm. Gregory Huffman, commander, Carrier Strike Group 12, speaks at the 2021...... read more read more
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NORFOLK, VA - “When word of a crisis breaks out in Washington, it’s no accident the first question asked is “where is the nearest carrier?”” According to Rear Adm. Gregory Huffman, commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12 that comment is as true today as it was in the early 1990s when President Bill Clinton announced it on the radio. Huffman made the comment while speaking at the 2021 Hawkeye, Greyhound and Stingray Symposium, Oct. 15, 2021.
Delivering remarks to an audience of nearly 200 active duty and former pilots, Naval Flight Officers (NFOs) and industry leaders, Huffman spoke about something near and dear to his heart as Commander of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, the continued relevance of aircraft carriers.
“We are moving to a new area of global competition with two near-peer adversaries. In this environment, naval aviation with the carrier strike group as its primary fighting unit is the most dynamically employable force in the DoD inventory,” Huffman said. “The inherent strategic mobility of naval assets - and a CSG in particular - provides a high level of tactical unpredictability and flexibility for the combatant commander.”
In his former job as the operations officer (N3) on the Chief of Naval Operations staff, Huffman saw first-hand the high demand for a carrier presence in all of the Navy’s fleet concentration areas. This demand, he believes, is due to the expansive and unique capabilities inherent to a CSG. He offered that all of the components of the strike group to include the air wing, the destroyer squadron assets and the cruiser are what add to the striking power of a CSG and deter U.S. adversaries.
That sentiment was echoed by Rear Adm. John Meier, commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic who spoke at the symposium about the deep roots Naval Aviation has in U.S. history.
“Our country is blessed with geography, with deep water ports both east and west, Atlantic and Pacific, rivers, waterways and abundant natural resources that have made our nation a maritime nation since our founding,” said Meier. “Prior to World War II we developed the tactics that led to employing the aircraft carrier to great success and ultimately in the Battle of Midway - That victory and the success of the early carrier raids immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor have given way to distributed maritime operations which is exactly why we buy and build aircraft carriers, so we can operate in a maneuver fashion, mobile from the sea.”
With the persistent need for carriers, and only 10 operational aircraft carriers, that is where USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) comes into the picture. The ship, under the leadership of Commanding Officer Capt. Paul Lanzilotta is diligently completing a planned incremental availability while Huffman’s staff is actively working to get Ford ready for operational employment next year ahead of her planned Global Force Management (GFM) deployment.
“This is going to give us a chance to fully flesh out all the capabilities Ford brings to the table prior to going out on the first GFM deployment,” said Huffman. “Ford and the Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 team did a lot of work operationally during Ford’s [post-delivery test and trials] to push the ball forward, but this employment will be an opportunity to push the ball further down the field and demonstrate the advantage that Ford is going to bring to the future of naval aviation.”
Huffman left the crowd with the inspiring notion that with the centennial of naval aviation - as marked by the commissioning of the first aircraft carrier, USS Langley (CV-1), and her first flight operations in 1922, he can think of no more fitting time to send the Gerald R. Ford Carrier strike group to sea and demonstrate her advanced capabilities.
Speaking on the symposium’s leadership panel, Lanzilotta added “this Navy and this generation are as stalwart and awesome as any other generation that fought before. There is no shortage of grit and toughness and fight in every one of the Sailors that serves in uniform. Rest well, sleep soundly, we have the watch.”
The Hawkeye, Greyhound and Stingray Symposium is a semi-annual conference sponsored by the Airborne Command and Control (VAW) Squadron and Fleet Logistics Support (VRC) Squadron Foundation that brings together pilots, NFOs and industry leaders to discuss current events, technology and other relevant topics to the community. This year’s theme was ‘Next Steps in Naval Warfighting.’
| Date Taken: | 10.15.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 10.18.2021 12:05 |
| Story ID: | 407454 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 490 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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