Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Joshua Sapien | 220122-N-TL932-1086 PHILIPPINE SEA (Jan. 22, 2022) Nimitz-class aircraft carriers USS...... read more read more
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PACIFIC OCEAN – The 5th General Order of a Sentry says to quit your post only when properly relieved. For a sentry standing watch, turning over to their relief could mean a ten-minute conversation. For commanding officers of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, with crews of more than 5,000 Sailors, turning over the responsibility of ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region is a much more complex and detailed process. Recently, the commanding officers of USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) turned over as the rotations force operating in the 7th Fleet area of operations.
Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), led by Capt. P. Scott Miller, a second-generation Naval Aviator and 1994 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, has been deployed since June 2021. Carrying out the mission of deterring aggressors and supporting freedom of navigation in the 7th Fleet, Vinson Carrier Strike Group (VINCSG) has trained and operated together with eight different countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and is nearing the end of its watch at sea.
“Our presence in the 7th Fleet area of operations has been unquestionably effective,” said Miller. “We have executed exactly what we, the United States Navy, advertise our objectives are. We sail the world’s waterways to ensure free and open commerce and maintain international order.”
Free and open commerce and international order have been at the forefront of the U.S. Navy’s objectives in the 7th Fleet and Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) for over 75 years, and is maintained through presence and exercises with partners.
“During our deployment, a true Western Pacific deployment, we have navigated almost all of the waterways and flown in many of them – from the International Date Line, up to Japan, down to Australia, over to India, several times through the South China Sea, and many of the spaces in between,” said Miller. “We have the photos to prove it.”
Relieving Vinson in the 7th Fleet is Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), led by Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, who is already setting milestones as the first female commanding officer of an aircraft carrier. Bauernschmidt graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in the same class with Miller, with a Bachelor of Science degree in ocean engineering. She was the executive officer of USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) before her second command tour as the commanding officer of USS San Diego. Bauernschmidt took command of Lincoln in August 2021 prior to the ship’s deployment to 7th Fleet.
“It is incredible to be in 7th Fleet conducting operations,” said Bauernschmidt. “The Sailors worked extremely hard to be ready for this deployment, and now they are able to show the world how much their hard work paid off.”
The passing of the torch between Captains Miller and Bauernschmidt highlights that even with over 341,996 people serving in the Navy, the degrees of separation often become rather small.
“Our community is very small and we are extremely close, so we often bounce ideas off each other to assist in leading Sailors in the best way we know how,” said Bauernschmidt.
In the more than 30 years since they began their journeys though the nuclear aviation pipeline, Miller and Bauernschmidt have maintained continual communication with each other.
“Capt. Miller and I were trying to remember exactly when we first met at the Naval Academy and neither of us could pin point the exact time, but we often crossed paths and maintained a strong friendship,” Bauernschmidt said. “I vividly remember contacting him when he was selected to start the pipeline to command an aircraft carrier. I had just began nuclear power training, he was in his last 4-6 weeks of training, and I asked him a lot of questions that he patiently answered to assist me in being successful.”
This ability to grow through the ranks and develop alongside a trusted cohort has proven to be a method of success for both Bauernschmidt and Miller, even though their career paths diverged at times.
“We are both pilots, but in different airframes,” said Bauernschmidt.
“She flew helicopters and I flew jets,” said Miller.
“[We’re] both '94 Naval Academy graduates (BEAT ARMY!), but I think the true similarities stop there,” said Bauernschmidt. “I'd compare it to two friends working in the same field, but on opposite sides of the country. We are doing many of the same jobs at the same time, but in two different communities and two different locations.”
“We both moved upward through the Naval Aviation ranks to command squadrons, be selected for aviation nuclear power, be big XOs, amphibious assault ship COs, and now are both COs of CVNs,” said Miller.
Now the two Naval Academy classmates find themselves again exchanging notes and learning from one another.
“We frequently communicate tactical information about operating in theater, and I imagine we will have those conversations for some time,” said Miller. “She doesn’t need my professional advice for running a ship, because she has already built who she is and what she needs for command.”
Preparation for command of an aircraft carrier is an extensive process, but the shared lessons learned and experiential knowledge of how to succeed in 7th Fleet is something that is best passed down from those who have operated in the region firsthand.
“We share everything from operational tactics, to how to get parts and ice cream,” said Bauernschmidt. “It was a phenomenal turnover, and I am very grateful for all the lessons he passed which we immediately incorporated into our operations. It makes tough days a little easier when you know there is someone else you respect and trust serving alongside you. If you have a challenge, you can reach out and know they have probably had a similar experience and are able to offer some perspective.”
The job of an aircraft carrier is to enable the work of the strike group – launching planes, moving through the water, feeding Sailors, providing parts, moving steam, supplies and ordnance, and a plethora of other tasks which provide their own set of logistical and communication challenges for a commanding officer to overcome.
“The challenge of CVN command in the South China Sea is made significantly easier due to the efforts of the XO, command master chief, department heads, warfare commanders, watch standers, maintainers, and the rest of the crew that take such pride in their service,” said Miller. “Morale and motivation are often challenging, but all of our committees have made a huge positive impact on our Sailors lives.”
While underway for 262 days, VINCSG sailed over 80,000 nautical miles, conducting maritime security operations, integrated training between surface and air units, long-range maritime strike, anti-submarine warfare, information warfare operations, maritime interdiction operations, personnel recovery, air defense operations, multiple ship navigation and formation maneuvering, and refueling-at-sea operations in some of the most heavily navigated waters of the Indo-Pacific including the South China Sea and the Philippine Sea. Additionally, the strike group conducted multi-carrier operations with U.S. and partner maritime forces and bilateral and multinational exercises.
During the deployment, VINCSG’s embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2 executed more than 15,000 fixed-wing and helicopter flight hours comprising of 7,791 sorties, 7,702 launches and 7,761 aircraft arrestments.
“I am extremely proud of the accomplishments of the crew of USS Carl Vinson and more thankful than can be imagined for the hard work and sacrifice that has gone into preparing this ship for deployment and executing with professionalism and pride,” said Miller. “Capt. Bauernschmidt and the Lincoln Carrier Strike Group are ready to relieve us and take the watch. We will make our way home, execute some quick downtime, and begin the process of getting Vinson prepared and more capable than ever.”
Lincoln’s Sailors have a mountainous task ahead of them, but Bauernschmidt is confident that because of their preparation, training, and turnover with their Vinson counterparts, they will be more than capable of continuing Vinson’s successes in service to their nation.
Commanding the world’s most lethal warships in some of the world’s most contested waters is a great responsibility, but it is one for which Miller and Bauernschmidt have spent over 30 years preparing. After eight strenuous months at sea, Miller and his Sailors are ready to return home with Vinson, while Bauernschmidt and Lincoln’s crew assume the watch over the 7th Fleet area of operations.
| Date Taken: | 02.07.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 02.08.2022 04:00 |
| Story ID: | 414228 |
| Location: | USPACOM, AT SEA |
| Web Views: | 844 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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