Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Santiago Navarro | 220610-N-NY362-2001 PHLIPPINE SEA (June. 10, 2022) Fire Controlman 3rd Class Hayden...... read more read more
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PHILIPPINE SEA –
A Federal Way, Washington native and Decatur High School graduate is serving aboard the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54).
Hayden Kolbo is a Fire Controlman or FC who works for the combat systems department on the Antietam, which is forward-deployed to Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan.
Fire Controlmen operate and maintain various weapon systems aboard U.S. Navy vessels. They primarily operate the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System or CIWS.
“As a CIWS technician, we have the best of both worlds with all the hands on work and our technical knowledge of computers and radar,” said Kolbo. “It is the perfect combination between radar and mechanical work.”
Fire Controlmen perform maintenance and operability tests on the CIWS. Operability tests are done from a ship’s local control room where they facilitate the CIWS search and track process for potential threats. Additionally, FCs manage many other weapon systems on their ship including the Mark-160 console, standard missiles, and the Mark-45 5-inch gun.
“The CIWS is the last line of defense for this ship,” said Kolbo. “It will allow a target to come within 2 nautical miles of a ship to guarantee a hit and protect the ship’s integrity.”
To become a Fire Controlman, Kolbo completed nearly two years of training, which included Advanced Technical Training and radar theory school in Naval Station Great Lakes and “C” school in Dam Neck, Virginia.
“I told myself I didn’t want to study more after I finished high school,” said Kolbo. “Then I joined the military and got schooling that was harder than college.”
Since being on the Antietam, Kolbo has participated in various live-fire exercises. He recently, participated in a scenario involving the firing of two missiles toward two drones deployed by another ship.
“It’s amazing how many rounds of 20 millimeter ammunition we have fired in a few short deployments,” said Kolbo. “We will go through every last round we have to shoot a target down.”
The Antietam returned to sea on May 19th after a ten month in-port period. The ship recently concluded a bilateral exercise with South Korea in the Philippine Sea as part of Carrier Strike Group 5, which includes the CSG 5 flagship USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65). The exercise tested the interoperability between the two nations.
Antietam is attached to Commander, Task Force 70/ Carrier Strike Group 5 conducting underway operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
| Date Taken: | 06.10.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.27.2022 22:38 |
| Story ID: | 425789 |
| Location: | PHILIPPINE SEA |
| Web Views: | 90 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Federal Way Native Serves Aboard USS Antietam while conducting operations in the Philippine Sea, by PO2 Santiago Navarro, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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