Photo By Shayna Gosney | Representatives from across the Naval Sea Systems Command Warfare Centers, the NAVSEA...... read more read more
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Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport hosted representatives from across the Naval Sea Systems Command Warfare Centers, the NAVSEA Warfare Centers Headquarters and the Naval Sea Logistics Center for a warfighting readiness tabletop exercise at Naval Base Kitsap-Keyport, June 13-15.
The event, titled “Warfare Centers Command, Control and Communications Integration Tabletop Exercise,” marked the first time all 10 Warfare Center Divisions, Warfare Center Headquarters and NSLC have been brought together for an in-person wartime readiness command, control and communication tabletop exercise, said NUWC Division, Keyport Advanced Skills Management Logistics Lead Caeleigh Villarreal.
Its goal was to test wartime response plans to address gaps identified during last year’s Naval Innovative Science and Engineering-funded Warfare Center Megaproject Command and Control tabletop event hosted by Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division.
Villarreal, who led the planning and development of this year’s exercise, said the event had a remarkable turnout and exceptional participant engagement.
“We originally were hoping to have 40 people come, but because of the uniqueness of the event, we ended up with 70 people,” said Villarreal. “There was a lot of enthusiasm and engagement and commitment from all the participants.”
A tabletop exercise is a testing and evaluation event where participants discuss and analyze the impacts of a negative event—such as a natural disaster, supply chain disruption or cyber attack—on an organization’s or system’s ability to perform a mission-essential function, in order to test and improve preparedness and response capabilities.
This tabletop was a direct response to a 2021 memo issued by former Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) James Geurts, mandating that all field activities organize a wartime acquisition response tabletop exercise to test wartime response plans, to include command and control.
In the memo, Geurts stated, “An established and practiced wartime response is a core proficiency of both acquisition and warfighter readiness. [...] I remain committed to ensuring that the United States Navy Acquisition community is ready to support the next major conflict.”
NUWC Division, Keyport Chief Logistician Wendy Kierpiec delivered the exercise’s opening remarks. She encouraged the group to use the event as an opportunity to learn and navigate unfamiliar operating environments, while also emphasizing the importance of honing their communication, command and control skills that would be vital in supporting a wartime scenario.
The exercise focused on three scenarios, or “turns,” centered around types of damage likely to occur to aircraft, ships, submarines and ashore infrastructure in sustained conflict. Participants devised innovative repair solutions and determined optimal asset allocations to address the challenges posed by these scenarios, said Kierpiec.
After each turn, each Warfare Center Division provided three types of deliverables: action items, observations and insights, and recommendations. These deliverables were then shared with the entire group, allowing valuable knowledge and experiences to be exchanged.
On the final day of the exercise, participants divided into groups, each tasked with developing an optimal crisis response center command, control and communications framework, or “C3.” Villarreal described the resulting C3s as being among the most valuable outcomes of the exercise, emphasizing their potential to enhance communication flow from the fleet to the Warfare Centers.
Villarreal said this exercise has provided the Warfare Centers with a wealth of actionable data, which they are currently using to refine their wartime response plans and prepare for the Pacific Fleet Talisman Sabre exercise coming up this August.
-KPT-
About Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport
NUWC Keyport provides advanced technical capabilities for test and evaluation, in-service engineering, maintenance and industrial base support, fleet material readiness, and obsolescence management for undersea warfare to expand America’s undersea dominance.
| Date Taken: | 07.05.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 07.05.2023 18:50 |
| Story ID: | 448594 |
| Location: | KEYPORT, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 871 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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