NAVY WIRE SERVICE (NWS) - 21 January 1999 -


NWS21jan-2. USS Theodore Roosevelt CVBG, USS Kearsarge
ARG to conduct Joint Task Force Exercise
by SECONDFLT Public Affairs
     NORFOLK (NWS) - More than 24,000 U.S. service
members, as well as personnel and units from allied
nations will participate in Joint Task Force Exercise
(JTFEX) 99-1, Feb. 12 - March 2. JTFEX 99-1 will take
place in the waters off Virginia and North Carolina,
as well as in the Puerto Rican and Jacksonville, Fla.,
operating areas.
     JTFEX 99-1 will feature the USS Theodore
Roosevelt Carrier Battle Group (CVBG) and the USS
Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (ARG). In addition,
the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, elements of the
U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and a number of allied units
will participate.
     The exercise will provide "graduated level"
training for CVBG and ARG units prior to their
deployment. During the exercise, participating forces
will be tested on their ability to deploy rapidly,
conduct joint operations during a crisis, and refine
tactics, techniques and procedures in joint force
operations. They will train in a simulated high-threat
environment that involves air, naval and ground
operations, and incorporates surveillance, rescue and
other operations such as maritime interdiction,
embassy support and non-combatant evacuation.
     Participating forces will train using equipment
and systems that incorporate the latest advances in
technology, and support the full range of capabilities
that may be needed in various geographic areas where
forces serve during their deployment.
     "This Joint Task Force Exercise will train
operational units from all services in a battlefield
environment that is designed to specifically prepare
them for the types of challenges the military faces
today," said Vice Adm. William J. Fallon, Commander,
United States Second Fleet and Commander, Striking
Fleet Atlantic.
     "This exercise provides our battle group and
amphibious ready group units valuable experience in
operations with forces of other services and other
nations, while giving them an opportunity to refine
joint and combined warfighting skills. It also
provides a challenging test of their capabilities, and
completes the training and evaluation process which
supports certifying the battle group and ARG as `ready
to deploy.'"
     Fallon will conduct the exercise. When in a
training role, he is designated as Commander, Joint
Task Force 950.
     In addition to U.S. forces, units from Great
Britain, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Canada,
Germany, Bolivia and Brazil will participate in the
exercise. This kind of "combined" training enhances
the readiness of both U.S. and allied forces, and is
representative of the way nations often assign forces
to deal with modern crises.
     JTFEX 99-1 incorporates a significant special
operating forces (SOF) participation, as well. More
than 2,500 personnel from Navy, Army and Air Force SOF
units will come together during the exercise to
practice many of the missions they may be called upon
to perform in a joint task force environment.
     Within the JTFEX 99-1 exercise, a second exercise
called TMDI-98 will demonstrate the transfer of the
Joint Forces Air Component Commander and staff from an
aircraft carrier at sea to a field environment ashore
near Camp Lejeune, N.C. The goal of this related
exercise will be to successfully support full air
operations while completing the shift of functions
ashore.
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NWS21jan-3. Mine warfare forces conduct exercise in
Gulf of Mexico
by Mine Warfare Command
     CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (NWS) -- The USS Inchon
(MCS 12) Task Group, comprising Mine Warfare Command
ships, aircraft and explosive ordnance detachments, is
conducting a training exercise in the Gulf of Mexico.
The exercise began Jan. 15 and concludes Jan. 24.
     Gulf of Mexico Exercise (GOMEX) 99-1 is the final
exercise in preparation for an upcoming deployment of
Inchon Task Group 99-1, where the group will exercise
with allies in the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian
Gulf.
     Participants of GOMEX 99-1 are practicing
integrated mine countermeasures operations using
surface ships, helicopters and explosive ordnance
disposal detachments. These ships, aircraft, and
divers integrate unique capabilities, forming the mine
countermeasures "triad."
     The Inchon Task Group is under the tactical
control of Commander, Mine Countermeasures Squadron
(COMCMRON) TWO. Units include Inchon, the Navy's only
mine countermeasures command and control ship, with
COMCMRON TWO embarked, USS Devastator (MCM 6), USS
Scout (MCM 8), USS Champion (MCM 4), and USS Avenger
(MCM 1). All units are based at Naval Station
Ingleside, Texas.
     The air contingent of the Inchon Task Group
consists of Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron
Fifteen (HM-15), based at Naval Air Station Corpus
Christi, and Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Eight
(HC-8), based in Norfolk. Other units include
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Mobile Unit Six,
Detachment 4, based at Ingleside; Units 6 and 20,
based in Charleston, S.C.; and EOD Mobile Unit Three,
Detachment 11, based in Coronado, Ca.
     USS Pioneer (MCM 9), USS Warrior (MCM 10), USS
Chief (MCM 14) and the coastal minehunter USS Black
Hawk (MHC 58), all based at Ingleside, will also
participate in the exercise under the operational
control of COMCMRON THREE.
     COMCMRON TWO and THREE are also based at Naval
Station Ingleside.
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