| By GORDON I. PETERSON
Senior Editor
As NATO's air campaign approached
its second full month of combat operations against the Former Republic of Yugoslavia
(FRY), Rear Adm. William W. Copeland Jr., commander of the nuclear-powered aircraft
carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group (CVBG), told Sea Power that his
forces have been "fully integrated" with allied operations--and are performing
superbly in numerous mission areas. Copeland said that sea-based operations in April and
May, code-named Operation Noble Anvil, "... demonstrated the CVBG's inherent ability
to provide rapid, responsive, and sustained strike operations without prior warning."
Copeland said that, in early
April, when his battle group entered the Adriatic Sea, it immediately began flying combat
missions over Kosovo--integrating Navy and Marine strike assets into a robust alliance
operation faced both with a variety of regional threats and the need to exploit the full
capabilities of a complex mix of C4I (command, control, communications, computers, and
intelligence) architectures and space-management constructs. "The flexibility and
responsiveness of the CVBG is not unique to this battle group," he said.
"Rather, it is yet another display of the unparalleled advantages of this combat
force."
In mid-May, U.S. naval forces
deployed with the U.S. Sixth Fleet totaled 21 ships, 109 aircraft, and more than 16,500
Sailors and Marines. USS Theodore Roosevelt's Carrier Air Wing Eight--composed of
22 F-14 Tomcats, 24 F/A-18 Hornets, four EA-6B Prowlers, four E-2C Hawkeyes, eight S-3B
Vikings, seven SH/HH-60 Seahawk helicopters, and two C-2A Greyhounds--provided an
important increase in NATO striking power when it arrived on station in the Adriatic Sea
on 6 April. The accompanying U.S. Marine Corps' aviation combat element--assigned to the
26th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge--also
provided an additional five AV-8B Harrier short-takeoff/vertical landing fighter aircraft
and 24 attack and combat-support helicopters.
Copeland said that the USS Theodore
Roosevelt Battle Group has proven to be an "invaluable" asset for NATO
commanders. "From aircraft and TLAM [Tomahawk land-attack missile] strike operations
to force-protection efforts ... [we] remain at the forefront of Allied efforts," he
said. Additional Navy and Marine Corps strike, force-protection, and patrol aircraft are
operating from bases in Hungary and Italy. Among those aircraft are 30 EA-6B Prowlers
providing critical radar-jamming support for allied strikes and for all U.S. Air
Force F-117 and B-2 bombing missions in the combat zone.
USS Theodore Roosevelt's
air wing is flying a wide range of strike and support missions, with unusually high sortie
rates generated as aircrews are tasked to fly double and triple cycles each day.
"This translates to multiple in-flight refueling evolutions and long sorties that
ultimately end with a carrier landing--often at night," Copeland said. He praised
Carrier Air Wing Eight's aircrews, flight-deck crew, and air department personnel for
meeting the challenge of high-tempo combat operations both safely and professionally.
In addition to the daily
offensive strike missions throughout FRY and the Kosovo Engagement Zone, the CVBG is
flying daily tactical reconnaissance missions to provide real-time imagery for support
operations. Surface combatants and nuclear-powered submarines assigned to the battle group
are conducting Tomahawk strike operations and providing maritime-force protection. Should
NATO commanders issue the order, these forces are prepared to commence
maritime-interdiction operations in support of a U.S. and NATO embargo to eliminate
petroleum shipments to Yugoslavia's seaport in Montenegro.
Copeland credited the use of
precision-guided munitions with the success of maximizing his air wing's air-to-ground
effectiveness while minimizing collateral damage (in accordance with NATO's targeting
policies). "The LANTIRN [low-altitude navigation and targeting infrared and night
targeting system] and FLIR [forward-looking infrared] weapons systems of the Tomcat and
Hornet aircraft have performed exceptionally well," he stated--while noting that poor
flying weather has been by far the biggest challenge pilots face each day.
"Throughout this
operation," Copeland said, "we are taking all possible steps to minimize
collateral damage through the use of
precision-guided munitions [PGMs]. The philosophy of delivering ordnance only to targets
that can be positively identified has meant that we frequently bring PGM ordnance back to
the ship."
Copeland had high praise for the
quality of the Navy's and the U.S. Atlantic Command's training and readiness programs in
preparing his battle group for intensive joint and coalition operations. Combat logistics
support, he also said, was "second to none" in keeping forward-deployed
readiness high.
Copeland also told Sea Power
that recent advances in communication and information technology have made the
interoperability problems that characterized Navy joint carrier-strike operations during
the Persian Gulf War a thing of the past. "This operation proves how far we have come
in our quest to become a knowledge-based organization--we strive to maintain an
environment where information is freely and consistently shared among all elements,"
he said. "Our present joint C4I architecture permits real-time connectivity between
all layers of the chain of command to coordinate, deconflict, and synchronize our combat
operations." |
