Force Projection Exercise

The USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) Carrier Strike Group began activities August 7th in support of Joint Air and Sea Exercise (JASEX) 2005. JASEX, now in its third year, is intended to demonstrate the U.S. commitment in the western Pacific region by conducting joint training of Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps assets.

“It’s a multiservice exercise in which we hope to perfect the skills we’ll need to implement an operational plan during a wartime situation,” said Lt. Cmdr. Keith Major, Kitty Hawk’s electronic warfare officer.

The exercise will be conducted in the vicinity of Okinawa and Guam. The naval forces participating include the Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group, Destroyer Squadron 15, USS Boxer (LHD 4), USNS Dahl (T-AKR 312), M/V CPL Louis J. Hauge Jr. (T-AK 3000) and forces assigned to Patrol Reconnaissance Force, U.S. 7th Fleet.

On the Air Force side, the 18th Wing from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and the 5th Air Force from Guam will participate. The 1st Marine Air Wing, forward deployed to Okinawa, will represent the Marine Corps.

“Since we’re operating in a joint forces environment, we will practice how to integrate all the different parts into a combined team,” said Major.

It is the scale and complexity of JASEX that sets it apart from other exercises the “Hawk/5/15” team conducts with different parts of the armed forces, said Lt. Cmdr. William Gotten, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 assistant operations officer.

“JASEX will allow us to integrate in a larger joint environment than we usually see,” said Gotten. “We’ve worked with some of these Air Force and Marine units before, but JASEX is much larger in scope than most other exercises.”

During JASEX, the participants will leave no stone unturned in practicing how to coordinate as a team, said Gotten.

“We’ll practice across the entire spectrum of joint warfighting interoperability,” he said. “This is good practice for the real thing.”

Above all, JASEX demonstrates the U.S. commitment to the stability of the western Pacific region, said Capt. Ed McNamee, Kitty Hawk’s commanding officer.

“JASEX is designed to show support to our regional allies, and reinforce our commitment to peace and stability in this important region of the world,” he said.

The Kitty Hawk Strike Group is the largest carrier strike group in the Navy and is composed of the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, CVW 5, the guided-missile cruisers USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) and USS Cowpens (CG 63), and Destroyer Squadron 15. (ANN thanks Journalist 3rd Class Christopher Koons, USS Kitty Hawk Public Affairs.)

FMI: www.pacom.mil/exercises/jasex05/