{"id":24012,"date":"2019-05-04T20:10:21","date_gmt":"2019-05-04T17:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onisilos.gr\/?p=24012"},"modified":"2019-05-04T20:10:21","modified_gmt":"2019-05-04T17:10:21","slug":"new-2nd-fleet-to-confront-russia-from-day-one-the-navy-has-created-a-new-fleet-and-is-sending-it-straight-into-the-baltic-sea-to-test-new-ways-of-doing-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onisilos.gr\/?p=24012","title":{"rendered":"New 2nd Fleet To Confront Russia From Day One.The Navy has created a new fleet, and is sending it straight into the Baltic Sea to test new ways of doing business."},"content":{"rendered":"

By PAUL MCLEARY<\/span><\/p>\n

on May 03, 2019 at 3:59 PM<\/span><\/p>\n

Thirty ships from 12 nations maneuver during BALTOPS 2018 in the Baltic Sea.<\/span><\/p>\n

ABOARD THE USS BATAAN: Just days after the Navy\u2019s new 2nd Fleet stands up later this month, its commander will push the USS Mount Whitney command ship, along with dozens of other NATO vessels, into the Baltic Sea to direct a major exercise.<\/span><\/p>\n

In many ways, BALTOPS is the perfect way for 2nd Fleet to enter the world. It was reconstituted \u2014 the previous iteration was retired in 2011 \u2014 primarily to track and meet Russian\u00a0maneuvers\u00a0in the North Atlantic and the Arctic.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no fluke that Adm. Andrew Lewis and his new team at 2nd Fleet are leading the annual BALTOPS exercise in Russia\u2019s backyard \u2014 just off the coast of Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave bristling with radars, electronic warfare capabilities and guided missiles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plenty has changed since the original 2nd Fleet was stood down, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, leading the Navy to reestablish the command. Lewis envisions it as a lean maneuver arm able to operate from Greenland to the Mediterranean \u2014 wherever a surge of forces is needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/span> USS Porter and the command and control ship USS Mount Whitney in the Black Sea during\u00a0 Sea Breeze 2018.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

The 2nd Fleet will bolster the 6th Fleet around Europe and has trained to quickly deploy a small command group quickly to command and control US and NATO ships on a variety of missions from humanitarian aid, anti-submarine operations or presence operations around Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s something the Navy has done comparatively little of since the end of the Cold War, particularly over the past two decades when it has operated as a support force for ground wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan. In some ways the 2nd Fleet is being asked to model a new way of operating, in which the Navy provides the forces that are at the point of the spear, confronting Russian and Chinese ships, aircraft, and submarines. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Fleet\u2019s Hungry For It\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lewis says he is tired of being asked how many sailors he commands. He\u2019s got enough, he says to both stand up a new command and run a major new exercise in the coming weeks. But more importantly, he\u2019s focused on how fast his people can move, and how well his sailors can think.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAn operational command does not need to be big,\u201d Lewis said recently in the Ward Room of the Bataan docked in Norfolk, Va. \u201cI get annoyed with people who ask \u2018well, how many people do you have?\u2019 I don\u2019t really care. I\u2019ve got what I\u2019ve got, and we\u2019re gonna get after the mission. That mentality of being lean, being expeditionary, and being agile in thought and being maneuverable, those are the things I want people to look at the command\u201d and see.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lewis, a former F-18 pilot who has commanded a carrier strike group and several air wings over a 34-year career, was tasked last August with restarting the 2nd Fleet after it was disbanded in 2011. At the time, Russia was yet to invade Ukraine and annex Crimea, and China\u2019s ambitions in the Arctic were fuzzy at best.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSailors go to sea, we\u2019ve got to be ready to operate from when the lines go over here in Norfolk, or Mayport, or we get airborne out of Oceania \u2014 you\u2019re operating,\u201d Lewis said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Navy\u2019s new tactic of sending ships out on uneven schedules, dubbed Dynamic Force Employment, will be key to understanding how the 2nd Fleet will conduct itself. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been operating in this pattern of, you get ready to go, you get everything buttoned up, and then we head off and drive around a little area in the Persian Gulf. That\u2019s not how a maneuver force operates,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s some cultural changes that need to take place, the grand support organization needs to have more agility. If you get the mentality right it\u2019ll be a lot easier to get there. I think the fleet\u2019s hungry for it, honestly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What Lewis is looking for from his commanders and sailors is an \u201cagility of thought, agility of physical maneuver, being able to quickly slide across the spectrum of conflict and really institute mission command \u2014 let commanders at sea command,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

He wants to give commanders \u201cthe guidance they need and not push them around like pieces on a board game. They have to understand the environment they\u2019re in\u201d and operate in a way they deem fit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have become, in certain regards, more risk averse than we should be. We need to develop tactics and certain ways of doing things that might be different. And we might get some failures, and then ok, we can learn from that. We\u2019ve become a little more stagnant than I think we should be.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A Big Test<\/span><\/p>\n

Lewis, aboard the command ship USS Mt. Whitney, will lead the annual BALTOPS exercise in the Baltic Sea, next month, putting the 2nd Fleet in Moscow\u2019s backyard from the moment it stands up. The exercise, which will test new command and control capabilities among NATO allies working at sea and on land, will be a critical test for the Navy\u2019s vision for 2nd Fleet as an agile, small maneuver element that can pack an outsized punch.<\/span><\/p>\n

Putting dozens of ships in the tight Baltic waterway, so close to the Russian coastline and its exclave of Kaliningrad which Moscow has stacked with radar systems and missiles, will present a challenge for NATO. Last year, Russian forces attempted to jam the communications<\/a> of NATO ships and aircraft during the Trident Juncture exercise<\/a> in Norway.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe kinda know what we think they\u2019re going to do,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cThis is about deterrence, this is about being professionals, but we\u2019re also going to be there. I would characterize [the intent of BALTOPS] it with three ideas: professionalism, presence with a purpose, and partnerships with NATO and our allies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On Thursday, the Pentagon released its annual report on Chinese military capabilities, which indicated US military leadership is warily eying Beijing\u2019s moves in the Arctic. Last June, China outlined plans to make greater use of shipping lanes created by by global warming to establish a \u201cPolar Silk Road\u201d as part of its larger Belt and Road Initiative.<\/span><\/p>\n

China has shown particular interest in Greenland, and has floated projects like building a research station, improving airfields, and establishing a satellite ground station.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pentagon report said that Chinese \u201ccivilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Arctic is part of 2nd Fleet\u2019s responsibility, and in the long run, the US is looking to establish more of \u201ca capability and a presence in the Arctic, so as to maintain freedom of the seas, freedom of navigation within international norms,\u201d Lewis said.<\/span><\/p>\n

He added that since Beijing is \u201cvery focused on their Belt Road initiative \u2014 and that goes through the Arctic.\u201d Asked if he expects to have contact with the Chinese in the far north, he said \u201cpotentially.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Readiness challenges<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting more ships into the water \u2014 and more crews at sea \u2014 may be easier said than done. The Bataan, scheduled to deploy by June, originally pulled into Norfolk back in November 2017 for what was supposed to be<\/a> a year-long, $45 million overhaul. Seventeen months later, the ship is still in port due to a series of challenges in getting the parts needed and aligning work schedules.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elsewhere, the Navy is working to extend the lives of dozens of ships<\/a> nearing retirement age in an effort to stretch their lifespans to reach a 355-ship fleet. And it\u2019s doing so at a time when shipyard space is already stretched and less than half of its ships are able to complete scheduled maintenance on time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adding to the issue, a full 70 percent of destroyers in port for availability are unable<\/a> to leave on schedule, Navy officials confirmed earlier this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Navy is pumping hundreds of millions<\/a> of dollars into its industrial base over the coming years, including making use of both public and private shipyards in an attempt to get hulls back into the water more quickly. With combatant commanders around the globe demanding bigger, and more consistent, Navy presence, and 2nd Fleet planning to run hard from the far north to more southerly hot climates, Adm. Lewis, and his fellow commanders, will need the ships ready in time.<\/span><\/p>\n

source:https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/2019\/05\/new-2nd-fleet-to-confront-russia-from-day-one\/?utm_campaign=Breaking%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=72357263&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_utFE9Llwexmw702ksdnsj4xLqRlEubEo73j2CNqJCRyoluvTnfm75eFEK9W87OlDWxWmq6i2VU499Qog3Z-e9IbyZAw&_hsmi=72357263<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By PAUL MCLEARY on May 03, 2019 at 3:59 PM Thirty ships from 12 nations maneuver during BALTOPS 2018 in the Baltic Sea. ABOARD THE USS BATAAN: Just days after … <\/p>\n

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