Not so fast, USS Ronald Reagan – from the (subscription only) Navy Times:
Despite returning home to San Diego from her maiden deployment in July, the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan will deploy into the Pacific
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Everyone who’s got a post-deployment stand down take one step forward16 comments to Everyone who’s got a post-deployment stand down take one step forward |
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“It?
“It’s unclear whether the carrier will deploy with any escorts or a carrier air wing.”
Maybe I’m being hopelessly ignorant here, but what would be the point of deploying a carrier without an air wing? Would they pick up the Kitty Hawk air wing in Japan? The same question about WRT escorts.
My guess is that they’d pick up CVW-5 (based in Atsugi). They’re all based together and ready to go on a moment’s notice. I’d guess the same for the escorts.
Anyone konw what’s wrong with the Hawk?
Oh, man. There are gonna be some very unhappy sailors. I’ve already seen a bunch of them coming back through the USO from leave. They weren’t happy then…
Hawk is in an SRA (restricted availability) right now.
Somebody has to do it….makes me glad I’m not cruising anymore. Back in my day, leaders actually believed in PERSTEMPO. Now they don’t.
I miss the Cold War!
Hey, Chilly. Congrats on taking command, and very sorry I couldn’t get up there for it. Should have sent you a more personal note, but here you are.
Never known a better man for the job, and I know you’ll lead them well through all of this. My best to all of yours.
Keep the faith, bro.
If anyone is interested in historical deployment patterns of carriers since the end of WWII, peruse these:
http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-vol1/Appendx3.pdf
http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/carrier-d.html
Note how hard the west coast boats worked during Vietnam. For instance, in the 48 months from Dec. 1964 to Dec. 1968, the Coral Sea was deployed for a total of 30 on combat deployments.
After her early severe engineering troubles (pesky 1200 psi plant), and considering how she was similarly rode hard and put up wet during those years, I am amazed the old Kitty Hawk is still a viable warship.
Of course they could look forward to Olongapo…
This has nothing to do with the Hawk, it’s the Stennis.
We were originally supposed to take our sweet time getting to the Gulf, stopping a few times in the western pacific to partake in some exercises and fulfill that whole “see the world” bit.
Now our deployment is “go to the gulf, do not pass Go, do not collect a port call in Thailand” So the Reagan is shipping out to cover our exercises (and ports).
But hey, at least we’re not leaving early.
U.S.S. Ronald Reagan…
Lex points us to news that the crew of U.S.S. Ronald Reagan is not going to get their typical downtime before another deployment. They returned home last July and will be heading out again in a matter of weeks….
FRP?
Sorry Ron, that was kind of inside baseball. The FRP is (variously) the Fleet Response Plan or the Fleet Readiness Plan. Essentially, rather than deploying on a predictable 18 month cycle and then coming home for a maintenance and operational stand-down, a carrier strike works up for deployment, goes on deployment (usually) and then comes back home for “sustainment.”
Sustainment can last anywhere from three or four months to a year or more, and allows the ship to redeploy on very short notice – weeks in the case of Reagan.
The plan was designed to get the shore infrastructure behind a more surge-able carrier force. In the past when “something happened” everyone jumped through their a$$es to get ships ready in a hurry – now there are always a bunch of them more or less ready at all times.
In this case the demand signal was generated by Stennis being sent to augment the striking force already present in the Arabian Gulf, which generated a coverage gap in the resultant western Pacific gap since Stennis had been slated to cover for Kitty Hawk, the forward deployed WESTPAC carrier undergoing a scheduled maintenance period.
Interestingly enough, when you hear of the FRP, you’re typically told that it’s good for all of us inasmuch as you will only deploy when needed, as opposed to deploying at any rate, which is what we have traditionally done. I’ve yet to hear of anyone missing a scheduled deployment because there is “nothing for them to do”. OBTW, Reagan was / is scheduled for significant maintenance as well. It must be less important than Kitty Hawk’s maintenance.
And it might be unfair to say that this has nothing to do with the Kitty Hawk and everything to do with the Stennis. The Stennis was scheduled to bob around Westpac to cover for the Kitty. Since Stennis can’t cover for the Kitty, Reagan might instead (still not approved). Were Kitty available, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. I’ll gladly give up the port calls to stay home.
Ain’t these ruminations sort of OPDEC, in a way?
F.R.P. rhymes w/B.O.H.I.C.A. as an acronym, anted up by I.A. o’course. Bright ideas all.
Basically, it’s the US Navy without 15 carrier strike groups..well at least an honest 12…
More with less and don’t forget o’course, that JDAM is SO much more accurate. Numbers game et all.
b2
Lex,
When you use words like “demand signal” here, its a sign of too much kool-aid being ingested. Its OK to use real English here-we like it!
Sorry, Skip – it’s that damned systems engineering COI. I’ll try to work harder
And talk about drinking the coolaid – you should see the folks in my OR courses.
[...] As I mentioned recently, the Ronald Reagan strike group is surge deploying in the very near future – heading out to cover what would have been the Stennis CSG’s Western Pacific commitment while that strike group joins Eisenhower’s in the roiling waters of Arabia. I got to see a number of old friends last week brief my boss on the ship and airwing’s readiness to get underway – to “surge” deploy, having returned from a previous deployment last summer. [...]