Continue sending the training, and assist teams who teach damage control, or look at supply or food service, or postal. That helps us support our warfighters and improve quality of life. Is that important in being able to fight the ship? Of course it is.

 

Tell me a little bit about WTIs coming out here. What kind of an experience are they bringing with them?

We have just 15 people assigned to this DESRON. Our task force covers from the Baltic down to South Africa, from the 45^th Meridian all the way to the Red Sea. Besides myself and my deputy, we have two second tour department heads, three petty officers and some first class petty officers, and the folks doing really all the heavy work are the second tour division officers – folks who have experienced one operational sea tour. And then they come here. And they are managing all this for the three-star fleet commander. It’s eye-watering what gets done with such a small group.

 

Vice Adm. Tom Rowden has instituted a modification on the XO-CO fleet up for the surface force, where after completion of the XO portion of the split tour, rather than go directly to command, there is a brief sabbatical to help adjust that transition and to get some leave and updated training. It’s a little break from the crush of being the XO to suddenly being the CO. Have you started that here, as well, and if so, how is that working.

We have that. It’s working very well. With our four Rota ships, we’ve had one change of command so far where that XO did take time off, went back, recharged, got updated, and then returned to the ship. That CO is doing phenomenal work right now. He was a great XO; he’s a great CO. Thursday I will go and preside over the change of command for the USS Porter. And that XO has been back in the states, taking some time, getting updated, and will come back and do a fantastic job as CO. It’s a very good program.

The XO/CO fleet up is successful. Those XOs are not just ‘COs in waiting,’ they’re XOs. They are in synch. Because there is so much going on that you don’t want to lose anything.

The Spanish navy and Navantia are great partners. When I show up for a few hours, they know I’m there.

They know my family; I know their families. That speaks volumes when we call up and go, “Hey, you know, I’ve got a ship coming in and my helo isn’t able to do a touch-and-go when they come through the Cent Med. Do you have a helo on base that would just get a qualification flight in with the DDG?” “Let me check the schedules.” “Can you do it this date?” “Yes, we can.” I mean that’s the kind of great relationship we have. We’ve got that with the British, too, because we use their ranges, their training facilities and schools and their instructors. We also have those great relationships with the Italians, the French, and with the Greeks because we’re in Souda Bay for logistics. We operate in the Black Sea frequently, we have great relationships with the Bulgarians, the Romanians, the Georgians, and the Turkish.

Those relationships are the force multiplier. Our ships are important, but it’s the Sailors are the real force multipliers. We give them good equipment, but more importantly we have the folks who know how to use it, and we’re getting them in droves coming out here with specialized training. And what happens? You get not just one really good teacher; I’ve got a classroom full of folks who understand it. That’s the force multiplier. Are these four DDGs BMD ships? Yeah. They’re also ASW ships, they’re also SUW ships and AAW ships. Most importantly, they are warships flying the flag of the United States of America.

 

You mentioned submarines. ASW is a skill that can atrophy. Now that there is a renewed emphasis on submarines in the AOR, how are we getting our expertise back to where it needs to be?

We have some great new systems, such as the new P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, and our SQQ-89A(V)15 sonar. Our allies have some great ships and aircraft, too. So I think we have the skill and the capability to do the job. NATO has incredibly talented and professional mariners. Their skill sets and abilities are superb. We have to operate in international waters with the Russians, too. As mariners out on the sea, regardless of the colors of the nation we represent, we must operate in a safe and standard manner to ensure safety in operations and transits. We must understand what the other is doing.

 

As one mariner to another out in the middle of the ocean, it’s probably the most pragmatic relationship you will ever have, regardless of what flag you’re flying.

There is no nationality when it comes to safety of life at sea.