U.S. Marines assigned to Echo Company, Battalion Landing Team 2/6, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), conduct island seizure training on Makiluoto Island, Finland, August 14, 2022.
The training was part of a bi-lateral exercise between the Finnish military and the 22nd MEU.
FINLAND
08.14.2022
Video by Lance Cpl. Cameron Ross
22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit
In an article by Grady Fontana published by the U.S. Navy on 18 November 2022, the exercising of an expeditionary medical facility in support of major combat operations was higlighted.
“This exercise shows the power of Navy Medicine as part of an integrated Naval combat capability,” said Rear Adm. Darin K. Via, deputy surgeon general of the Navy and deputy chief, BUMED. “There was operational planning and coordination across the Navy-Marine Corps team and at all levels across One Navy Medicine. This exercise lets us better evaluate how we deploy and run an expeditionary medical facility (EMF) in support of major combat operations. It was a successful test of how our units can organize, train and equip forces for force employment by the combatant commands.”
Keen Sword 23 is a biennial, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff-directed, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command-scheduled, and U.S. Pacific Fleet-sponsored field training exercise (FTX). The joint/bilateral FTX runs through Nov. 19. KS23 is designed to enhance Japan-U.S. combat readiness and interoperability while strengthening bilateral relationships and demonstrating U.S. resolve to support the security interests of allies and partners in the region.
In KS23, Navy Medicine exercised the employment of expeditionary hospitalization on the First Island Chain with bilateral engagement with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF). The First Island Chain refers to the first chain of major Pacific archipelagos out from the East Asian continental mainland coast.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command requested Navy Medicine provide an EMF and supporting elements to meet capability gaps in the First Island Chain, with EMF capability to receive, triage, treat, and process casualties in a mass casualty event.
BUMED provided a small headquarters element from NMFP, out of Naval Base San Diego, and EMF 150-Alpha, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., to support medical-related exercise scenarios at Camp Foster, Marine Corps Base S.D. Butler, Okinawa prefecture, Japan.
To facilitate planning, BUMED flexed its recent organizational restructure that closely aligns functions with Navy operational commands. This included the creation of a Maritime Headquarter (MHQ) and Maritime Operations Center (MOC) at BUMED that better enabled the command to integrate into the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command planning process.
In addition to the NMFP’s HQ element and EMF 150-A, Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Okinawa and Yokosuka provided additional mass casualty scenario involvement.
With Navy Medicine units working in concert, the BUMED assets integrated with a JGSDF medical base at a Naha hospital in Okinawa, and executed mass casualty scenario assessment and response drills, receiving casualties from III Marine Expeditionary Forces aid stations and JGSDF dispensaries.
BUMED involvement in KS23 demonstrated a new laser focus on readiness and operational medicine—man, train and equip.
“As we pivot to embrace our new mission set and organizational structure, NMFP and all subordinate commands will continue to support the warfighter,” said Rear Adm. Guido F. Valdes, commander, NMFP. “We achieve this support by ensuring our operational platforms are optimally manned, trained, and equipped; the warfighter is physically and mentally ready to fight tonight; the installation and warfare commander are fully supported; and we remain on the cutting edge of health and medical research to enhance deployment readiness of the Joint Forces.”
In the past, Navy Medicine played a large role in the execution of the military healthcare mission at military treatment facilities (MTF). In the National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 2017 and 2019, Congress called for changes in the military health system (MHS), including the transfer of all MTFs to the Defense Health Agency by Sept. 30, 2021.
Navy Medicine participation in a large bilateral and joint exercise of this scale is a first since the recent MHS transformation.
“BUMED hasn’t participated in an exercise like this, to this scale in a long time,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jefferson M. Moody, director of future plans, N55, and MHQ/MOC future operations director at BUMED. “KS-23 serves as an FTX environment for Navy Medicine force elements to maneuver with the joint force and bilateral partnerships and promote HSS (health services support) interoperability.”
Naval Medical Forces Pacific provides oversight for 10 NMRTCs, on the West Coast and Pacific Rim that man, train, and equip medical forces, primarily in military treatment facilities. NMFP also oversees eight research laboratories that deliver cutting edge health and medical research to enhance the deployment readiness and survivability of our Joint Forces.
U.S. Navy Sailors with Expeditionary Medical Facility Alpha, Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command, simulate casualty care during exercise Keen Sword 23 on Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan, Nov. 17, 2022.
During Keen Sword 23, Naval Medical Forces Pacific exercised the inaugural employment of expeditionary hospitalization on the first island chain with bilateral engagement from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.
(U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Stephen Holland II)
CAMP COURTNEY, OKINAWA, JAPAN
11.17.2022
Video by Lance Cpl. Stephen Holland
III Marine Expeditionary Force
U.S. Marines assigned to Echo Company, Battalion Landing Team 2/6, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), and Swedish soldiers, assigned to Fifth Company, South Scania Regiment P7, conduct patrols during a raid exercise near Kristianstad, Sweden, Aug. 28, 2022.
SWEDEN 08.28.2022
Video by Lance Cpl. Cameron Ross 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit
According to a story published by the Japanese Ministry of Defence, the Finnish Defence Minister visited Japan and met the Japanese Defence Minister on 26 October 2022.
On October 26, 2022, Defense Minister Hamada and Defence Minister Kaikkonen held a Defense Ministerial Meeting from 10:15 for 45 minutes at the Ministry of Defense.
At the outset, Minister Hamada welcomed the visit by Minister Kaikkonen to Japan. Minister Kaikkonen conveyed his appreciation to Minister Hamada for his hosting the meeting.
The two ministers exchanged their views on regional affairs. Both sides affirmed as the international community is facing a severe security environment, the unity between countries sharing in common values such as Japan and Finland is essential.
Minister Hamada resolved to fundamentally reinforce the defense capabilities of Japan through the formulation of National Security Strategy and other documents.
The Ministers reaffirmed that they would continue to promote defense cooperation and exchanges to uphold and reinforce the Free and Open Indo-Pacific while maintaining close communication between high-level and senior-level officials.
This is the Finnish Defence Ministry story on the visit:
Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen will make a working visit to Japan on 25 to 27 October 2022. Minister Kaikkonen’s delegation includes Esa Pulkkinen, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, and Business Finland’s delegation of 11 Finnish companies.
On Wednesday 26 October, Minister Kaikkonen will meet Japan’s Minister of Defense Yasukazu Hamada. The ministers are to discuss regional security environment and the development of bilateral defense cooperation and exchanges.
Apart from attending a Finland-Japan defence industry seminar, Minister Kaikkonen will also meet representatives of the defence industry. The main objectives of the visit are to support Finnish defence industry companies in Japan and to deepen cooperation between Finland and Japan’s defence administrations.
On Thursday 27 October, Minister of Defence Kaikkonen will visit Fuchu to familiarise himself with the Space Operations Group of Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF).
This is what The Mainichi wrote about the visit in a piece published on 26 October 2022:
The defense ministers of Japan and Finland on Wednesday pledged unity against Russia over its war in Ukraine at a time when the international community is facing a severe security environment, the Japanese government said…
Amid growing security concerns following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland applied to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in May, along with Sweden. The two Scandinavian countries were given a clear path to membership in June after Turkey withdrew its opposition.
After the launch of the Russian war, Japan, a non-NATO member, has been putting more effort into boosting defense cooperation with the trans-Atlantic military alliance, which has gradually deepened its engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.
It may seem odd that countries so far apart geographically are discussing heightened cooperation, but with the opening of the Northern Route, Japan and Finland have a common sea lane to protect against China and Russia.
Also, as the Nordics discuss enhanced defense cooperation there is a clear realization that they have to consider their contribution to the defense of the liberal democracies against the global authoritarians and their alliance.
Editor’s Note: In our book on Pacific defense published in 2013, we anticipated this development as we projected the way forward for Japanese defense policy:
On 10 November 2022, the UK Ministry of Defence published a story about their participation in Project Convergence an exercise held in the U.S. with Australian and U.S. forces.
Allies from the UK, US and Australia demonstrated the integration of cutting-edge technology alongside key industry leaders, in a series of experimental firsts.
The event, Project Convergence 2022, examines how using artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and autonomy can improve battlefield situational awareness, connecting sensors with shooters and accelerating decision-making speeds.
At Fort Irwin in California the UK deployed 450 troops and 17 technologies were showcased and experimented with, including long-range fires, uncrewed aerial systems, autonomous fighting vehicles and next-generation sensors.
The Rangers worked with the Special Operations Forces and the US 75th Ranger Regiment to explore the deployment and use of the British Army’s new Special Operations Brigade and Ranger Regiment.
Delivering the UK element of the project, 450 soldiers from the British Army, under the UK’s 20th Armoured Combat Brigade Team (20 ABCT), were supported by more than 20 scientists and engineers from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.
Experimentation, science and research enables better data capture and analysis to identify successes and address challenges for future war fighting. Supported by Industry partners, PC22 was a whole force demonstration of the direction of the British Army’s modernisation.
Attending the project, Defence Procurement Minister Alex Chalk said:
Delivering on our ambitions outlined in Future Soldier and the Integrated Review, Project Convergence highlights the progress the British Army is making to being more lethal, agile and expeditionary force, through key collaboration with our longstanding international allies and partners.
The project also saw a number of other firsts for the UK:
Through the tri-national collaboration, Project Convergence has placed a renewed emphasis on how data can be transformed into information which can be exploited across weapons systems for the UK, our allies and partners. Support provided by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) ensured a wealth of data and analysis was captured will be used to identify the best way to employ these technologies in the future.
1st Cavalry Division participated in Project Convergence 2022, an experiment offering opportunities to access future warfighting strategies, including how the All-Service and Multinational Force can work together to detect and defeat threats Sep. 29 through Nov. 9 at Fort Irwin, California.
FORT IRWIN, CA
11.09.2022
Video by Sgt. Brayton Daniel
Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
By Robbin Laird
In a period of global competition and conflict, the liberal democracies need to accelerate their capabilities to defend themselves and to find ways to enhance their deterrent capabilities not just for the long haul but in the short to mid-term.
My recent visit to Australia, where I met with new service chiefs of the Australian Defence Force as well as a number of defense analysts and policy makers in the run up to next year’s strategic review, underscored this point. Maj. Gen. Anthony Rawlins, Head of Force Design for the ADF, put it this way: “fighting tonight means going with what you have, and what you can feasibly obtain and field in the short term. We need to, as a first imperative, [be] immediately and maximally lethal and survivable against a very different potential adversary in the short-term.”
To provide enhanced capabilities in the short to mid-term requires tactical adjustments as well as strategic rethinking. One area one can do this for the US Navy fleet is in the area of enhanced logistics for a distributed fleet, one spread out to enhance survivability and its ability to enhance its capability to operate more effectively in an extended battlespace. Usually, the discussion doesn’t start with logistics when having such a conversation, but the US Navy has made a crucial decision which simply has to be enhanced and accelerated to have direct impact in the mid-term to create a more capable fleet.
That decision was to replace the C-2A fixed wing aircraft with the Navy variant of the Osprey, or the CMV-22B. The Navy has contracted to buy 48 CMV-22Bs (44 of the program of record’s 48 have been ordered to date) to provide for peacetime resupply of large deck carriers. Adding 24 rotorcraft to the buy in light of having a hot production line now could enhance the ability to logistically enable the large deck carrier, as well as the broader fleet, to operate in a contested environment.
But there is a significant catch to such a prospect – the production line is facing a shutdown prior to being able to buy the full complement of CMV-22Bs needed to support the carrier in contested logistical operations. When the production line shuts down, the significant supplier base will trim down as well, to the baseline requirements for sustaining existing aircraft. And if the Navy were to decide after the shutdown to ramp up production again, delays would be inevitable and costs significant to re-establish an effective supply chain and production line for a new build CMV-22B.
The CMV-22B enhances the lethality and survivability of Nimitz class carrier and the new generation Ford class carrier. Vice Adm. Kenneth Whitesell, commander of Naval Air Forces (NAVAIR) and Naval Air Force, US Pacific Fleet commented on one aspect of this development as follows: “Then there was the issue of being able to land on an aircraft carrier at night.
Whitesell said the CMV-22B can do that, while the Navy has been “reticent in the past” to allow Greyhounds to do night carrier landings “based on the avionics in that platform. It has “the ability to get it on and off the deck in a rather rapid fashion,” Whitesell said.
“I don’t have to clean catapults three and four and land to COD. I can now land it just like a helicopter. I can reposition it. As soon as it offloads, or prior to onload, I can take it back into starboard delta” — a Navy term for a holding pattern used by the helicopters and COD aircraft flown on the starboard side of the ship, and using right-hand turns at 500 feet.
What can be missed is the impact of this capability on the lethality and survivability of the carrier itself. When the carrier is threatened and is forced to go Winchester on weapons, you don’t want to depend on delivery of weapons only during day time. With CMV-22B you don’t have to. Also, it has the speed and range required to get the weapons to the carrier on time.
That is for the Nimitz class carrier. For the Ford class (the USS Gerald R Ford is currently on its first operational deployment, working with six NATO allies in the Atlantic) there is more. The Ford class has an augmented workflow compared to the Nimitz. The island on the USS Gerald R. Ford has been moved 140 feet aft and is 30% smaller.
What this allows is significant additional space for aircraft refueling and weapons loading operations, with the area forward of the island able to accommodate more combat aircraft. The CMV22-B can be parked in the usable space described and unloaded its munitions directly into the weapons elevator, which comes directly to the deck. In other words, the CMV-22B’s ability to land at night, and its ability seamlessly to fit into the workflow of the new carrier, enhance the lethality and survivability of the large deck carrier. (For my assessment of the Ford see chapter five of my book The Maritime Kill Web in the Making.)
But this not all. It also can do point-to-point logistical operations to enhance fleet support. The CMV-22B, unlike the C-2A, is a fleet support asset, not simply a large deck carrier support asset.
The fleet seen as mobile bases — for this is what seabases are — faces a significant future as part of a distributed joint force to shape congruent strike capability for enhanced lethality. This means not only does the fleet need to operate differently in terms of its own distributed operations, but also as part of modular task forces that include air and ground elements in providing for the offensive-defensive enterprise which can hold adversaries at risk and prevail in conflict.
The CMV-22B can operate across the distributed combat chessboard. And because the Marines have deployed the MV-22B for decades, there is a very robust operational and sustainment expertise already in the fleet. What this means now is as the CMV-22B works to deliver core carrier logistics needs, it can operate as well across the fleet. It can be maintained in large part on non-carrier vessels as well as the large-deck carriers.
With the challenge of supplying the fleet from military sealift command ships at sea in contested operations, the aircraft’s role expands to support emerging logistical needs. The CMV-22B has unique capabilities in terms of speed and range which allow it to fill in a combat support gap in such situations.
In other words, the Navy faces a key strategic decision. Will it leave a very predictable contested logistics gap for the fleet? Or will it close that gap by ramping up its buy of CMV-22Bs with a hot production line in place? By adding 24 CMV-22Bs to the buy, provision for carrier resupply in contested operations would be significantly enhanced. This kind of decision, which provides an ability to ramp up fleet capabilities in the midterm and provide an input the kind of capabilities which the US Navy and allies like the Aussies need as well, for the Osprey can provide for point-to-point support to Aussie ships as well.
This article was published by Breaking Defense on November 15, 2022.
Featured Photo: March 12, 2022. A CVM-22B Osprey, from the “Sunhawks” of fleet logistics multi-mission squadron (VRM) 50, takes off from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 3rd Class Joseph Calabrese)
U.S. Army Soldiers with 12th Combat Aviation Brigade conduct flight operations with Finnish aircraft during an island seizure training exercise in Syndalen, Finland, August 10, 2022.
The Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group and 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit are on a scheduled deployment under the command and control of Task Force 61/2 while operating in U.S. Sixth Fleet in support of U.S., allied and partner interests in Europe and Africa.
FINLAND
08.10.2022
Video by Lance Cpl. Cameron Ross
22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit
A wrap-up of RED FLAG-Alaska 23-1 and how the exercise has advanced over the years.
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, AK
10.20.2022
Video by Senior Airman Joao Marcus Costa
354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs