Page 75 - Maritime Services and the Kill Web

The Maritime Services, the Allies and Shaping the Kill Web

“And then we train them.”

http://www.sldinfo.com/the-usn-combat-learning-cycle-prepare-an-air-wing-for-deployment-while-
supporting-one-deployed/

During this visit we discussed the Air Wing Fallon phase of training with Commander “Humble” Pritchard, Lt.
Chris “Reek” Neidemeyer and Lt. Neal “Shaky” Dunn.

The officers represent a cluster of experience with CDR Pritchard having more than 830 “cats and traps,”
Neidemeyer just back from his first fleet tour and Lt. Dunn just back from deployment with VFA-103 “the Jolly
Rogers” based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.

The responsibility of N-5 which these officers represented is identified as follows by the US Navy.

N5: Responsible for training Naval aviation in advanced Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTP) across
assigned combat mission areas at the individual, unit, integrated and joint levels, ensuring alignment of the
training continuum; to set and enforce combat proficiency standards; to develop, validate, standarize, publish and
revise TTPs.

Also provides subject matter expertise support to strike group commanders, numbered fleet commanders, Navy
component commanders and combatant commanders; to lead training and warfighting effectiveness assessments
and identify and mitigate gaps across all platforms and staffs for assigned mission areas as the supported WDC;
and collaborates with other WDCs to ensure cross-platform intergration and alignment.

https://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrsw/installations/nas_fallon/about/nawdc.html

During our last visit to Fallon, the readiness challenged was highlighted as a growing problem.

This visit to Fallon highlighted the reality of what readiness shortfalls meant.
And the importance of this challenge is heightened as potential adversaries ramp up their capabilities and
training time as well.

“You would read about potential adversaries and they’re flying 120 hours a year.

“You’d sit there and go that’s ridiculous.

“Who survives on 120 hours a year?

“We do that now.
“I don’t think anybody trains like us, and I think in a high end fight, they will not be able to keep up with the
level of professionalism and the quality of people we’ve got, but I’m going to assume they can until proven
otherwise.”

Put in simple terms, the Navy goes through a series of training cycles.

If fully equipped and funded for each phase of the training cycle, then all the training tasks can be
accomplished and when the aviator moves to the next phase they do not need to learn tasks which they should
have learned earlier.

But because of readiness shortfalls, the catch up in each phase of training has become a regular challenge.

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