Kitty Hawk kicks off Valiant Shield '06
By Journalist 2nd Class Randy Lane, Kitty Hawk public affairs

USS KITTY HAWK, At sea -- The USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) Carrier Strike Group, along with two other U.S. carrier strike groups and units from the Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, kicked off the first day of the joint-service exercise, Valiant Shield, which continues through June 23.

The exercise takes place in the vicinity of Guam, combining elements of Kitty Hawk's strike group with those of USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) for the first time in history.

According to Cmdr. Glen Leverette, Commander, Task Force 70 lead exercise planner, Valiant Shield is a complex, joint exercise, with personnel from four different services participating, aimed at testing command-and-control capability through different aspects of war-fighting.

"By testing our ability to use all of our assets for particular situations, we're showing our commitment to stability in the Pacific region," said Leverette. "We're an agile and versatile force, but we're also massive and lethal. Exercises like this help us sharpen our skills."

Some of the skills the forces are honing during Valiant Shield include anti-submarine exercises aimed at protecting carriers while they launch and recover aircraft, defensive counter-air scenarios using airpower to defend ships, and surveillance missions focused on using and combining every platform available.

"The exercise tests our ability to integrate the forward-deployed naval forces with forces coming from other locations," said Cmdr. Carlos Lofstrom, Kitty Hawk's intelligence officer. "Since nothing this large has ever been done, we have to make sure we're properly coordinating things like de-confliction of air and sea space. Command and control of such a massive force is one of our greatest challenges."

This exercise also marks the first time Kitty Hawk, a conventionally-powered carrier and the Navy's oldest active-duty warship, will work alongside Reagan, the Navy's newest nuclear-powered carrier.

"It's interesting having the two side by side," said Lofstrom. "Kitty Hawk might not be as nice and comfortable as the Reagan, but we're just a capable."

Although Kitty Hawk is older than the other carriers, its critical role in maintaining peace and stability in the Pacific theater has kept the ship on the cutting edge of military advancements.

"Because Kitty Hawk is forward-deployed, it is outfitted with advanced technology to help it maintain readiness," said Leverette.

Valiant Shield marks the largest gathering of carrier strike groups in the Pacific since Desert Storm, showing the U.S.'s commitment to peace and stability in the region.

"We tend to think of the Middle East as our most important area of responsibility, but the Pacific region is extremely vital to the U.S," said Leverette. "Besides being the largest region, a lot of our economic trade travels through this area."

Valiant Shield is the first of what will become a biennial exercise series and builds on the Joint Air and Sea Exercise (JASEX) held from 2003-2005, and from previous exercises such as Northern Edge and Terminal Fury.

Most of the assets participating in Valiant Shield are supplied by the Navy and include 25 ships and more than 230 aircraft. When combined with KC-135 tankers and F-16 fighters from the Air Force, Marine Corps F/A-18s and the Coast Guard, the exercise includes 28 ships, nearly 300 aircraft and approximately 22,000 personnel.

For more information on Valiant Shield, log on to the official website at www.pacom.mil/exercises/vs2006/index.shtml.

The Kitty Hawk Strike Group is the largest carrier strike group in the Navy and is composed of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, the guided-missile cruisers USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) and USS Cowpens (CG 63), and Destroyer Squadron 15.

To find more news about the Kitty Hawk Strike Group, visit the Navy NewsStand at
www.news.navy.mil/local/cv63.