Carrier: A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier

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Despite their intended 'low mix' status in the Cold War structure of the U.S. Navy, the FFG-7's have frequently been in the thick of maritime operations and actions. Two of them, the Stark (FFG-31) and Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58), were severely damaged by missiles and mines during operations in the Persian Gulf in the late 1980's, but survived to serve today. FFG-7's were later key assets in the maritime embargoes of Iraq, Bosnia, and Haiti, as well as in combat operations during Desert Storm.

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For more on the ARG, MEU (SOC), and their various components and missions, see my book Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (Berkley Books, 1995).

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In addition to USACOM, there are seven other regional CinCs. These include the Pacific Command (PACOM), Strategic Command (STRATCOM), Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Central Command (CENTCOM), Special Operations Command (SOCOM), Space Command (SPACECOM), European Command (EUCOM), and Transportation Command (TRANSCOM).

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Though there are literally dozens of such programs (ranging from staff-level exercises to war games involving tens of thousands of participants), the best known are at the Army's National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, and at the Air Force's Operation Red Flag at Nellis AFB, Nevada.

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Most veterans of Desert Storm will tell you that the extensive force-on-force training prior to their deployment to the Persian Gulf was tougher than anything the Iraqis threw at them. This is hardly a surprise, since the Opposing Force units they trained against are usually the best-trained and motivated units in the U.S. military.

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This is the same group that I highlighted in my 1996 book Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (Berkley Books, 1996). 82 The GW, Norrnandy (CG-64), South Carolina (CGN-37), and Guam were all scheduled either for deep overhaul or scrapping at the end of the cruise in 1998.

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This similar to the Red/Green Flag exercises conducted by the USAF at Nellis AFB to the south of Fallon. Although somewhat smaller than the Nellis exercises, there is a greater emphasis on live-fire and electronic-warfare issues.

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For a closer look at the outstanding JRTC program, see my book Airborne: A Guided Tour of an Airborne Task Force (Berkley Books, 1997).

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It was these kinds of 'bumping' incidents that caused the creation of the 'Incidents at Sea' treaties between the United States, the Soviet Union/Russia, and a number of other nations.

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The GW group that went to the Gulf had two things in common with the Nimitz CVBG. In addition to the carrier and logistics ship, both of the escort ships were Aegis- and Tomahawk-capable, as was the submarine. In short, they took the ships with the most firepower where they would be needed.