Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit

close to shore. It is a development of the classic LN-66 navigation radar in use for several decades.

• SPS-67—The SPS-67 is a general-purpose surface-search radar, designed to provide precise targeting data against surface targets.

• Mk 23 Target Acquisition System (TAS)—This is a small, fast-rotating radar for detecting sea-skimming or high-angle missile attacks. It feeds data into the SYS-2 (V)3 weapons-control system, which can automatically activate the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow or RIM-116 RAM systems.

• SLQ-32 (V)3—The SLQ-32 is a family of electronic-warfare systems which can be tailored to the protection requirements of a particular ship. The (V)3 version has a wide-band radar-warning receiver, a wide band radar jammer, and a bank of four Mk 137 Super Rapid Blooming Chaff (SRBOC) launchers. These six-barreled mortars throw up a cloud of chaff (metal-coated mylar strips) and infrared decoys to (hopefully) blind or confuse an incoming missile at the last minute.

These systems give Wasp's commanding officer and battle staff great situational awareness of the battle space surrounding their ship and the ARG. Given the variety of threats that face an LHD, you can see why the Navy needs to defend this billion-dollar-plus asset.

^{The bridge of the USS Wasp (LHD-1). From this position, the ship is maneuvered and Operated.}

^{JOHN D. GRESHAM}

By now you are probably getting warm out on the flight deck, so let's go inside. When you enter the island, a blast of cold air hits you immediately. The LHDs were designed to protect their crews against the possibility of chemical, biological, and nuclear warfare. A Collective Protection System (CPS) creates an environmental 'citadel' inside the island and forward part of the ship. This sealed citadel provides clean, filtered air, allowing the crew to work in a shirt-sleeve environment. It also gives Wasp and her sisters the finest air conditioning in the fleet. Wasp was built with only five of her six planned chiller units, and she is almost too cold! The cool interior enables the crew and Marines to cope with the heat of tropical places; it also extends the life and reliability of the electronic equipment packed inside Wasp's slab-sided hull. The CPS system does not extend to the hangar, cargo, vehicle, or well-deck areas. Thus, you have to get used to the CPS 'zone' hatches and airlocks, each of which must be opened, closed, and dogged as you pass through.

The island structure is filled with steep ladders, and your leg muscles get a workout as you move around Wasp. To reach the bridge, you go up five levels and pass through a cipher lock and several more hatches. The bridge has exceptional visibility through green-tinted windows. Navigational instruments, map tables, and communications equipment are laid out neatly and logically. Spacious and comfortable, Wasp's bridge is a model of functional design. Even the Captain's chair and day cabin are designed for comfort and ease of access. A wing bridge, protruding from the starboard side of the island, lets the bridge crew conn the ship during Underway Refueling and Provisioning (UNREP) and docking. In some seven years of operations, only one design problem affected the bridge: Some of the thick windows cracked during a 1994 winter operation in Norway, due to the intense difference between internal and external temperatures.

Exiting the bridge and heading aft, we find the 'debark control' used by a Marine commander to monitor operation of amphibious vehicles. There also is a weather office which would be the envy of any large airport. Amphibious operations are extremely sensitive to weather conditions, and the Navy has invested heavily to make sure that the Wasp can keep an eye on what Mother Nature is up to. In fact, the crew regards the weather forecasters as a branch of the intelligence department. Heading up through several more ladders and cipher-locked doors, we enter Primary Flight, or 'Pri-Fly,' the ship's control tower for air operations, and home of the Air Boss. The Air Boss is a virtual god of the air and deck space around the ARG. Usually, the Air Boss is a commander (O-5) who has completed a squadron command tour. The Air Boss is assisted by various Landing Signals Officers (LSOs) who 'wave aboard' the aircrews based aboard the Wasp. Big-deck aircraft carriers have a special platform at deck level for LSOs: but LHDs and other helicopter ships place their LSOs inside Pri-Fly. When aircraft are landing vertically, the best place to watch is above and to the side of the action. Each component of the Air Combat Element (based around a reinforced HMM) has one or two LSOs among its pilots, and one is always on duty whenever that kind of aircraft is flying.

Heading down from the island (as tough on the ankles as going up), we arrive in the Wasp's main living and work areas. Down on the 02 Level (just below the flight deck) are the officers' berthing and mess areas, as well as most of the command and control spaces for the embarked Marines. The center of this activity is the officers' wardroom, which functions as restaurant, theater, town hall, and conference room at various times of the day. Four times a day, the Wasp's mess specialists lay out meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 'mid-rats' at 11:00 P.M./2300 hours) for the Navy and Marine officers. Between meals, the wardroom is used for meetings, training, and final briefings prior to launch. Forward of the wardroom is the junior officer berthing area, composed of four- and six-man staterooms. Each officer has a comfortable bunk, stowage for personal gear, and a fold-down desk. A little personal space makes a six-or-seven-month cruise (normal for ARG ships these days) a lot more bearable. There is a certain etiquette in using the dormitory-style showers and head facilities. As a matter of basic hygiene, everyone wears shower slippers while bathing, to prevent the spread of foot infections which could devastate the marching ability of the embarked Marines! At the forward end of the 02 Level is the most popular area on the ship, Wasp's fitness center. This is a beehive of activity around the clock for the sailors and Marines trying to to stay fit and work off some of the nervous tension and stress of shipboard life. You generally have to wait to get onto one of the machines or weight benches jammed into the space. Officers told me that this one room did more for crew morale than anything except food and the CNN satellite feed!

Heading aft past the wardroom takes you through 'Officers Country,' the berthing areas for senior Navy and Marine officers. Usually these are one- or two-man staterooms, with an attached head and shower. Don't envy these officers' comforts; very few get to spend much time in their racks. A department head or unit commander aboard an amphib often works a sixteen-to-twenty-hour day. You are lucky to get four to six hours of sleep (not always at night!). The Captain has his sea cabin on the 02 Level, and a day cabin on the bridge, but rarely gets to rest in either of them! Also located here is 'Flag Country,' berthing spaces for embarked admirals and their staff. The Wasp is big enough to accommodate such a staff without disrupting the ship's routine.

Continuing aft, you enter a series of darkened command and control spaces. As noted above, these were relocated from the island structure to protect their vital personnel and equipment. These spaces include:

• Combat Information Center (CIC)—The nerve center of the ship, with displays for all of the ship's sensors, as well as information acquired from data links and national sources (the DOD euphemism for 'spy satellites'). Filled with consoles, terminals, and big-screen displays, this battle management center has separate zones for anti-sub, anti-air, and anti-surface warfare, communications, damage control, and other functions. Officers learn to assess fast-developing situations and act quickly. In World War II a good captain fought his ship from the bridge, but today's Burke or Vian would be found at a glowing console in a dimly lit CIC.

• Landing Force Operations Center (LFOC)—The LFOC is a mission control center for amphibious operations. Each embarked Marine unit has a console, with the MEU (SOC)'s console in the center at the rear with a clear view of the large-screen displays at the front of the compartment. Everything is tied into a computer, the Integrated Tactical Amphibious Warfare Data System (ITAWDS), linking the commander to embarked Marine units. At the rear of the LFOC is a conference area for the MEU (SOC) staff. Like the ship's captain, the embarked Marine commander usually fights his battle from here.

• Flag Plot—This is where the ARG commander and staff reside during operations. It is generally similar to CIC and the LFOC, and there are numerous repeaters for the various sensors and displays.

• Ships Signals Exploitation Space (SSES)—This small sealed space adjacent to the CIC is for secret stuff: 'exploitation of enemy signals and electronic emissions.' Equipped with data links to national and theater-level intelligence systems, the SSES can provide decision makers with up-to-date information on enemy intentions and activities. Only specially cleared intelligence and communications technicians are allowed inside.

• Joint Intelligence Center—The Joint Intelligence Center is a clearing-house for