ABOARD JHSV CHOCTAW COUNTY, ATLANTIC OCEAN – The joint high-speed vessel is a sight to behold, but that's not why this newest member of the blue-green team has heads turning. The civilian crewed catamaran has served as a launch pad for special operators, riverine and diving teams, and has delivered a host of fuel trucks — all within one week.
It is a key player in Bold Alligator 2014, a massive amphibious exercise that is throwing multiple crisis-response scenarios at forces from 19 nations, to include 19 U.S. Navy and coalition ships and 8,000 U.S. and international Marines. The scenario saw tensions escalate in the fictional country of Amberland as a humanitarian assistance/disaster relief mission unfolded. No one aboard JHSV had the big picture, and that was by design.
It wasn't long before the sailors and Marines aboard Choctaw County were called into action.
Roughly 56 operators and officers from 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, based out of Camp Pendleton, California, launched from JHSV in the exercise's opening hours. Heavy seas threatened the MARSOC missions, but the ship's shallow draft allowed it to push further into calmer littoral waters. The snake eaters conducted a successful boarding operation aboard the fleet replenishment oiler John Lenthall, with the help of a crew from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 774, a Marine reserve unit out of Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. A separate MARSOC mission saw the launch of two 11-meter rigid inflatable boats. This marked the first time the unit has operated off a JHSV, said Capt. Barry Morris, MARSOC spokesman.
And things were just getting started for JHSV.
Proving the concept
Empty of its special operators, the JHSV raced through the darkness up the Carolina coast. New orders brought the ship into Morehead City shortly after daybreak on Nov. 4. Navy Expeditionary Combat Command detachments and Marines from Combat Logistics Battalion 2 were waiting at the civilian port with a variety of vehicles and gear.
The Marines brought 16 Humvees; medium tactical vehicle replacements, or "seven-tons;" and logistics vehicle system replacements. It was a standard set that takes about three hours to load. With JHSV, the Marines were able to do it in under an hour.
"This was extremely fast and the level of skill required was minimal," said 1st Lt. Jonathan Pica, executive officer of Transportation Support Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 2. "It was the first embark for some, and they were able to knock it out without issue. Very efficient. I think we've proven the concept that JHSV can be used for rapid embarkation from a commercial-esque port."
Because the scenario simulated a commercial port, Coastal Riverene Squadron 4 was called in from Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek/Fort Story, Virginia, to conduct escort operations and harbor security. The mission is nothing new for the riverine team, which deploys about six out of every 18 months, but this operation was different. Instead of the fixed facilities from which they typically operate, its 97 sailors had to scout and establish their own forward operating bases.
"Well, the 'E' does stand for 'expeditionary,' " said Lt. Brendon Key, officer-in-charge of Bravo Company, referring to its parent Navy Expeditionary Combat Command. His crew set up a secured perimeter around three large tents just off a main highway and next to a yacht club — and roughly 35 miles from the headquarters element. Logistics and communications were the biggest challenge, but Key said that is par for the course.
The sailors had a tactical operations center up and running, boats in the water and the pier secured within 16 hours of receiving the fragmentary order. They were dual ported with five of their 34-foot Sea Ark patrol boats in Morehead City, and five at Mile Hammock Bay by Camp Lejeune. They provided security for dozens of vessels bringing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. As tensions escalated, the team's role shifted. Visit, board, search and seizure operations were almost nonstop.
Meanwhile, brown-water sailors loaded their boats into JHSV's spacious hull, and did so with a heightened sense of expectancy. Scuttlebutt was that the aid mission had met stiff opposition. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit out of Camp Lejeune had geared up and was preparing for some kind of action. While details were lacking, the expeditionary sailors knew they would be called in to clear sea lanes of explosives before any Marine force moved in.
Cmdr. Rob Toth, commanding officer of EOD Mobile Unit 6, was on the bridge to discuss capabilities and concerns with the ship's civilian crew.
"Even small things like getting boats off of this vessel and into the water presents challenges," said Toth, who is leading the counter IED force supporting Navy Expeditionary Forces. "So far, it seems like it is working very well. [The JHSV crew] is very good at what they do."
Toth was quite happy with the ample storage for vehicles and vessels provided by the ship's large bay, but "as far as a platform for getting us to what we need to do, I think the jury is still out until we can do the proof of concept. So far, it seems like we are going to be able to get it done."
Toth and his team leaders studied their maps with JHSV's captain and chief's mate. Their target was Brown's Inlet, and word was the area was chock full of explosives.
With a plan and timeline in place, the JHSV crew prepared to perform another first.
A big target
The ship arrived on station at roughly 10 a.m. on Nov. 5.
Key's coastal riverine team had diligently worked to learn these unfamiliar waterways, port operations and local boat traffic patterns upon arrival. That knowledge, along with some ample firepower, proved invaluable as JHSV positioned itself about one kilometer off Amberland's contested coastal waters. While the shallow-draft catamaran can quickly move troops deep into littoral areas, it has no defensive force. Worse yet, even a modest explosion would likely tear through the aluminum vessel.
The riverine company was prepared to embark a security team, if asked, to complement the protection offered by its patrol boats.
"JHSV is a high-value asset, and makes for a pretty big target," said Key, a surface warfare officer by trade. "But that's why we're here — to make sure she gets in and out safely. We're just waiting for the call."
While NECC put JHSV through the paces to determine how well the unique vessel might serve brown-water sailors in future littoral operational areas, the exercise also gave the command a sneak peek at a new mine countermeasures platoon. The concept gives EOD teams the UUV surveillance capability commonly used by area search platoons. While the new platoon will carry the 600-pound Kingfish UUV, the Bold Alligator team used the smaller Swordfish. But don't let its size fool you. What used to take days for divers is cut to hours with this UUV, said Chief Operations Specialist (SW) William Earp, with Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2.
Inside JHSV, NECC's Area Search Platoon moved with purpose. Team members positioned a Mark V combat rubber raiding craft on the ship's aft. Inside was an unmanned underwater vehicle. While the team typically is tasked with locating underwater wreckage, this mission was to survey potential amphibious assault landing lanes. The Swordfish UUV can cover 1,000 square meters in four hours, and the team can run up to four UUVs in that small space. It provided divers with precise location and size of any hazards, depth of water and even pictures.
The JHSV was positioned between the beach and the dock landing ship Fort McHenry. The spray of her landing craft, air cushioned, could be seen as the expeditionary sailors prepared for action.
"We'll go out there and look, that's what we do," said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jed Andrews, the platoon's officer-in-charge. "We may find something, we may not. We went out the other day and found three rocks. But they were big rocks," he said with a smile. While not as sexy as finding an improvised explosive device, big rocks can cause big problems for Marine-laden vessels coming ashore in low tide.
Hazards were found, and a team of explosive ordnance disposal divers quickly launched an 8.5 meter RIB to remove anything and everything that would inhibit the landing.
Comfortable surroundings
The Motor-T Marines were next in line, but debarkation would have to wait about four hours while the initial amphibious operations concluded. There was no complaint from the Marines. Life aboard the catamaran is anything but typical. It could be called comfortable – even pleasant when compared with life aboard gray hulls.
"The creature comforts are not representative of what my Marines could expect if they were to be assigned to a [Marine expeditionary unit]," Pica said. "They're getting a little spoiled."
The first lieutenant was not complaining, just trying to keep things real. This is the first time at sea for many of the 37 Marines he brought aboard. He used the time to teach his leathernecks about shipboard life — how to account for weapons, communications gear and the like, and how to use the time to catch up on maintenance or knock out some correspondence courses. Such lessons are tried and true on any ship. But the vast differences between JHSV and a typical amphib are evident at every turn.
"I'm about 6-foot-1 and I'm not crouching under stuff; it's fantastic," Pica said. "Though not designed for long-term berthing, I wouldn't mind being on here for a while."
Berthing spaces top out at 15 racks. The head has private toilet stalls and top-notch hand dryers. A large common area has upwards of 300 reclining chairs (complete with adjustable back support) and 20 flat-screen TVs for movies and video games. Knee-knockers are more like toe-stubbers and hatches have been replaced by doors you don't have to dog down. There are plenty of outlets in berthings and common areas, and plenty of air conditioning pumps through all the spaces.
"This is really nice. Very spacious. A lot better than my previous ships," said Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Eddie Rodriguez-Ferrera, a member of Navy Cargo Handling Battalion 11, who has served on a frigate and amphib in his 10-year career. "My berthing has a thermostat. Blew me away. I've never seen that before on a ship."
But the JHSV is not all sugar and spice. Some elements are matters of preference: There is no gym aboard — JHSV is not designed for long-term embarkation. Others are matters of survivability. Saltier chiefs and officers looked warily at aluminum bulkheads and overheads.
"This stuff would melt if there was a serious fire in here," one chief said as he sat in the open lounge area.
While chow was far better than average, there is only seating for 40 at a time. The ship has 104 racks but is designed to use those as hot racks to accommodate up to 312 passengers, which would make for long chow lines.
For many, the motion of the ocean was the biggest drawback. They don't call JHSV the "vomit comet" for nothing.
The joint high-speed vessel rolled 4 degrees port, quickly rolled 4 degrees starboard, and back again, and this was at a mere 10 knots in a steady sea state. The snapping action that capped each roll caused even the saltiest of sailors and Marines to prepare for the open ocean that lay beyond the bay.
The ship's crew are accustomed to rolls that span 20 degrees — 10 degrees port, then 10 to starboard — which is five times greater than felt on Nov. 5. In the end, sea sickness was kept to a minimum. Dramamine was passed around like candy on Halloween. But sailors and Marines also owe a debt of gratitude to whales spotted off the Carolina coast. Environmental laws forced JHSV to keep its speed at 10 knots — one quarter of its capacity.
"There's definitely a different feel to it," Rodriguez-Ferrera said. "If you've been through some rough seas on a frigate, then this is probably no problem for you. If you've never been on a frigate, you might find it challenging. I would imagine it would be tough for most of these guys if she really opened up."
