Navy

On April 23 at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu in Southern California, military and civilian members of the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force gathered near the Pacific shoreline. Clouds hid Laguna Peak. Birds chirped. Waves pounded the sand.

They stood together to commemorate a century-old tradition: Anzac Day.

For Australians and New Zealanders, Anzac Day mirrors Memorial Day for Americans. It’s a day to pause. To reflect. To remember those who never returned home.

“Anzac Day is a time of both sadness and joy, of remembrance and of celebration,” RAAF Flight Sergeant Jason Savage said. “We remember those who have served their country and died for their country. And we celebrate that part of us that makes us truly Australian: the spirit of Anzac.”

Anzac Day, officially observed April 25, marks the anniversary of the first major military action by Australian and New Zealand “Diggers,” soldiers from both nations who fought together in World War I.

On the morning of April 25, 1915, they landed at Gallipoli, expecting a quick victory. Instead, they faced eight months of brutal combat. More than 8,000 Australians and nearly 2,700 New Zealanders died.

“The Anzacs were courageous,” Savage said during the ceremony. “Although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the Australian and New Zealand actions left us all with a powerful legacy.”

Young men like PTE Alec Campbell carried that legacy forward.

At 16, he enlisted by lying about his age. He arrived at Gallipoli in October 1915, where he carried water, ran messages and dodged enemy fire. In 1990, he returned for the campaign’s 75th anniversary. In 2001, Alec Campbell became the last living Anzac, the final heartbeat among more than a million who landed on Gallipoli’s shores. When he died in 2002, that heartbeat stopped.

Gallipoli remains relevant not just for Australians and New Zealanders but also for the values it represents: courage, sacrifice, and mateship.

Three years later, those same qualities marched to the Western Front.

In 1918, Americans and Australians fought side by side for the first time at Le Hamel, a village in northern France, under Australian Gen. John Monash. It was the first time U.S. troops served under a foreign commander.

They have stood together ever since.

The alliance deepened through joint efforts in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan and the fight against ISIS in Syria.

More than 100 years of shared sacrifice now shape joint missions at Point Mugu. Uniforms change. Missions evolve. Australians still serve.

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division’s Airborne Electronic Attack Integrated Product Team has collaborated with their RAAF counterparts at Point Mugu since 2009. Uniformed RAAF personnel joined the team full time starting in 2014, marking 11 continuous years of daily partnership in electronic warfare operations.

The Australian footprint at Point Mugu seemed inevitable early on. It wasn’t.

In 2013, Genesis Johnson faced an uncertain task. Now the NAWCWD chief of staff for operations, she remembers navigating endless delays to secure the agreements making Australia’s presence permanent.

She joined the team in 2013 to lead cooperative development on the F/A-18 and EA-18G programs. Within months, she and her colleagues launched the Spectrum Dominance Working Group while delays stalled Australia’s first EA-18G international agreement.

“Everything seemed challenging at the time. Coordinating across campuses, working with our sponsors, navigating the international process,” Johnson said. “It all felt hard. But it was so worth it.”

A decade later, the working group continues its mission, and news of Australians joining the Electronic Warfare Symposium or Gray Flag at Point Mugu reminds Johnson of the effort it took to get there.

“I literally pinch myself,” Johnson said. “I’m so proud of what we accomplished back then because of the lasting legacy. But its enduring relevance for this key partnership is crucial.”

When Johnson thinks of Anzac Day, one image comes to mind.

“The beautiful red poppies. They symbolize both the strength and fragility of life and the ultimate sacrifices made so we can enjoy the freedoms we have today.”

RAAF SGT Peter Fitzgibbins, who spoke at the ceremony following Savage, always thinks about his grandfather on Anzac Day.

“Freedom is a value worth defending. Freedom is a value worth fighting for,” Fitzgibbins said.

His grandfather served in the Pacific during World War II with the Australian Army. As a boy, Fitzgibbins would attend dawn services and parades with him. Those memories still hold strong.

“Luckily our allies, fondly referred to as ‘the Yanks,’ had our backs in confronting the Pacific threat. A friendship that still holds strong today.”

That wartime bond evolved into formal policy in 1951, when the two nations signed the ANZUS Treaty. Australia reaffirmed that pledge three days after 9/11. The same promise resonates in shared systems, joint labs, and next-generation capabilities built for tomorrow.

Dave Mohler, NAWCWD’s Airborne Electronic Attack International Programs lead, sees how closely the two nations operate and what that means for the mission.

“Every day, U.S. and Australian personnel work side by side to advance shared capabilities and mission data for platforms like the EA-18G and F-35. That collaboration gives both forces a decisive edge,” Mohler said.

Mateship is one of the most important foundations when working together.

“The day-to-day partnership between the RAAF and U.S. teams continues to grow,” Savage said. “The Electronic Warfare Data Systems team works together as one, utilizing each other’s strengths to streamline existing processes while also creating new ones.”

The partnership moved forward because people pushed it forward. People like Tony Douglas.

Douglas spent 15 years guiding U.S. and Australian teams at NAWCWD. As the Australian technical director, he helped launch the Advanced Passive Surveillance Capability, an upgrade that sharpened the F/A-18 radar warning receiver so pilots could spot threats sooner and fly home safe. His work set the stage for today’s trusted partnership and interoperability on the EA-18G Growler and the Next-Generation Jammer.

In fact, Australia is the only country aside from the United States to operate the EA-18G Growler. The two nations also co-developed the Next-Generation Jammer, a system replacing the legacy ALQ-99. Both nations employ identical capabilities and share the burden of development and costs.

The partnership has roots in real places, real labs.

The Trans-Pacific Electronic Attack Research Laboratory, or T-PEARL, gives Australian personnel a secure workspace at Point Mugu. The lab supports collaboration on electronic warfare projects and signifies the long-term commitment both nations have made.

“It provides a crucial advantage in allowing us to present a united front and deter aggression,” Mohler said. “Australia’s location in the Indo-Pacific offers invaluable access and basing options, vital for projecting power in the region.”

The next step is the Jamming and Countermeasures Center, or JCC.

Clint Stammer, F-35 Joint Program Office electronic attack and countermeasures lead, created the concept. Approved in May 2023, it reached early operational capability in July 2024.

Stammer says the JCC is more than a building. It’s a concept. It’s a handshake across oceans. The work began years ago, and soon Australian personnel will walk through its doors.

“We have already been working directly with the Australians. We talk to them almost every day. It’s how we turn ideas into operational realities,” Stammer said. “We are collaborating, we are developing, we have systems, they have systems, and all of it comes together at the JCC.”

That momentum did not stay behind closed lab doors. In December 2024, it made noise.

The Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMAS Brisbane successfully launched a Tomahawk missile from the Point Mugu Sea Range. It was a seminal moment in the U.S.-Australia partnership. Australia became the third nation, alongside the United States and the United Kingdom, to demonstrate the capability under AUKUS.

Shared sacrifices have led to shared capabilities. They do not wear the same uniform. They do not need to. What they have built together is stronger than anything either nation could build alone.

“Mateship binds us together,” Savage explained. “It’s trust, mutual respect and loyalty. It shapes how we train, how we fight, how we support one another.”

The ceremony had ended. The bugle’s call, the Ode of Remembrance, the minute of silence were now behind them.

Chairs circled two long tables, where mates would soon meet eye to eye. A brown paper bag rested on each seat, each one tucked with a small Australian flag. Nearby, members of the Jamming Techniques Optimization team cooked a traditional gunfire breakfast with coffee, rum, bacon and eggs. The breakfast is a post-dawn service tradition that traces its roots to British troops and lives on today in Anzac Day commemorations across Australia.

The ceremony honored the past, but eyes are now forward. Australian and American mateship, born from battles past, remains ready for whatever the future holds. New Zealand service members share that watch across the Pacific, carrying the Anzac spirit wherever it is needed.

“The outcomes of our joint efforts play a vital role in shaping both regional and global stability,” Savage said. “As we face an era where collaboration is essential, our bond continues to grow stronger, grounded in the understanding that neither of our nations can go it alone.”

Beneath the surface visibility is nearly nonexistent, dark, cold, leaving divers to trust in their crew and training to perform critical work that keeps navigation open – both in the past and today. “Even though we like to fly under the radar, our behind-the-scenes role is vital to preserving both the history and future of the river,” said Kraig Berberich, the district’s dive coordinator.

A legacy of expertise: Wally Voss’ pioneering role

Retired Central Area Lockmaster Wally Voss set the foundation for the St. Paul District’s dive program in the mid-1960s. After serving as a diver in the U.S. Navy, Voss applied his skills at Lock and Dam 5 in Minnesota City, Minnesota. He played a pivotal role in organizing the district’s diving team, serving as a diver, dive supervisor and dive coordinator for more than 25 years. Voss retired in December 1988, but his legacy continues.

Today’s dive team: leadership and team

Berberich, the district’s dive coordinator for the past five years, oversees the dive program. “My job entails anything underwater related,” Berberich said.

He has been with the district for 22 years, and with the dive program for 16 years. Jon Peters, Lock and Dam 5A head operator, alternate dive coordinator and dive supervisor, has been with the dive team since 2014. Peters emphasizes the importance of teamwork, “It’s all about working together to accomplish the mission.”

Mitch Serjogins, Lock and Dam 5A working supervisor and diver since 2017, said the best part of the job is a team that prioritizes safety. “We respond at a moment’s notice to support maintenance, dredge teams and nationwide requests year-round.”

The rest of the team includes:

• Nathan Van Loon, Lock and Dam 5 head operator, alternate dive coordinator, lead dive supervisor, diver

• Tim Tabery, Lock and Dam 3 lockmaster, dive safety inspector and tendor; previous district dive coordinator, alternate dive coordinator, and diver

• Ryan Markey, Lock and Dam 7 head operator and diver

• Jeff Ferguson, Lock and Dam 2 head operator and diver

• Kevin Lakey, Lock and Dam 6 operator and diver • Josh Isakson, derrick boat operator and diver

• Jordan Reichel, Lock and Dam 4 operator and diver in training

• Aaron Pieplow, operational safety specialist and dive safety representative

Each operation requires a minimum of: 1. Diver

2. Dive supervisor (responsible for air, communication, safety)

3. Dive tender (manages diver’s connecting hose)

4. Standby diver ready to assist in the rescue of the main diver

In extreme weather, a fifth diver monitors a boiler system that pumps heated river water through insulated hoses into the diver’s suit to maintain (left to right) Divers Kevin Lakey and Jon Peters check equipment before a dive at Lock and Dam 9, Lynxville, Wisconsin, Jan. 28. USACE St. Paul District photo by Liz Stoeckmann safety and comfort. “There’s always risk with cold water diving, whether it’s equipment failure or air supply concerns,” Peters said. “Our team is top-notch, and safety is always a priority.”

Winter maintenance and routine operations

This past winter, the dive team supported the maintenance and repair crews at Locks and Dams 7 and 9. Their work included installing large jacks and strong backs (steel beams) to the lock chamber floor to raise the miter gates to facilitate maintenance. They also installed a dewater box on the upper wall for towboat damage repairs.

“Typically, our divers work three to four hours per session at depths around 25 feet,” Peters said. “Divers have an unlimited air supply connected to an air compressor on the surface for safety and performing larger tasks, like miter gate replacements. ”The dive team also plays a key role in periodic inspections on the locks and dams and at the headwaters’ reservoir dams.

Divers monitor concrete damage, check for leakage, verify instrumentation results such as sounding data and scour protection, and provide underwater photographs and video. They routinely clear debris or repair broken parts such as bubblers for deicing, intake grating and concrete spalls. “Often divers work in very low visibility and feel their way around structures,” Berberich said. “They work closely with the engineering team, using real-time data to support critical decisions.”

Beyond routine

A diver’s work extends beyond maintenance. They support environmental stewardship by collaborating with district mussel biologist Dan Kelner. Divers survey and relocate native mussels throughout the district to monitor and protect endangered species, minimize habitat disruption to reduce impacts to mussels for Corps operation and maintenance and habitat restoration projects.

Training and Commitment to Excellence (beyond the district)

Outside of the water, divers undergo rigorous training and continuous education:

• Prospect schools

• 12 dives annually to maintain certification

• A two-week hands-on recertification every five years

• Recreational scuba certification

• In-house and final prospect diver certification courses

“Not every district has a full in-house dive team, so we travel across the country as needed,” Berberich said. “Each diver brings unique skills, and we take pride in troubleshooting problems and seeing the results of our hard work.”

Recently, divers supported the Corps’ Engineer Research and Development Center in deploying a bedload sediment collector on the Oakland River in California, and the Eau Claire River in Wisconsin—technology aimed at improving navigation on both rivers.

Additionally, five divers are certified federal bridge inspectors, participating in global inspections in Korea and Alaska. As well as supporting Portland, Omaha, St. Louis and St. Paul districts, under the Department of the Army.

Community Connection

Their commitment doesn’t stop there. The dive team also prioritizes community outreach, taking time to engage with the public, share their mission and foster strong community connections. In 2024, the dive team participated in the Lock and Dam 7 open house—their first time at the event—demonstrating the vital, often unseen role they play in keeping the Mississippi River flowing and infrastructure secure.

Following months of work and focused collaboration, representatives from Joint Region Marianas (JRM), Joint Task Force-Micronesia (JTF-M), the Government of Guam, and local and federal agencies, were formally notified of the Guahan Sentinel Landscape designation for Guam.

The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership Federal Coordination Committee (FCC) conferred the federal designation, as a result of multi-agency collaboration efforts intended to preserve strategic lands around military installations with the goal of strengthening military readiness through the responsible management of resources.

“This is a major win for team Guam and I could not be more proud of our leaders and partners,” JRM Commander U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Brent DeVore said. “The designation paves a clear path forward to meet our critical requirements in the responsible management of ecosystem resources while remaining laser-focused on our warfighting priorities, bolstering deterrence and strengthening military readiness.”

This designation represents a first for Guam and solidifies a robust partnership between the Department of Defense, the Department of Interior, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Government of Guam, and other local stakeholders, recognizing the vital link between the well-being of local and military communities, and sustained military operations in the region.

“The Guahan Sentinel Landscape designation reflects the power of partnership and the strength of our shared vision for Guam,” Governor Lou Leon Guerrero said. “It’s a testament to what we can achieve when we embrace the One Guam approach—balancing the need to protect our natural resources with our responsibility to defend our island and support national security. I want to thank Joint Region Marianas, Joint Task Force-Micronesia, and all our local and federal partners for their collaboration and commitment. Together, we’re proving that resilience, sustainability, and readiness go hand in hand.”

The Guahan Sentinel Landscape represents a proactive, integrated approach to national security, community and installation resilience, and conservation. The partnership directly addresses potential threats to Guam’s diverse ecosystems and native habitats in locations that enable specialized military training and support operational capabilities in the region. It proactively mitigates risks to training, infrastructure, and personnel by prioritizing prevention of further species loss and preservation of vital habitats – including critical areas for threatened and endangered species. It also addresses critical issues such as wildfires, water quality and quantity, and resilience to extreme weather events.

“This landmark achievement not only focuses on interagency collaboration, but it is also a strategic investment in the economic, environmental and social well-being of our island home,” JTF-M Commander U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Greg Huffman said. “It represents our holistic approach to mitigating risks and impacts through the integration of local knowledge and perspectives into best practices and sustainable resource management,” he said. “Ultimately, this demonstrates our unwavering commitment to national security as we endeavor to maintain a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”

With this designation, a multi-agency committee, including DoD, and local and federal partners, will convene a working group to establish priorities, define mutual goals and objectives, and discuss next steps.

“The Guahan Sentinel Landscape designation is key to advancing Indo-Pacific national security priorities,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environmental Management and Restoration Ronald Tickle. “Partnering to preserve land surrounding Andersen Air Force Base, Camp Blaz, and Naval Base Guam ensures the Department can conduct vital operations and realistic military training from the leading edge of the Indo-Pacific. This partnership not only safeguards the island’s unique ecosystems but also protects critical infrastructure that supports the lethality of our force and advances our defense capabilities.”

Founded in 2013 and codified in statute through the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (10 U.S.C §2693), the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of Federal agencies, state and local governments, and private organizations that support mutually beneficial land-use goals and military readiness across 19 landscapes. More information on the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership and its multifaceted benefits can be found at https://sentinellandscapes.org/.

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. — Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic completed a week of intensive research and communications testing on April 18 involving unmanned autonomous systems off the coast of Sullivan’s Island in partnership with Indiana-based Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) and U.S. Fleet Forces Command.

Underpinning the naval research and experimentation event dubbed “Southern Lightning” was the Department of the Navy imperative to develop a future hybrid fleet that integrates manned and unmanned systems across all warfighting domains — land, air and sea.

“This experiment and our strong collaboration with NSWC Crane exemplifies the intrinsic value warfare centers bring to the naval research and development establishment,” said Kevin Charlow, NIWC Atlantic acting executive director. “Alongside strong community support on Sullivan’s Island, it was remarkable to see the enthusiasm of our scientists and engineers working hard to envision which communications technologies offer our warfighters the most promising capabilities.”

Sullivan’s Island, a short helicopter ride from NIWC Atlantic, is the kickoff location for Southern Lightning each year. The second leg of the two-week experimentation takes place at Savannah River National Laboratory in Aiken, South Carolina, where NIWC Atlantic has collaborated with the Department of Energy on things like cyber, autonomous systems and electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO) since 2023.

Making this year exceptional from other times was the presence of a U.S. Fleet Forces Command warship with a storied past anchored off South Carolina.

U.S. Fleet Forces Command positioned the Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) more than 20 miles off the coast to help the Navy warfare centers evaluate the viability of new technologies and concepts in an operational environment.

The USS Cole also flew MH-60R helicopters in support of the unmanned communications testing while the South Carolina National Guard dispatched AH-64 Apache helicopters to the area.

“Through our partnership with Sullivan’s Island, NIWC Atlantic provides the kind of littoral environment that other warfare centers cannot offer,” said Cliff Hunt, NIWC Atlantic senior scientific technical manager for assured communications. “In the Lowcountry, we have protected harbors and can provide industry, government innovators and warfighters the unique ability to get out into deep water quickly.”

Throughout the week, unmanned systems owned by industry were launched from the western tip of Sullivan’s Island early in the morning. Some vessels acted as transportation for smaller unmanned systems.

Mike Massenet, one of NIWC Atlantic’s lead engineers for assured communications, spent much of the week setting up and operating 30 communication nodes comprising a suite of sophisticated radio technologies developed by industry.

“These companies pay out of pocket to travel here and demonstrate their products, which we really appreciate,” Massenet said. “NIWC Atlantic couldn’t be a leader in assured and resilient communications without them.”

Unmanned platforms and technologies operated far out at sea while NIWC Atlantic and NSWC Crane technologists monitored signals and analyzed endless streams of data huddled inside Southern Lightning’s maritime operations center, or MOC.

A nerve center of sorts, the MOC is a U.S. Navy command-and-control concept that naval strategic guidance released last year called a “warfighting system” capable of operating on a “decentralized and global battlefield” just like other weapons systems.

For Southern Lightning, the MOC was set up in NIWC Atlantic’s facility on Sullivan’s Island, a tall brick building on a hill next to Fort Moultrie.

In the bigger picture, Southern Lightning is a portion of a series of larger Department of Defense (DoD) experimentations each year called Silent Swarm.

Led by NSWC Crane and sponsored by the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Silent Swarm invites industry to northern Michigan every summer to experiment with early-stage technologies on Lake Huron. Its primary focus is on EMSO capabilities that can be employed on small, unmanned, multi-domain systems in support of U.S. Navy and Joint Force operations.

“NIWC Atlantic’s Southern Lightning provides NSWC Crane an opportunity to experiment with some Silent Swarm technology initiatives in a unique, multi-domain environment that includes the fleet and brings together teams from across DoD and industry,” said Robert “Ice” Gamberg, Silent Swarm lead and NSWC Crane fleet experimentation lead.

In tandem with Silent Swarm, Southern Lightning has grown into a golden opportunity for NIWC Atlantic, a warfare center considered a forerunner in the integration of the compute environments integrated onboard unmanned vehicles.

Both experimentations offer NIWC Atlantic engineers and scientists a chance to hone communications capabilities critical to future fleet operations, Hunt said.

“In a hybrid fleet setting, our Sailors and Marines will be reliant on assured and resilient communications,” he explained. “This means sensors and radio waves need to be validated now, during peacetime, to ensure warfighters can access information in the future.”

In addition to a tethered aerostat flying over Charleston Harbor to facilitate communications, testing during Southern Lightning included the deployment of sensors, relays and radios aboard unmanned aerial, surface and subsurface vehicles.

Christian Martin, a NIWC Atlantic engineer who helped lead Southern Lightning, said the maritime environment on Sullivan’s Island enabled government scientists and engineers to think outside the box and figure out how the communication architecture in the unmanned arena can be conceived and rapidly developed for the fleet.

“In a nutshell, everything NIWC Atlantic is involved in centers around assured and resilient communications across all domains, especially the littoral environment,” Martin said.

About NIWC Atlantic

As a part of Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, NIWC Atlantic provides systems engineering and acquisition to deliver information warfare capabilities to the naval, joint and national warfighter through the acquisition, development, integration, production, test, deployment, and sustainment of interoperable command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, cyber and information technology capabilities.

About NSWC Crane

NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory in Crane, Indiana, and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with mission areas in Expeditionary Warfare, Strategic Missions and Electronic Warfare. The warfare center is responsible for multi-domain, multi-spectral, full life cycle support of technologies and systems enhancing capability to today’s warfighter.