Navy

The sun ascends over the horizon as military personnel make their way onto the compound at Silver Strand Training Complex. After catching their breath from a grueling morning workout, the bagpipes playing in the background orchestrate a calming atmosphere. With the sun now fully visible, five current and past service members step onto the stage in front of approximately 150 personnel to commemorate the 40th anniversary of SEAL Team 5.

“On May 1, 1983, Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) 11 redesignated as SEAL Team 5,” said the current commanding officer of SEAL Team 5. “Recognizing our 40 years of service and the ascension to success is a testament to the incredible leadership, character and cognitive attributes of personnel throughout our unit’s rich history.”

Retired and active operators reunited with former teammates. Enlisted Sailors and officers alike stood united by the trident they had all earned and wore on their chests. The five guest speakers delivered remarks, each representing every decade dating back to the 1980s.

“To understand how SEAL Team 5 formed, we first need to understand the foundation laid by our predecessors of UDT-11,” said retired Capt. Pete Toennies, a former SEAL Team 5 commanding officer.

UDT-11, formed in May of 1944, initially was conceptualized for the invasion of the Pacific Island Iwo Jima. Although they did not serve on Iwo Jima, the men saw significant action in the invasion of Okinawa alongside approximately 1,000 frogmen conducting reconnaissance and demolition work to support the follow-on amphibious invasion.

“They conducted hydrographic surveys, both clandestinely and under fire, to enable conventional force amphibious landings during WWII and the Korean War,” added Toennies. “They were experts at underwater demolitions and saw significant employment clearing obstacles for landing craft to make their way onto enemy beaches.”

During periods in between wars, the Sailors of UDT-11 were innovators, pushing the limits in harsh, uncomfortable, and unforgiving environments like the Arctic and undersea.

“During the Cold War, the command led special projects in the Artic, innovated with underwater delivery vehicles, and partnered with the space program to recover astronauts,” said Toennies.

UDT-11 played a very important and public role on July 24, 1969, as millions around the world, including President Nixon in person aboard Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV 12), watched the UDT-11 frogmen recover astronauts from the Apollo 11 mission.

“Continuing into the Vietnam War, the unit was active in South Vietnam conducting hydrographic reconnaissance of nearly the entire coastline as well as conducting operations with SEAL Team 1 and the Brown Water Navy,” said Toennies.

Their success in non-traditional assignments built trust with and demonstrated UDT’s value to the Navy and the Department of Defense. This ultimately set the foundation for UDT-11’s redesignation to SEAL Team 5 in 1983.

Under the new designation as SEAL Team 5, from 1987 to 1988, operators were assigned to task units in the Persian Gulf aboard Mobile Sea Bases during the “Tanker War” – a war between Iran and Iraq that spilled into the maritime environment. These task units were assigned the mission of ending the Iranian mine place efforts, and the presence of SEALs in theater acted as a strong deterrence to Iranian mining operations.

“The U.S. saw the “Tanker War” as a threat to not only to our economy but the world economy,” said Toennies. “We reflagged those tankers as U.S. vessels so we could provide support and protection to them as they transited the Persian Gulf.

“The 1980s continued to be a time of growth, both in the size of the community and the tactics we developed,” added Toennies.

Retired Cmdr. Tom Dietz, a member of SEAL Team 5 throughout his career and commanding officer from 2000-2002, delivered remarks about the team’s history during the 1990s.

“I can define the success of a SEAL Team in six words,” said Dietz. “The mission. The mission. The mission. And in the 1990s, I was a SEAL Team 5 platoon commander getting ready to deploy to the Philippines when Iraq invaded Kuwait. Within 72 hours, our guys deployed to Saudi Arabia. Our mission was now Operation Desert Storm.”

As Operation Desert Storm developed, SEAL Team 5 would send an additional platoon tasked to work with the CIA and Kuwaiti special operations units to infiltrate behind enemy lines to call in airstrikes and provide deconflictions.

“Our platoon was tasked with the coastal reconnaissance of Kuwait to locate a beach appropriate for the Marines to do an amphibious landing,” said Dietz. “The enemy was expecting this, even though the Marines weren’t going to do it, and one night six guys swam in with 20 pounds of explosives each and simulated a large amphibious Marine assault drawing in and relocating enemy forces allowing our military to conduct other missions nearby. Those missions were all a success.”

Further on in the 1990s, SEAL Team 5’s Delta platoon conducted operations from amphibious ships in continued support to Operation Desert Storm. Following the completion of the platoon’s cycle, they headed back to the U.S. when the 1991 Bangladesh cyclone occurred – one of the deadliest tropical cyclones on record.

“Combat operations are important – it is our mission – but so are humanitarian operations,” said Dietz. “We support our nation’s missions, whatever it may be. A massive typhoon struck Bangladesh and Delta platoon was able to go in there and provide humanitarian support.”

Following the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, popularly depicted in Hollywood film “Blackhawk Down,” SEAL Team 5 sent a platoon to Somalia in the spring of 1994 to provide support in the extraction of all United Nations forces in country.

“We had a platoon pulled off an amphibious ready group to support this,” said Dietz. “These operations continued to 1996.”

Dietz would become SEAL Team 5’s executive officer in 1997. Operations continued with a stronger emphasis on maritime interdiction operations. And the platoons aboard the amphibious ready groups would engage enemy ships out of Iraq against United Nations sanctions.

“We sent a lot of guys out there to operations out in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Dietz. “So you look at the operations we did across this decade alone – underwater, above water and land mission sets. It was the mindset in the leaders from this decade, those who were molded from those in the 80s and UDT era. The approach these guys had in finding solutions is a testament to the resilient mindset that continues to the shape our special operation forces in upcoming decades.”

Following the attacks on 9/11, SEALs were in theater less than one month later. SEAL Team 5 would deploy platoons to Afghanistan to work with interagency and international partners. What started off with the deployment of platoons to theater, and by the Iraq War, turned into full SEAL team deployments.

“That little thing called ‘to serve’, where we didn’t have enough SEALs to go into combat for Afghanistan and Iraq,” said retired Master Chief Petty Officer Ron Culpepper, a former SEAL Team 5 command master chief. “We became tired. What were typically six-month deployments turned into seven, eight, all the way up to eleven. We answered the call of our nation, and we were willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice in doing so.”

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq extended into the next decade.

“The war continued, and it always came back to being ready,” said an active-duty operator and former SEAL Team 5 commanding officer. “We continued to train as much as we could, while still fighting the fight. You never knew what was going to come next, but as it did, it came very quickly.

“It was the shift in tactics and our approach that changed the dynamic, eventually leading local counterparts to gain traction,” added the former SEAL Team 5 commanding officer. “This ultimately led to the securing of East Mosul and eventually set the conditions for forces to continue westward.”

The speeches all reflected on the evolution of SEAL Team 5.

“To truly appreciate history, you first have to understand it,” said the current commanding officer of SEAL Team 5. “Regardless of the size of platoon and whatever the mission tasking may be, the warriors here today carry the same DNA in their blood as the generations before. As we look towards the future, we can expect SEALs to continue to be a critical component in our National Defense Strategy.”

“I could not be prouder to serve at SEAL Team 5, nor could I be more excited for the future of this great command,” added the current commanding officer.

As the ceremony concluded, past and present teammates along with their families gathered in small circles in front of the stage. Frogmen shared their stories, laughed and reminisced about their days as SEAL Team 5 operators.

Today’s SEAL teams, along with other components of Naval Special Warfare, represent a unique ability to access denied environments, providing scalable kinetic and non-kinetic effects that set the conditions to undermine adversary confidence and provide diplomatic leverage in competition, and higher end options in crisis and conflict.

Naval Special Warfare is the nation’s elite maritime special operations force, uniquely positioned to extend the Fleet’s reach and gain and maintain access for the Joint Force in competition and conflict.

TUNIS, Tunisia – Canadian ship HMCS Fredericton paid a non-NATO port visit to Tunis while serving with Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) in the Mediterranean Sea. She arrived for the two-day visit on 5 May 23.

The Halifax-class frigate and its crew carried out the visit on behalf of the SNMG2 commander, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Scott Sciretta.

The visit focused on enhancing cooperation and partnership between NATO and Tunisia. The Commanding Officer of HMCS Fredericton, Commander Matthew Mitchell, met with local dignitaries including the Commander of the National Coastal Surveillance Service and the Secretary General of La Goulette Municipality.

Tunisia has been part of NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) since it began in 1994. The MD is a partnership forum that aims to contribute to security and stability in the wider Mediterranean region, and promote good relations and understanding among participating countries and NATO Allies.

This visit was an opportunity to discuss the cooperative approach to maritime security and maritime priorities shared by both parties, in order to strength security in the region.

“Tunisia is a key partner in the Mediterranean Dialogue and plays a valuable role in maintaining freedom of navigation in the strategic maritime domain,” said Rear Admiral Sciretta. “For that reason, it was important that SNMG2 visit and collaborate with our Tunisian partners. I have great confidence in HMCS Fredericton’s capabilities and in her leadership and crew, as well as in the interoperable manner in which we operate. As a result, we were able to successfully execute this important leadership engagement with our partners.”

As a NATO task group, SNMG2 prioritises its mandate to enhance the collective readiness, responsiveness, deployable readiness, integration and interoperability of its forces. Its focus is on deterrence and defence against all adversaries in the maritime domain, upholding freedom of navigation, securing maritime trade routes and protecting the main lines of communication.

SNMG2 is a multinational integrated task group that projects a constant and visible reminder of the Alliance’s solidarity and cohesion afloat. This continuous maritime capability performs a wide range of tasks, including exercises and real-world operations in periods of crisis and conflict.

SNMG2 is one of four Standing Naval Forces that operate under NATO Allied Maritime Command, headquartered in Northwood, United Kingdom.

For more news and information on SNMG2, visit https://mc.nato.int/SNMG2 or follow us at:

www.facebook.com/StandingNATOMaritimeGroup2

www.twitter.com/COM_SNMG2

www.instagram.com/snmg_two.

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Rota Elementary School held its third annual STEAM Expo Family Night, April 26, 2023. The evening included interactive STEAM – science, technology, engineering, art and math – presentations as well as a sevillanas dance performance and students’ science projects spread throughout the school complex.

The family night was held in conjunction with the conclusion of third through fifth grade students’ science projects. During the event, community members could view the students’ projects and findings as well as the winners from each grade.

“It is important for our community and parents to see the hard work our students do every day,” said Mary Chambers, a fifth grade teacher at Rota Elementary School and the event coordinator. “It’s amazing to see the students beaming with pride and excitement. Our students need these opportunities to ‘show off.’”

The students didn’t only show off their science knowledge, but their dancing too! The event kicked off with bright colors, ruffles and clapping as the school’s sevillanas club held its recital. Students in first through fifth grades learned the traditional Spanish dance, sevillanas, seen at spring fairs throughout Spain called feria.

“Their favorite part is showing off what they have learned during the recital,” said Yadira Cuba-Bizardi, a second grade teacher at Rota Elementary School and the club coordinator. “They love to get dressed up in their beautiful feria outfits.”

Once the performance had concluded, students and families were able to wander the halls for a variety of presentations on everything from household chemistry magic and robots to escape rooms and germs.

“The importance of this event is that we’re able to bring in the community members,” said Chambers. “That really gets the kids into a position where they are able to see how different careers in science, technology, engineering, [art] and math play out in the real world.”

This year there were 16 community presentations which included personnel from U.S. Naval Hospital (USNH) Rota, Navy Environmental Preventive Medical Unit (NEPMU) 7, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 8, and Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota Fire Department in addition to school teachers and community members. Even the high school chemistry club was there putting on a dazzling display of fire, explosions and science!

Chambers said over 165 families came out to support the family night, including this year’s addition of a few activities geared towards the younger learners.

“Primary read aloud and games was a huge hit,” said Chambers. “And not just with the littlest people…I saw adults sneaking in to make cookie houses!”

Overall, students and families engaged, learned, and grew together which was Chambers’ goal for the family night.

“I love seeing the students and families smiling and having a great time with each other,” said Chambers. “Hopefully we are also sparking a love for a future career!”

Rota Elementary School is Department of Defense Education Activites (DoDEA) school located on Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota military base. In conjunction with David Glasgow Farragut (DGF) Middle/High School, the combined campus provides education for installation children, kindergarten through 12th grade. Rota Elementary School was awarded the National Blue Ribbon Award for 2022.

As the “Gateway to the Mediterranean,” NAVSTA Rota provides U.S, NATO and allied forces a strategic hub for operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. NAVSTA Rota is a force multiplier, capable of promptly deploying and supporting combat-ready forces through land, air and sea, enabling warfighters and their families, sustaining the fleet and fostering the U.S. and Spanish partnership.

U.S. Navy story by Lt. Brandon Barr Deneen, USS Nevada (Blue) (SSBN 733) Public Affairs Officer

NAVAL BASE KITSAP – BANGOR, Wash. (May 5, 2023) The blue crew of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Nevada (SSBN 733) conducted a change of command ceremony at the Naval Base Kitsap – Bangor Chapel, in Silverdale, Washington, May 5, 2023.

During the ceremony. Cmdr. Derek M. Goebel relieved Cmdr. Andres J. Aviles as commanding officer of Nevada.

David A. Adams, the director of Warfighting Effectiveness, Assessments, and Readiness for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, served as guest speaker during the ceremony.

“Challenges are important,” Adams said. “I’ve watched [Cmdr. Aviles] overcome many challenges to be where he is today, selected for captain in the United States Navy. He did it in a way that I couldn’t believe. He was always optimistic. He is a determined optimist and should be an example to all of you when you go through challenges.”

Aviles is a 2001 graduate of the University of Florida and holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. He commissioned in April 2002. He also holds a Master of Arts in National Security Affairs (East Asia Security) from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Master of Science in Military History from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

“I am very proud to have served with such an outstanding crew,” Aviles said. “This truly has been the highlight of my naval career. You are an amazing team of Sailors and I know that you will have continued success going forward.”

Goebel, the incoming commanding officer, graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. He was commissioned in 2004 upon graduating from Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida. His most recent position was deputy commodore at Commander, Submarine Squadron 17.

“I am honored to take command of this submarine and its motivated crew,” Goebel sail. “I wish fair winds and following seas to Cmdr. Aviles and I look forward to working with the entire crew to carry put the most important mission in the military.”

Since the 1960s, ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) have provided the United States with its most survivable and enduring strategic strike capability. Each SSBN utilizes two crews to maximize the time it is at sea and providing constant national deterrent while allowing time for crew training, and morale.

Nevada is the fourth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name Nevada and was commissioned in Groton, Connecticut, Aug. 16, 1986. It is homeported at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor.