Navy

What comes to mind when you think of purchasing a vehicle? The make? The model? The cost? What about options? Can you customize it to fit your needs? Can your vehicle reach speeds of 1,200 miles per hour (or Mach 1.6)? Can your vehicle land on a flight deck? How about vertically?

Wait… What kind of vehicle are we talking about here?

On paper, the F-35 Lightning II may sound like a larger than life and an out of this world aerial vehicle, but in reality, this fifth-generation multi-role air system is the aircraft of choice here and now; it is already being operated by the United States Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, and seven international partners as well as foreign military customers.

“More than a strike fighter, the F-35’s ability to collect, analyze and share data, is the most lethal, survivable and connected fighter aircraft ever built,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Mike Schmidt, the JPO’s Program Executive Officer. “This aircraft is the premier strike fighter that enables our warfighters to execute their mission and come back home safely.”

Currently there are three variants available – the F-35A, F-35B, and F-35C – with an individual price tag of between $77 million and $101 million, depending on the model. While it may seem like a steep price to pay, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office (JPO) ensures that the F-35 remains affordable for the U.S. services, international partners, and customers through cost reduction across the acquisition life cycle.

“The JPO has strategic affordability initiatives throughout the program aimed at reducing the total cost of ownership of the F-35,” said Caroline Dyer, director of program affordability. “The JPO, in partnership with industry, are utilizing the driver tree approach to understand the cost baseline of the program and jointly focus their resources on initiatives which will see the near to midterm costs being reduced.”

When it comes to options, each variant has been customized to adapt to the warfighter. For the U.S. Air Force and most international allied customers, the F-35A is the vehicle of choice due to its ability to operate from conventional runways. For the U.S. Marine Corps, the United Kingdom and the Italian Air Force and Navy, the F-35B lands vertically like a helicopter and has the ability to take off in very short distances, which allows its customers to operate in a variety of environments like short-field bases or air-capable ships. For the U.S. Navy, the F-35C was at first built with the Department of the Navy’s aircraft carrier operations in mind and is the service’s first stealth strike fighter.

“One way to look at it is that each of the services has unique operational requirements for their fifth-generation mission,” said Andrew Maack, Naval Air Station Patuxent River Integrated Test Force chief test engineer. “The Joint Advanced Strike Technology or Joint Strike Fighter F-35 program managed to add as much commonality as possible between those service requirements and produce them as a family of variants.”

This bevy of options enables pilots to operate in any environment against any threat, but what about available advanced technology? Each series comes equipped with mission systems that support very low observable (VLO) stealth; and each have the most advanced sensors, information fusion and network connectivity – all packaged within in a supersonic, long range, highly maneuverable strike fighter aircraft.

“The powerful combination of sensors automated through sensor fusion enables the pilot to fully employ the F-35 as a tactician rather than a sensor manager,” said Lee Venturino, senior mission effectiveness engineer. “With greater freedom to maneuver and more mental bandwidth available, the F-35 provides unparalleled lethality and survivability for the U.S., partners, and allies. The F-35 is delivered with 100% interoperability, allowing our partners and allies to fully integrate with U.S. forces, extending the protective reach and enabling freedom of operations around the world.”

F-35 JPO and its industry partners allow its customers to request modifications that will further enhance their aircraft’s capabilities which in turn makes it the world’s most versatile, lethal, survivable, and connected strike fighter. Simply put, the F-35 is capable of successfully executing any and all missions, including new missions not traditionally fulfilled by older fighters.

Now that you’ve selected which F-35 variant (or) make and model best suits your need, you’re on your way to learning about the next step in the process – acquisition.

SURABAYA, Indonesia (Dec. 12, 2022) – Amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage (LPD 23) arrived in Surabaya, Indonesia, for a scheduled port visit, Dec. 12.

Anchorage is scheduled to participate in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT)/Marine Exercise (MAREX) Indonesia 2022 with the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) and Marine Corps (KORMAR RI). CARAT/MAREX Indonesia is a bilateral exercise between Indonesia and the United Sates designed to promote regional security cooperation, maintain and strengthen maritime partnerships, and enhance maritime interoperability.

In its 28th year, the CARAT series is comprised of multinational exercises, designed to enhance U.S. and partner navies’ abilities to operate together in response to traditional and non-traditional maritime security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

“CARAT Indonesia is an opportunity to strengthen our partnership with the Indonesian Navy and Marine Corps,” said Capt. Daniel Keeler, commanding officer of Anchorage. “After concluding the shore-phase of this exercise, we will build upon our maritime proficiency in order to promote interoperability and regional security cooperation.”

In addition to strengthening Allied relationships through military exercises, information sharing, and training, CARAT Indonesia will incorporate other means for both countries to bond such as a sports exhibition between both countries’ navies.

Sailors and Marines aboard Anchorage will have the opportunity to experience Indonesian culture via visits to local areas in Surabaya and through sightseeing tours.

“I feel that everyone aboard is ecstatic to see the first foreign port visit during this deployment,” said Retail Specialist 2nd Class Codi Richardson. “They’re excited to see [and] experience Indonesia in person.”

CARAT/MAREX Indonesia is a bilateral exercise between Indonesia and the United Sates designed to promote regional security cooperation, maintain and strengthen maritime partnerships, and enhance maritime interoperability.

In its 28th year, the CARAT series is comprised of multinational exercises, designed to enhance U.S. and partner navies’ abilities to operate together in response to traditional and non-traditional maritime security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

Anchorage will continue on its regularly scheduled deployment with the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group after departing Surabaya.

The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, comprised of amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) and amphibious transport docks USS Anchorage (LPD 23) and USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26), is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations with the embarked 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit to enhance interoperability with Allies and partners and serves as a ready-response force to defend peace and maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with 35 maritime nations in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

by Fiona G. Holter, USAICoE Staff Historian

On December 15, 1947, the 526th Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) Detachment was activated on Okinawa. The new detachment replaced the 1135th CIC Detachment Field Office, which lost its counterintelligence (CI) jurisdiction over Okinawa ahead of a reorganization of Far East Command (FECOM) in 1948.

In early 1946, the 1135th CIC Detachment was activated in the Philippines after the War Department took over administration of the islands from the Department of the Navy. As the 1135th CIC assumed the mission of the former First CIC Region, they established a 1135th CIC Field Office on Okinawa, effectively replacing the 441st CIC Detachment. Despite being the same unit, the mission of the Okinawan field office differed from the unit’s headquarters in the Philippines. While the Philippines-based agents did focus on observing the actions of various political entities, most of their mission was dedicated to bolstering the morale of American troops in the country. In the Okinawan field office, however, the mission was much more traditional CI, as they investigated cases of espionage and sabotage and maintained security in the region.

On December 15, 1947, the 1135th CIC lost its CI jurisdiction over Okinawa when the Philippines-Ryukyus Command was divided into two separate commands: the Philippines Command and the Ryukyus Command. This action split the 1135th into two new CIC detachments: the 229th for the Philippines and the 526th for the Ryukyus Islands. Despite its redesignation, the CIC on Okinawa continued to support CI efforts across all fifty-five islands.

Members of the 526th CIC referred to themselves as the “Terry and the Pirates Detachment” after the famous comic by Milton Caniff because they believed the work of the 526th’s investigations section resembled that of Terry Lee, the protagonist of the comic series. Just like Terry, the members of the section worked for the postwar occupational governments in East Asia and undertook exciting adventures to outwit smugglers and other villains in the region. While Terry came face-to-face with a heroin smuggling operation in his last comic, the 526th’s villains smuggled common goods as opposed to narcotics.

The 526th’s anti-smuggling operations in the Philippine and East China Seas were conducted via U.S. Air Force Q-boats outfitted with .50-caliber machine guns and handheld automatic weapons. When the CIC agents observed smugglers off-loading goods from boats, the speedy Q-boats allowed them to catch the felonious vessels. Agent Ray Thielen recalled many of the ships were filled with contraband as Ryukyuans smuggled brass shell casings out of the islands to trade for gold and textiles in Hong Kong. Other smugglers transported cedar lumber from Japan into the Ryukyus, which was illegal because Japan needed the lumber to rebuild after the war.

While their anti-smuggling operations helped maintain order in the region, the CIC was concerned the criminal activities opened the door for communist Chinese agents and couriers to infiltrate U.S. occupied Japan, especially after the Korean War broke out in June 1950. The 526th CIC Detachment (later the 526th MI Detachment) remained on Okinawa throughout the Korean and Vietnam Wars.