NAVAL ATTACHÉ NEWSLETTER - The Naval Attachés Association

N A V A L A T T A C H É N E W S L E T T E R
U.S. NAVY FOREIGN LIAISON OFFICE (OPNAV N2/N6, FLO)
2000 NAVY PENTAGON (ROOM 5C547), WASHINGTON, DC 20350-2000
CAPT Jay Coles, USN
17 AUGUST 2012
Captain Coles: I want to congratulate Captain
Marcelo Gomez, the Chilean Naval Attaché, who was
selected by the Naval Attachés Association (NAA) to 03SEP12
be its next Chairman. CAPT Gomez relieves
08OCT12
Commander Andrew Brown from New Zealand who 12NOV12
has concluded his tour in the United States and now 22NOV12
returned home.
25DEC12
U.S. Federal Holidays (Navy FLO closed)
Labor Day
Columbus Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving
Christmas Day
Fall Tour: Thank you to everyone who has sent an
RSVP. I know our tour will be very interesting.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Concert on the Avenue: All Principal and Assistant
Naval Attachés and their spouses are invited to attend
a concert in their honor by the U.S. Navy Band
hosted by Rear Admiral and Mrs. Lorge on 28
August. Invitations were mailed to everyone; if you
did not receive one, please notify our office.
Naval Attaché Association BBQ: The invitation for
all Principal and Assistant Naval Attachés and their
families to attend the Annual NAA picnic on
September 8 th was emailed. Please RSVP.
Upcoming List of Events:
Reminder: Events listed are for planning purposes
only. Please don’t assume you are invited unless
you receive a personal invitation.
28AUG Navy IPO International Partner Seminar
28 AUG Concert on the Avenue - Naval Attachés
30 AUG Turkey Armed Forces Day Reception
08 SEP NAA Picnic
12 SEP Netherlands Armed Forces Day
14 SEP U.S. Navy Annual State Dept Reception
16-22SEP Naval Attaché Fall Tour
25 SEP Briefing for Naval Attachés
23 OCT Naval Attaché Orientation
25 OCT Egyptian Armed Forces Day
30 NOV NDW Tree Lighting Ceremony
01 DEC U.S. Navy DNI’s Annual Holiday
Reception
* = new events; ** = changes to events.
Please contact our office if you wish to have
an event listed.
The official party renders honors while the color guard parades the
colors in the hangar bay aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S.
Truman (CVN 75) during a change of command ceremony. During the
ceremony, Capt. S. R. Roth relieved Capt. Dee L. Mewbourne as the
ship's commanding officer. U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication
Specialist 3rd Class Tyler Caswell (Released) 120814-N-XL102-018
Expeditionary Strike Group 2 Participates in
PANAMAX 2012
Aug. 16, 2012 (NNS) -- Sailors and Marines from
Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 2 participated in
the annual, multi-national training exercise,
PANAMAX 2012 which concluded this week.
Thirty-eight personnel from ESG-2 and its tenet
commands contributed amphibious expertise to
nearly every planning facet of the Combined Forces
Maritime Component Command (CFMCC) staff to
include logistics, intelligence, current and future
operations.
CFMCC's synthetic forces totaled approximately 37

ships, 41 aircraft and 8,000 personnel led by
Brazilian admiral, Rear Adm. Wilson Pereira de
Lima Filho, Commander, Brazil's Second Division
Fleet. Nearly 300 live personnel served on the
CFMCC staff. ESG-2's commander, Rear Adm. Ann
C. Phillips served as the Deputy CFMCC, providing
maritime expertise for the United States.
"The exercise provided an excellent, real time
training environment that allowed participating
countries to immerse themselves in the scenario,"
said Phillips. "The synthetic environment contained
all of the elements, assets, and opposition that a real
world situation would entail, allowing realistic
coordination of air, ground and maritime forces in
support of the Panamanian government to defend the
Panama Canal."
"Working with 17 partner nations provided an
opportunity to improve our joint interoperability,"
said Col. Brad Weisz, Deputy Commander, ESG-2.
"We enhanced our knowledge of each other's
capabilities and learned news ways of doing
business."
Several members of the ESG-2 staff served on the
battle watch floor, in order to assist in building and
maintaining an accurate battle space picture across
the air, land and sea.
"It was a great opportunity for all of us to build
friendships with our partner nations, strengthen our
communication, and enhance our processes," said
Chief Petty Officer (SW/AW) Oneida Kimbrow. "We
also learned a lot about other navies and their
cultures."
PANAMAX 2012 is the third, multi-national exercise
in which ESG-2 has been a key participant this year.
Previous exercises include Bold Alligator and Baltic
Operations (BALTOPS). As a rapid and robust,
deployable, crisis response command element, ESG-2
supports missions across the entire range of military
operations from theatre security cooperation events,
to major combat operations, to humanitarian
assistance and disaster relief.
Annual PANAMAX Military Exercise Concludes
MAYPORT, Fla. (NNS) -- The commander of U.S.
Naval Forces Southern Command, U.S. 4th Fleet
(COMUSNAVSO/C4F) officially concluded the
annual 2012 PANAMAX exercise Aug. 16 at Naval
Station Mayport, Fla.
Rear Adm. Sinclair Harris along with Brazilian Rear
Adm. Wilson Pereira de Lima Filho concluded the
exercise in which more than 1,000 military personnel
from 17 nations, including the United States,
participated. Of that number, 269 participants were
from partner nations.
"I would to thank our partners in the Americas and
other observers for their critical contribution and
outstanding participation in key leadership roles of
this exercise. Every nation shared unique and
invaluable skills and their real-world experiences
make this the best exercise ever," Harris said.
The main focus of PANAMAX 2012 was to exercise
a variety of responses, in coordination with the
governments of Panama and Colombia, to protect and
guarantee safe passage of commercial traffic through
the Panama Canal, ensure its neutrality, and respect
national sovereignty.
This multinational exercise strengthens
interoperability and builds joint capabilities of the
participating nations to plan and execute complex
multinational operations.
"PANAMAX is a good opportunity to exchange
knowledge and increase interoperability among the
many partner nations that have a common interest in
the safety and security of the Panama Canal," Lima
Filho said.
PANAMAX is a U.S.-sponsored, multinational
annual exercise that includes participants from
Belize, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Guatemala,
Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay,
Peru, and the United States.
"As we complete this year's PANAMAX exercise I
know that each of us will take away many good
lessons from each other. I encourage all our partners
Page 2 of 3

in the Americas to continue to value the professional
and personal bonds that were developed here as they
will last for many years to come," Harris said.
COMUSNAVSO/C4F supports USSOUTHCOM
joint and combined full-spectrum military operations
by providing principally sea-based, forward presence
to ensure freedom of maneuver in the maritime
domain, to foster and sustain cooperative
relationships with international partners and to fully
exploit the sea as maneuver space in order to enhance
regional security and promote peace, stability, and
prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South
American regions.
funding required for the five Army JHSVs to the
Navy. Spearhead (JHSV 1) was launched and
christened in September 2011 and will deliver in the
second quarter 2012.
Developers - AUSTAL USA Mobile, Alabama
For more information, visit
www.public.navy.mil/comusnavso-c4f,
www.facebook.com/NAVSOUS4thflt, or
www.twitter.com/navsous4thflt.
Program Spotlight
Joint High-Speed Vessel (JHSV)
Description
JHSV is a high-speed, shallow-draft surface vessel
able to transport rapidly medium payloads of cargo
and personnel over intra-theater distances and
load/offload without reliance on port infrastructure.
During advanced concept technology demonstration
testing, leased high-speed vessels such as Joint
Venture (HSV X1), Swift (HSV 2), and Westpac
Express (HSV 4676) have demonstrated the ability to
embark and transport combat forces rapidly. JHSV is
an intra-theater lift capability, not an assault platform.
JHSV will be capable of speeds in excess of 35 knots
and ranges of 1,200 nautical miles fully loaded. In
addition, the shallow-draft characteristics will enable
the JHSV to operate effectively in littoral areas and
access small, austere ports.
Status
Initially, the JHSV program was envisioned to have
five of the first ten JHSVs assigned to the Army and
five to the Navy. However, at the Army/Navy
Warfighter Talks in December 2010, both services
agreed to transfer to the Navy the Army’s five JHSVs
upon signing of a Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA). When the MOA was signed by the Service
Secretaries on May 2, 2011, the Department of the
Army transferred program responsibility and the
General Characteristics (www.navy.mil):
Propulsion: Water Jet
Length: 103 Meters (338 feet)
Beam: 28.5 meters (93.5 feet)
Displacement: 2362 long tons
Draft: 13 feet (3.97 meters)
Speed: 35-40 knots
Range: 1,200 nautical miles
Crew: 21 civilian mariners
Homeport: Not yet determined.
MOBILE, Ala. (Sept. 8, 2011) The Military Sealift Command joint high
speed vessel USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1), the first of 10 Navy joint highspeed
vessels designed for rapid intra-theater transport of troops and
military equipment, prepares for its Sept. 17 christening ceremony at
Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. (U.S. Navy photo Courtesy Austal
USA/Released)
Page 3 of 3