Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit tcml-4

by Tom Clancy

  In addition to the Sea Sparrow launchers, three Mk 16 Phalanx Close-In Weapons Systems (CIWS) are installed to deal with any missiles that "leak" through the area SAM defense of escorting destroyers and cruisers, or the point-defense systems. One unit is located at the front of the island structure, and the other two are mounted on either side of the Sea Sparrow launcher on the fantail sponson. Each CIWS is built around a 20mm General Electric Gatling gun like the M61 on the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. CIWS fires 3,000 rounds per minute in 200-round bursts, with tungsten penetrators designed to break up an incoming missile, or detonate its warhead. Each CIWS has a 1,550-round magazine, and carries its own search and track radars. It is a self-contained unit; once turned on, it automatically attacks any fast-moving target it identifies as hostile. It can hit targets up to 6,000 yards/5,488 meters away, but is most effective within about 1,625 yards/1,486 meters. When conducting flight operations, Wasp tends to keep her three CIWS turned off, in case they accidentally identify a "friendly" aircraft as "hostile." Electronic Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems still are not terribly reliable, and both sailors and aircrews take such things quite seriously. Several years ago, a RIM-7, fired accidentally by an American aircraft carrier, hit a Turkish destroyer on maneuvers, killing her captain and several crewmen.

  While CIWS can defeat small anti-ship missiles like the French MM-38/ AM-39/MM-40 Exocet or the American A/RGM-84 Harpoon, it has trouble with large, fast sea-skimmers like the Russian SS-N-22 Sunburn with its 1,100-lb/500 kg warhead and Mach 2 speed (the subsonic Harpoon and Exocet have 250-to-500- 1b/125-to-225-kg warheads). Even if CIWS detonates the incoming missile's warhead, it is moving so fast that missile fragments will "pepper" the ship. This is one reason why the structure of Wasp and all new U.S. Navy ships have been hardened with lightweight Kevlar armor panels. A new system called the RIM-116A Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) will augment CIWS. This little missile combines the AIM-9 Sidewinder airframe with the FIM-92 Stinger seeker head. It can intercept targets out to 5 nm/9 km, far enough to avoid "fragging" the ship with high-velocity wreckage. RAM is fired by a twenty-four-round Ex-31 lightweight launcher. Wasp will get two Ex-31 RAM launchers when she comes in for her first major overhaul; new units will get them starting with Bataan (I HD-5). Eight M2 .50-cal. machine-gun mounts provide defense against small boats and frogmen. New units (and ships completing their first overhaul) will replace four machine guns with three 25mm Bushmaster cannon. An SLQ-25 Nixie torpedo-decoy system is mounted in the LHD's stern. Towed behind the ship, these acoustic/magnetic decoys (hopefully) decoy any incoming torpedo. Active "anti-torpedo torpedo" systems for installation on major warships may be ready in a few years.

  The most noticeable difference between the LHAs and the LHDs is the smaller "island" structure on the newer vessels. The LHA island held all the control spaces for fighting and running the ship plus all of the planning and command spaces for the embarked Marines. This kept everything centrally located, but was very vulnerable to a single missile or bomb hit. Anti-ship-missile seeker heads usually "lock" onto the largest or hottest structures of a ship (the island with its boiler uptakes is perfect). Thus, on the LHD design, the massive island structure was cut down by two full decks and the Marine command spaces relocated below, deep within the ship. In addition to the weapons mounted on the island, most of the ship's sensors and communications antennas are mounted as high as possible. These include:

  • SPS-48E-A 3-D search radar which provides air control and AAW battle management functions for the Wasp. This high-resolution radar has a reported range out to around 60 nm/110 km.

  • SPS-49 (V)5—The best naval 2-D air-search radar of our time. Very reliable with a detection range of up to several hundred miles/kilometers, it is found on most major combatants in the U.S. Navy, as well as many foreign vessels.

  • SPS-64 (V)9—This is primary a navigation radar for keeping formation and operating close to shore. It is a development of the classic LN-66 navigation radar in use for several decades.

  • SPS-67—The SPS-67 is a general-purpose surface-search radar, designed to provide precise targeting data against surface targets.

  • Mk 23 Target Acquisition System (TAS)—This is a small, fast-rotating radar for detecting sea-skimming or high-angle missile attacks. It feeds data into the SYS-2 (V)3 weapons-control system, which can automatically activate the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow or RIM-116 RAM systems.

  • SLQ-32 (V)3—The SLQ-32 is a family of electronic-warfare systems which can be tailored to the protection requirements of a particular ship. The (V)3 version has a wide-band radar-warning receiver, a wide band radar jammer, and a bank of four Mk 137 Super Rapid Blooming Chaff (SRBOC) launchers. These six-barreled mortars throw up a cloud of chaff (metal-coated mylar strips) and infrared decoys to (hopefully) blind or confuse an incoming missile at the last minute.

  These systems give Wasp's commanding officer and battle staff great situational awareness of the battle space surrounding their ship and the ARG. Given the variety of threats that face an LHD, you can see why the Navy needs to defend this billion-dollar-plus asset.

  The bridge of the USS Wasp (LHD-1). From this position, the ship is maneuvered and Operated.

  JOHN D. GRESHAM

  By now you are probably getting warm out on the flight deck, so let's go inside. When you enter the island, a blast of cold air hits you immediately. The LHDs were designed to protect their crews against the possibility of chemical, biological, and nuclear warfare. A Collective Protection System (CPS) creates an environmental "citadel" inside the island and forward part of the ship. This sealed citadel provides clean, filtered air, allowing the crew to work in a shirt-sleeve environment. It also gives Wasp and her sisters the finest air conditioning in the fleet. Wasp was built with only five of her six planned chiller units, and she is almost too cold! The cool interior enables the crew and Marines to cope with the heat of tropical places; it also extends the life and reliability of the electronic equipment packed inside Wasp's slab-sided hull. The CPS system does not extend to the hangar, cargo, vehicle, or well-deck areas. Thus, you have to get used to the CPS "zone" hatches and airlocks, each of which must be opened, closed, and dogged as you pass through.

  The island structure is filled with steep ladders, and your leg muscles get a workout as you move around Wasp. To reach the bridge, you go up five levels and pass through a cipher lock and several more hatches. The bridge has exceptional visibility through green-tinted windows. Navigational instruments, map tables, and communications equipment are laid out neatly and logically. Spacious and comfortable, Wasp's bridge is a model of functional design. Even the Captain's chair and day cabin are designed for comfort and ease of access. A wing bridge, protruding from the starboard side of the island, lets the bridge crew conn the ship during Underway Refueling and Provisioning (UNREP) and docking. In some seven years of operations, only one design problem affected the bridge: Some of the thick windows cracked during a 1994 winter operation in Norway, due to the intense difference between internal and external temperatures.

  Exiting the bridge and heading aft, we find the "debark control" used by a Marine commander to monitor operation of amphibious vehicles. There also is a weather office which would be the envy of any large airport. Amphibious operations are extremely sensitive to weather conditions, and the Navy has invested heavily to make sure that the Wasp can keep an eye on what Mother Nature is up to. In fact, the crew regards the weather forecasters as a branch of the intelligence department. Heading up through several more ladders and cipher-locked doors, we enter Primary Flight, or "Pri-Fly," the ship's control tower for air operations, and home of the Air Boss. The Air Boss is a virtual god of the air and deck space around the ARG. Usually, the Air Boss is a commander (O-5) who has completed a squadron command tour. The Air Boss is assisted by various Landing Signals Officers (LSOs) who "wave aboard" the aircrews based aboard the Wasp. Big-deck aircraft carriers have a special platform at deck level for LSOs: but LHDs and
other helicopter ships place their LSOs inside Pri-Fly. When aircraft are landing vertically, the best place to watch is above and to the side of the action. Each component of the Air Combat Element (based around a reinforced HMM) has one or two LSOs among its pilots, and one is always on duty whenever that kind of aircraft is flying.

  Heading down from the island (as tough on the ankles as going up), we arrive in the Wasp's main living and work areas. Down on the 02 Level (just below the flight deck) are the officers' berthing and mess areas, as well as most of the command and control spaces for the embarked Marines. The center of this activity is the officers' wardroom, which functions as restaurant, theater, town hall, and conference room at various times of the day. Four times a day, the Wasp's mess specialists lay out meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and "mid-rats" at 11:00 P.M./2300 hours) for the Navy and Marine officers. Between meals, the wardroom is used for meetings, training, and final briefings prior to launch. Forward of the wardroom is the junior officer berthing area, composed of four- and six-man staterooms. Each officer has a comfortable bunk, stowage for personal gear, and a fold-down desk. A little personal space makes a six-or-seven-month cruise (normal for ARG ships these days) a lot more bearable. There is a certain etiquette in using the dormitory-style showers and head facilities. As a matter of basic hygiene, everyone wears shower slippers while bathing, to prevent the spread of foot infections which could devastate the marching ability of the embarked Marines! At the forward end of the 02 Level is the most popular area on the ship, Wasp's fitness center. This is a beehive of activity around the clock for the sailors and Marines trying to to stay fit and work off some of the nervous tension and stress of shipboard life. You generally have to wait to get onto one of the machines or weight benches jammed into the space. Officers told me that this one room did more for crew morale than anything except food and the CNN satellite feed!

  Heading aft past the wardroom takes you through "Officers Country," the berthing areas for senior Navy and Marine officers. Usually these are one- or two-man staterooms, with an attached head and shower. Don't envy these officers' comforts; very few get to spend much time in their racks. A department head or unit commander aboard an amphib often works a sixteen-to-twenty-hour day. You are lucky to get four to six hours of sleep (not always at night!). The Captain has his sea cabin on the 02 Level, and a day cabin on the bridge, but rarely gets to rest in either of them! Also located here is "Flag Country," berthing spaces for embarked admirals and their staff. The Wasp is big enough to accommodate such a staff without disrupting the ship's routine.

  Continuing aft, you enter a series of darkened command and control spaces. As noted above, these were relocated from the island structure to protect their vital personnel and equipment. These spaces include:

  • Combat Information Center (CIC)—The nerve center of the ship, with displays for all of the ship's sensors, as well as information acquired from data links and national sources (the DOD euphemism for "spy satellites"). Filled with consoles, terminals, and big-screen displays, this battle management center has separate zones for anti-sub, anti-air, and anti-surface warfare, communications, damage control, and other functions. Officers learn to assess fast-developing situations and act quickly. In World War II a good captain fought his ship from the bridge, but today's Burke or Vian would be found at a glowing console in a dimly lit CIC.

  • Landing Force Operations Center (LFOC)—The LFOC is a mission control center for amphibious operations. Each embarked Marine unit has a console, with the MEU (SOC)'s console in the center at the rear with a clear view of the large-screen displays at the front of the compartment. Everything is tied into a computer, the Integrated Tactical Amphibious Warfare Data System (ITAWDS), linking the commander to embarked Marine units. At the rear of the LFOC is a conference area for the MEU (SOC) staff. Like the ship's captain, the embarked Marine commander usually fights his battle from here.

  • Flag Plot—This is where the ARG commander and staff reside during operations. It is generally similar to CIC and the LFOC, and there are numerous repeaters for the various sensors and displays.

  • Ships Signals Exploitation Space (SSES)—This small sealed space adjacent to the CIC is for secret stuff: "exploitation of enemy signals and electronic emissions." Equipped with data links to national and theater-level intelligence systems, the SSES can provide decision makers with up-to-date information on enemy intentions and activities. Only specially cleared intelligence and communications technicians are allowed inside.

  • Joint Intelligence Center—The Joint Intelligence Center is a clearing-house for information required by the ship, the ARG, and embarked Marine components. Analysts in the JIC can draw from vast databases of Defense Mapping Agency maps, satellite photography, and anything else the intelligence community provides. Even better, they can probably tell you what it means. The staff is a "rainbow" organization from every unit involved.

  • Tactical Logistics Group Center (TACLOG)—Crammed with computers, phones, and people, TACLOG controls the logistics battle. Everything from the layout of vehicles in the stowage areas to the embarkation of troops by the ship's combat cargo staff is controlled from here.

  • Tactical Air Control Center (TACC)—The air traffic control center for the ship and the ARG, the TACC monitors the airspace around the ARG, and generates the daily air tasking order (ATO).

  An enlisted berthing area aboard the USS Wasp (LHD-1). The bunks are stacked three-high, and are much more comfortable than those aboard nuclear submarines and older vessels.

  JOHN D. GRESHAM

  When an operation or exercise is underway, these spaces resemble a beehive without the buzz, on the job, around the clock, until it is finished.

  One deck down (the 03 Level) is the LHD's medical department. One of the more chilling features of the original LHA was the provision for a large hospital facility (about 375 beds). It was almost doubled in size when the LHDs were being designed. In fact, when the Wasp is at home in Norfolk, Virginia, she is listed in the Virginia State disaster plan as the fourth-largest hospital in the state, with some 600 beds! Marines know how fast amphibious warfare can generate casualties when things go wrong. Except for the hospital ships, Mercy (T-AH-19) and Comfort (T-AH- 20), these are the most capable medical facilities afloat. In addition to a large triage area, there are six operating theaters, eighteen post-operative/intensive-care beds, 6 isolation ward beds, and 36 primary-care beds. Using berthing space from disembarked Marines allows up to 536 additional bed cases. There are also oversized radiology and dental departments.

  Below the Medical Department, on the 04 Level, are maintenance shops for mechanical equipment, electronics, and hydraulic systems. Further forward are accommodations for enlisted and non-commissioned (NCO) sailors and Marines — over two thousand berths, divided into many compartments. The chiefs and Marine NCOs live in "Goat Lockers" with about a dozen bunks (in two high racks) and recreational areas with tables and televisions. Enlisted personnel have racks stacked three-high, and you might find as many as sixty or seventy personnel in one such berthing space. While dense, the accommodations are much more comfortable than those we have seen previously on older vessels. Each sailor or Marine has an individual berth, and there is no "hot bunking" as aboard submarines. In addition to personal stowage, Marines also have armories for their weapons and combat equipment, so that they can rapidly assemble their gear in an emergency. These berths are located just forward of the Medical Department, and can become hospital beds if necessary.

  Dining facilities for NCO and enlisted personnel look just like shore-based mess halls. The food is good and the service fast. It has to be when you consider that they serve almost twelve thousand meals every day. Sharing the same food and ship has a way of bonding everyone, no matter what their rank, as "shipmates." Admirals and generals walk the same passageways and share the same dangers with PFCs and chiefs. It makes for a unique shipboard society. I like it. It says good things about the Navy, the Marine Corps, an
d America. It says that when the work starts, we all work, and we all share.

  The Wasp is a virtual city-at-sea, with all the needs of a city. One of the biggest is communications, both within the ship and to "the world." Communications systems include FM/HF/UHF/VHF radios, UHF/VHF/EHF satellite systems, video teleconferencing, and other command and control systems. For communications around the ship, there is a phone system, as well as the ever-present public-address system known as the 1 MC. There are moves to bring the Wasp (and the Navy on the whole) into the computer network era as well. The Wasp is wired for a wide-area network (WAN) divided into departmental local-area networks (LANs). These in turn are being tied into the Navy's department-wide telecommunications system. Desktop and laptop computers are everywhere. You see young sailors in their bunks using them to tap out letters home, or officers creating briefing viewgraphs for the next landing exercise.