Playing with team mates
Joining a US carrier strike group during pre-deployment training taught No. 92 Wing personnel some important lessons about coalition operations, WGCDR Reg Carruthers reports.

Crew two from No. 11 Squadron prepare for a mission during Ex Comptuex in San Diego.

An AP-3C crew board their aircraft at Kwajalein, Marshal Islands.

THREE Orion’s and 150 personnel from No. 92 Wing recently deployed to train with a US carrier strike group on Exercise Comptuex in San Diego.

Based out of Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI), the contingent comprised four operational crews, three maintenance shifts from No. 10 Squadron, as well as 92WG analysis, logistics, intelligence and standards personnel.

The exercise involved 12 major fleet vessels and associated air assets with the group centred on USS Tarawa, a Marine Corps vessel.

Other vessels included a Ticonderoga class cruiser, Arleigh Burke class destroyers, guided missile frigates and two Los Angeles class nuclear submarines.

In addition to the 92WG detachment, fixed wing assets included US Navy P-3s from Whidbey Island and Hawaii, as well as a Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora, from No. 407 Squadron, based in Comox on Vancouver Island. There were also numerous helicopters and AV8 Harriers, EW aircraft and UAVs.

Ex Comptuex was held in the Southern Californian (SOCAL) military training area, a complex piece of land, airspace and water comprising a number of bombing, gunnery and general maritime training areas in a relatively confined area. It is bounded by approach corridors into San Diego International Airport and LAX.

Throw in a few islands and standoff zones from active aircraft carriers, and it makes for very interesting and challenging flying, testing the training and readiness of the 92WG crews.

Having the exercise based around a Marine Corps vessel allowed for a range of scenarios not normally seen when operating with a carrier air group.

In particular, there were numerous Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) sorties in support of both naval and ground forces. As this is a relatively new role for 92WG, the missions were an ideal training ground for crews preparing to deploy to the MEAO.

The sensor suite on the AP-3C proved to be the perfect combination for conducting a variety of tasks, including ISR, and certainly comparable to the latest US P-3 variant.

Ex Comptuex also allowed 92WG crews to practice almost every current role qualification, including anti submarine warfare and anti surface warfare, in a complex joint environment.

The 92WG analysis team’s fully deployable acoustic and mission replay and analysis facility is unique in maritime patrol and is the envy of coalition partners. 92WG Analysis provides both pre and post-flight support to crews and handles all classified recordable media.

They are able to provide post-flight analysis and mission reconstruction – the ability to debrief with a second-by-second walk-through of the mission immediately after each sortie.

Three maintenance shifts provided full trade coverage for the around-the-clock flying schedule. Like operations in the MEAO, NASNI provided the opportunity to work in a completely different environment, with its own unique challenges.

The detachment had a few minor aircraft unservicabilities and one major one requiring deeper level maintenance that could not be conducted at NASNI.

The aircraft was sent to Whidbey Island where Australian maintenance personnel worked with their US counterparts to turn the aircraft around in record time. Despite the challenges, 92WG flew 24 training missions, only dropping four through aircraft unserviceability.

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