NAVAL GAZING

Seven US carriers 'surge' out to sea

The USS Harry S. Truman and the USS Enterprise have set sail -- meaning the US Navy now has seven of its 12 carriers away from port simultaneously, a major shift from the way carriers have traditionally been used. The two Norfolk-based carriers are participating in the exercise, dubbed 'Summer Pulse 04'.
'Summer Pulse 04' continues through August, with seven carriers conducting joint exercises and international exercises with allies from the Americas, Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia, officials said.
Capt. Michael R. Groothousen, the Truman's commanding officer, said "Terrorists love predictability. If we can start putting some unpredictability into our schedule, it makes it more difficult for any threat out there to determine when to strike."

The other carriers in "Summer Pulse 04" are the Norfolk-based USS George Washington and San Diego-based USS John C. Stennis, which are already deployed; the USS Kitty Hawk, based in Yokosuka, Japan; the Mayport, Fla.-based USS John F. Kennedy; and the USS Ronald Reagan, which left Norfolk last week and is en route to its new home port of San Diego.

Eighteen Royal Navy warships head west

The largest commitment of Royal Navy personnel since the liberation of Iraq 12 months ago has been sent west for huge war games in the Atlantic.
Eighteen warships, led by Fleet flagship HMS Invincible, are taking part in Exercise Aurora, stretching along the eastern seaboard of the United States to the Gulf of Mexico.
Among the ships deployed are helicopter carrier HMS Ocean, assault ship HMS Albion and Type 23 frigates HM ships Marlborough and Sutherland, all sailing in small ‘packets’ to meet up in Norfolk, Virginia.
The linchpin of the deployment is Exercise Rapid Alliance, involving two American carrier battlegroups and a US Marine Corps task force, staging mock invasions.

Also joining the war games are ships and personnel from Canada, Holland, Germany, Peru, Norway, Italy, Denmark, France and Australia.

Major Russian armed forces exercises to be held in June

The Russian Armed Forces will hold major exercises in June 2004, acting Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told President Vladimir Putin.
"In June, permanent alert units will be redeployed from one Russian region to some."
In addition, exercises within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) will be held in the Central Asian strategic sector from August to September, the acting defense minister noted.
"The Russian Navy is planning major independent and international campaigns in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea in August-September," Mr. Ivanov said.