Summer Pulse 2004 (SP04) was the codename for a worldwide surge deployment that served as the first full-scale test of the United States Navy's then-new Fleet Response Plan (FRP). During Summer Pulse 2004, a total of seven carrier strike groups were underway at the same time in five different Numbered fleet areas of responsibility. This number of underway carrier strike groups had not been matched since the six carrier battle groups deployed during Operation Desert Storm. In addition to the carriers, the Navy also deployed 17 submarines and one submarine tender. Alt URL

The FRP was designed to allow the Navy to provide up to seven carrier strike groups (CSG) to support any contingency worldwide in 30 days. The plan allowed for two more CSGs to be ready within three months to reinforce or relieve the forces initially deployed. This allows for a continuous presence and the ability to swiftly respond to different crisis situations. Summer Pulse 2004 also allowed the U.S. Navy to exercise the logistics and shore infrastructure needed to execute a large-scale surge operation, as well as the operational concepts in its Sea Power 21 strategy.

During Summer Pulse 2004, U.S. naval forces participated in over 13 individual military exercises involving more than 23 allies and coalition partners, as well as other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, while operating in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; the Arabian, Baltic, Mediterranean, North and Red Seas; and the Sea of Japan and Persian Gulf.

Background

Developing upon the lessons learned from the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the War on terrorism, the U.S. Navy introduced the Fleet Response Plan in 2003. The FRP was described as a new concept of planning and organizing fleet assets for deployment that replaced the 18-month Inter-Deployment Readiness Cycle used during the Cold War. The objective of the FRP was to provide six aircraft carrier strike groups that can be deployed or be ready to deploy within 30 days and another two aircraft carrier strike groups ready to deploy within 90 days. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Vern Clark (pictured) summarized the objective of the Fleet Response Plan by noting:

I would rather muster two battle groups for three months and do something really significant internationally, and cooperate with partners in training and so forth, than just go over and hang out for six months without purpose. The position that I’m pushing is that we should be less interested in presence and more interested in presence with a purpose.

The Fleet Response Plan allowed the U.S. Navy to be ready to surge as well as be able to vary the lengths of deployments, providing a more flexible, ready to deploy capability. By increasing the duration of time that a ship could be deployed, the operational availability of several ships will always overlap, providing the Navy with the capability of deploying multiple ships or battle groups simultaneously. The FRP also involved new ways of operating, training, manning, and maintaining the fleet, resulting in increased force readiness and the ability to provide significant combat power in a crisis situation as well as reinforce U.S. relationships and interoperability in five theaters of operations. The U.S. Fleet Forces Command was tasked to lead in the implementation of the FRP.

Theaters of operations U.S. Second Fleet: Western Atlantic and Latin America Gringo-Gaucho

On 27 May 2004, the carrier Ronald Reagan departed from its former home base of Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, which was also the headquarters for the U.S. Second Fleet. During its two-month-long inter-fleet transfer, Reagan participated in Summer Pulse 2004, as well as operating with the U.S. Southern Command and U.S. Northern Command, within the U.S. Second Fleet's area of responsibility."Second Fleet ... operates along both coasts of South America and part of the west coast of Central America. In all, it covers more than 38 million square miles." See Numbered Fleets , Federation of American Scientists. During this inter-fleet transfer, several squadrons of Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11) were temporarily embarked on board the Ronald Reagan. The principal purpose for embarking these CVW-11 squadrons was to complete their training evolutions prior to the strike group's first Western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment.

On 17 June 2004, two Super Étendard jet fighters and three S-2T Turbo Trackers antisubmarine aircraft from Argentine Naval Aviation carried out touch-and-go landings on the Reagans flight deck during Gringo-Gaucho exercises (pictured). The Reagan also participated in a SIFOREX (Silent Forces) exercise with the Peruvian Navy prior to its port visit to Callao, Peru, on 9 July 2004. The most significant naval exercise involving the Ronald Reagan Carrier Battle Group was UNITAS 45-04, the largest multinational naval exercise held in Latin America. Joining the carrier Reagan and Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11) were the guided-missile cruiser , the dock landing ship , and the guided-missile destroyers and .

Reagan subsequently paid port visits to Valparaíso, Chile, and Callao, Peru, before arriving at its new homeport of Naval Air Station North Island, California, on 23 July 2004, having changed its operational control ("chop") to the U.S. Third Fleet.This term is a compound of CHOP, which is short for Change of Operational Control. A CHOP line is a line at which operational control of forces transfers from one command to another. Sean Maloney thesis, To Secure the Command of the Sea, University of New Brunswick, 1991, p. iii.

Operation Blinding Storm

On 7 June 2004, the John F. Kennedy carrier strike group (probably Carrier Group 6) departed Naval Station Mayport, Florida, to participate in Combined Joint Task Force Exercise 04-2 – "Operation Blinding Storm", to complete the strike group's certification to deploy.

Held between 14 and 18 June, Blinding Storm marked the first Joint National Training Capability (JNTC) integration event, with training focused on functional coalition component commands. All branches of the U.S. armed forces were involved, as well as the British light aircraft carrier . A total of 28,000 allied military personnel participated in Operation Blinding Storm, including and more than 60 coalition ships and hundreds of aircraft. Coordinating the complex command and control links encompassing land, amphibious, air and maritime forces was one of the exercise's wins. It included an opposed night amphibious landing and live fire exercises, concluding on 21 June 2004. That day, the John F. Kennedy carrier strike group was certified as being combat ready for its upcoming deployment.

Following Blinding Storm, John F. Kennedy carrier strike group began its overseas deployment. The carrier strike group paid a port visit to Malta between 26 and 30 June 2004, before transiting the Suez Canal from 2–3 July 2004, joining the U.S. Fifth Fleet. The nuclear-powered attack submarine deployed with the John F. Kennedy carrier strike group during Summer Pulsie 2004.

U.S. Third Fleet: Northern and Central Pacific On 24 May 2004, Carrier Group 7, led by John C. Stennis, departed Naval Station San Diego, California, for its 2004 Western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment as part of Summer Pulse 2004. The nuclear-powered submarine deployed with the John C. Stennis strike group during Summer Pulse 2004.

Northern Edge 2004

The strike group's first major undertaking was Exercise Northern Edge 2004. Held from 7 June through 14 June 2004, Northern Edge 2004, focused on air-centric tactics and procedures with an emphasis on air-to-air, air-to-ground, and on personnel recovery operations in remote areas of the Pacific Alaska Range Complex (PARC) near Fairbanks, Alaska, and over water in the Gulf of Alaska. The carrier Stennis paid a port visit to Esquimalt, British Columbia between 18 and 21 June 2004, and the carrier strike group also participated bi-lateral exercises with the Canadian Navy between 22 and 29 June 2004.

RIMPAC 2004 The Stennis CSG paid a port visit to Pearl Harbor between 22 and 26 June 2004, prior to RIMPAC 2004. The biennial Rim of the Pacific Exercise (Exercise RIMPAC) was two-weeks long, multinational, and involved 40 ships, seven submarines, 100 aircraft, and nearly 18,000 military personnel from seven nations. RIMPAC 2004 focused on multinational training while building trust and cooperation among the participating naval partners (pictured). The carrier John C Stennis was the flagship for the Multinational Task Force Commander, Rear Admiral Patrick Walsh, Commander Carrier Group 7.

U.S. Fifth Fleet: Persian Gulf and North Arabian Sea On 30 January 2004, the George Washington carrier strike group departed Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, for its 2004, deployment to the U.S. Fifth Fleet. On 16 February 2004, the George Washington carrier strike group completed a 16-hour transit of the Suez Canal and entered the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility.

Operation Vigilant Resolve

On 20 February 2004, the George Washington carrier group transited the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, leaving the Red Sea, and the strike group set course for the Arabian Sea. On 28 February 2004, the George Washington carrier strike group transited through the Strait of Hormuz and entered into the Persian Gulf. The carrier George Washington paid a port visit to Jebel Ali, UAE, between 14 and 19 March 2004.

On 9 April 2004, a second port visit to Jebel Ali was cancelled, and the George Washington carrier strike group was ordered to remain on station in the Persian Gulf after fighting intensified between Coalition Forces and insurgents around the city of Fallujah in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar.USS George Washington (CVN-73) Command History 2004. pp. 9-10, 17. As part of Operation Vigilant Resolve, on 28 April 2004, Carrier Air Wing Seven squadrons VFA-136, VFA-131, VF-11, and VF-143 flew combat air sorties against insurgents in Fallujah. During this combat sortie, CVW-7 aircraft dropped 13 GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs on insurgent positions while continuing to provide combat air support to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

On 25 April 2004, the George Washington carrier strike group steamed back to the Persian Gulf after terrorists attacked the Khor Al Amaya Oil Terminal (KAAOT) off the coast of Basra, Iraq. The strike group also provided search, rescue, and recovery support in the aftermath of the boarding incident involving the U.S. patrol ship . The carrier George Washington subsequently paid a port visit to Jebel Ali between 7–11 May 2004.

Beginning 2 June 2004, the George Washington carrier strike group (pictured) began its participation in Summer Pulse 2004, which continued until the group's return to Norfolk on 26 July; the carrier George Washington was called the tip of the spear for the entire surge exercise.USS George Washington (CVN-73) Command History 2004. p. 9, 11, 18, 19.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

On 5 July 2004, the George Washington strike group departed the Persian Gulf.USS George Washington (CVN-73) Command History 2004. p. 11, 18, 19. During its nearly five-month deployment to the Fifth Fleet, the George Washington carrier strike group spent 231 days away from home port and steamed 70,750 nautical miles. Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7) amassed nearly 8,800 sorties, including 1,500 in direct support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, expended approximately 164,000 pounds (74,389 kg) of ordnance, and flew more than 21,000 flight hours. Destroyer Squadron 28 executed 200 Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) boardings and logged more than 12,000 surface contacts in the Persian Gulf.USS George Washington (CVN-73) Command History 2004. pp. 3-6, 19.