Note: For my East Coast readers, standby the radios for some hot and heavy activity shortly from the Big E and her CSG.
By Chief Mass Communication Specialist Stephen M. White, USS Enterprise Public Affairs
USS ENTERPRISE, At sea (NNS) -- USS Enterprise (CVN 65) departed its homeport of Norfolk, Va., Jan. 11 to participate in a Composite Unit Training Exercise (COMPTUEX) and Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX).
The early morning departure was the next to last departure from Naval Station Norfolk for the 50-year-old carrier. Enterprise is scheduled to enter deactivation after completing its 22nd and final deployment later this year.
COMPTUEX is the intermediate phase of the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group's (CSG) Inter-Deployment Training Cycle (IDTC), designed to hone warfare skills throughout the strike group while maintaining unit proficiency.
"It's the final exercise to ensure Enterprise is combat ready," said Capt. William C. Hamilton, Jr, Enterprise commanding officer. "We're looking forward to working with the full strike group conducting combat exercises across the full spectrum of battle spaces."
COMPTUEX is designed to bring every part of a strike group together to work effectively and efficiently as one cohesive unit.
Hamilton says the exercise will require a total team effort from Enterprise, the embarked air wing and the more than 4,500 Sailors and Marines involved. Every department, division and work center, and every Sailor and Marine aboard Enterprise, from the engineering plants up to the flight deck, will play a vital role in the exercise.
The JTFEX will test the ship's ability, as well as that of its strike group, to operate in a complex, hostile environment with other U.S. and coalition forces.
"By the end of COMPTUEX and JTFEX, we will have a combat-ready strike group that will be ready to execute the Navy's mission anywhere in the world," said Rear Adm. Walter E. Carter, Jr., commander, Enterprise Carrier Strike Group. "Our goal is to ensure we are integrated as a team and to exceed our requirements for our combat operational efficiency."
The Enterprise Carrier Strike Group includes USS Enterprise (CVN 65), Carrier Air Wing 1, Destroyer Squadron 2, guided-missile cruiser USS Vicksburg (CG 69), guided-missile destroyers USS Porter (DDG 78), USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) and USS Nitze (DDG 94).