coastal compass april 2015

Coastal Compass - April 2015

NAVSEA 00C Conducts Saturation Flyaway Dive TrainingBy Jacqui Barker

NSWC PCD Public Affairs

The Saturation Fly Away Diving System is shown being submerged pier side at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division to train divers for deep water recovery missions. (Photo by Jacqui Barker, NSWC PCD\ RELEASED).

PANAMA CITY, Florida - For the U.S. Navy’s 40 saturation divers, requalification on the Saturation Fly Away Diving System (SATFAD) here this week ensures the Navy retains its deep water recovery capa-bility.

The Sailors train on the SATFAD system three to four times a year to retain their qualifications on the unique system that allows these Navy divers to execute missions such as deep ocean salvage, aircraft or black box retrieval.

“We train so the procedures become routine, and we’re using this opportunity to train now until a real disaster happens,” said Satura-tion Diving System Program Manager Paul McMurtrie, who is also a retired U.S. Navy Master Diver. “We train here in Panama City, Flor-ida because this is where the expertise is located, and we can conduct training operations here year round.”

The March 2015 SATFAD testing is conducted pier-side, and only in 30 feet of seawater, simply to give the divers the opportunity to practice operations such as manned pressurization, manned launch and recovery, watch stander drills and emergency procedures.

“It’s a lot of hands-on training,” said McMurtrie. “There is a lot to learn here from the divers who have been doing the job for decades, either in the military or as civilians.”

This one-of-a-kind system is owned by Naval Sea Systems Com-mand and maintained by a crew of five civilians from the command’s Supervisor of Diving and Salvage organization. It is a complex combi-nation of pressured dive chambers and metal containers that allow the Sailors to work and live on a barge at sea and dive in the ocean’s depths for up to 30 days. The main chamber, the deck decompression cham-ber, allows the Sailors to achieve desired and pressurized depth only then to connect to a Dive Bell that is then “locked out” and submerged into the water by way of a hydraulic arm that picks up the dive bell and

places it and the men inside into the ocean.This year, 2015, is the Year of the Military Diver (#YOTMD), and

the 70th anniversary of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division. It is also the 100th anniversary of the Mark V dive system, the 40th anniversary of Women in Diving and the 35th anniversary of Naval Diving Salvage Training Center in Panama City, Florida. ♦

Part of the Naval Engineering Education Center (NEEC) program, Georgia Institute of Technology students and faculty from the Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory visited NSWC PCD March 27, 2015 to discuss collabora-tive projects and internships with NSWC PCD scientists. The NEEC is a joint educational initiative between the United States Navy, the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE), the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engi-neers (SNAME), and a consortium of 15 educational institutions in the United States of America. Pictured standing from left to right aboard the Landing Craft Air Cushion Vehicle 91 are: (Front row) Dr. Kelly Griendling, Brandon Braswell, Scott Ashcraft, and Alice Huynh. (Back row): NSWC PCD Research Engineer Dr. Matthew Bays, Julianne Braden, Pranay Mishra, Eric Shaus, Dr. Charles Domercant, James Wittig, Nick Molino and Seth Libby. (Photo by Dan Broad-street, NSWC PCD/RELEASED).

Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center Commanding Officer Cmdr. Hung Cao, USN, speaks to Northside Rotary Club District #6940 mem-bers March 18, 2015 about the contributions of U.S. Navy divers in U.S. history and also about the 2015 Year of the Military Diver events. (Photo by Jacqui Barker, NSWC PCD/RELEASED).

NDSTC CO Cmdr. Cao Speaks to Rotary Club

Georgia Tech Students Visit NSWC PCD Scientists


InsideThis Edition

Saturation Flyaway Dive Training .................2

Georgia Tech Students Visit ..........................2

NDSTC CO Speaks to Rotary Club .............2

Improving Diving Response ..........................3

View From the Bridge .....................................4

PCD SAR Crew Rescues Boater .................5

Back to the Future ..........................................6

Training, Readiness at PCD Aviation Unit ....6

Hurricane Season, Preparedness ................7

Universal Test Platform for MCM Sonar .......8

MCM Package Reaches IOC by Sept .........9

Year of the Military Diver Shared on Radio ..9

HR: And the Award Goes To ........................10

CNO Discusses Versatility of LCS ..............11

April SAAPM Awareness .............................11

SAAPM Vision Poster ..................................12

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Pre-vention Month (SAAPM). This year’s De-partment of Defense and Navy theme is “Eliminate Sexual Assault: Know Your Part. Do Your Part.” Eliminating sexual assault re-quires every service member be a steadfast participant in creating an appropriate culture and upholding military core values.

SAAPM Awareness

Improving Diving Response for Deep Water RecoveryBy Jacqui Barker

NSWC PCD Corporate Communications

PANAMA CITY, Florida – The Naval Sur-face Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) scientists and engineers are working to give military divers a faster, more effective way to rapidly respond to deep wa-ter recovery operations.

The Initial Response Diving (IRD) project is a Navy Innovative Science and Engineering initiative to support faster recovery of objects in deep waters worldwide by human divers. The ultimate goal of Initial Response Div-ing is to provide military diver intervention to depths of 600 feet anywhere in the world.

The ultimate goal is that it would put div-ers’ hands on targets for recovery within 36 hours of deployment. An intermediary goal is hands on targets to depths of 380 feet with-in 36 hours of initial deployment, with two hours of bottom time per diver.

NSWC PCD Principal Investigator Dr. John Camperman said diver safety is critical and must be addressed for missions of nation-al interest when human divers may be at risk but are necessary to accomplish the mission.

“The safety and reliability of free swim-ming divers at these depths should meet or exceed that of current U.S. Navy surface sup-plied diving,” said Camperman. “A diver has greater situational awareness, adaptability, agility, and dexterity than undersea machines, and will for decades to come.”

The implications of this project have in-ternational and humanitarian significance. The project could enhance disabled subma-rine assessment and escape or rapidly recov-er sensitive debris from vessels, aircraft or spacecraft. The IRD project could also sup-port life-saving rescues for survivors trapped in a capsized hull or subsea infrastructure maintenance.

“The IRD effort maintains the DoD (De-partment of Defense) parity with allies and foes in response to subsea casualties of na-tional interest,” he said. “A feasibility anal-ysis is being performed, and science and technology proposals are being coordinated. Research and development of subsystems are being considered to close capability gaps.”

Working in conjunction with the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Super-visor of Salvage and Diving (SEA00C), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), and op-erational commands, this project investigates improvements to transportability, command and control, life support systems, semi-auton-omous vehicles, and other tools to overcome

the challenges of environmental exposure, decompression obligations, and sea-keeping.

One of the first developments is a new semi-closed circuit surface supplied diver life support system that will accelerate the de-ployment of Navy mixed gas surface supplied divers, increase their safety, and conserve a valuable natural resource.

Today, U.S. Navy divers stationed at Mo-bile Diving and Salvage Units (MDSU) meet their requirement for manned diving opera-tions to 380 feet of seawater (fsw) with the Fly-Away Mixed Gas System (FMGS).

The FMGS supports rapid response when the advantages of a diver are needed. The FMGS currently provides breathing gas through an umbilical to a demand regulated, open circuit, diver-worn helmet. In each breathing cycle, all inhalation is from surface supplied gas, and all exhalant vents to the sea. A large portion of oxygen and helium are wasted.

“When diving deeper than 190 feet, the nitrogen in air becomes narcotic and helium-oxygen breathing gas is necessary. But he-lium availability has been decreased by use in research and manufacturing. Congress passed the Responsible Helium Adminis-tration and Stewardship Act in 2013. Cost already impacts Navy dive training and op-erations; conservation of helium is urgent,” said Camperman. “FMGS operational cost is driven by transportation, support, vessel size and consumables (largely helium). Deck space requirements (largely helium) restrict support vessel size.”

Camperman said the new semi-closed system is just a small step toward the IRD goals, but was conceived to drastically reduce FMGS helium requirements and incorporates proven technology where possible to speed transition to operators.

“The helmet is being evaluated separately as the next generation approved for military use, and the rebreather was previously de-veloped and authorized for other U.S. Navy diving,” he said. “The new system repur-poses the helmet and rebreather by modifying each of them. Prototype analysis and testing have shown that drastic reduction in helium consumption is possible. Testing of the new prototype system indicates that the full range of FMGS diving is supportable within Navy life support requirements, and that several life support characteristics are improved rela-tive to the current system, including extended emergency come-home gas duration.” ♦


View From the BridgeBy Technical Director Mr.

Ed Stewart (SES)

Last year about this time I was talking with Dave Tubridy about the lack of

visits from high level customers and spon-sors. The cause was not readily apparent. Perhaps it was a result of sequestration, or the fact that, with the decline of conference attendance and the move of the NDIA Expe-ditionary Warfare Conference, we were not receiving as many guests.

Also, for the last several years, executive travel has been curtailed and carryover from that policy could provide a plausible expla-nation. Still, most likely due to a plethora of reasons, executive level visitation was down, and both of us remarked that we “were not feeling the love.”

That is not the case this year! It has been a busy first quarter of Fiscal Year 2015, and we are planning for many more visitors. We are definitely feeling the love now, and that is important because it reinforces that the work we do is relevant—the most senior leaders within government, DoD, and Navy care about what we do here at PCD; so much so that they are willing to take time out of their very busy schedules to come see us in person.

Let me give you a few examples. In Jan-uary, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral James Winnefeld, was so impressed from his previous visit in No-vember that when he returned he brought a friend, Deputy Secretary of Defense, Hon. Robert Work. Folks, that level of interest

does not get much better and is a testament to the work we are doing at Panama City. There was much preparation and the visit went extremely well; and as an aside, Mrs. Cassandra Work accompanied her husband, as she had a side interest of her own, and that visit also went very well.

Several weeks ago, Representative Gwen Graham visited and came to appreciate Pan-ama City as the home of Littoral Warfare, with special emphasis on mine warfare, military diving, Naval special warfare and amphibious/expeditionary maneuver. Rep. Graham, along with PEO LCS Executive Director, Mr. Nidak Sumrean, received an extensive review of one of the Navy’s high-est profile programs, the Mine Countermea-sures Mission Package (MCM MP).

They also received briefs on Landing Craft Air Cushion, Seal Deliver Vehicle, Connector strategy, and our Science and Technology efforts in the areas of advanced sensors, signal processing and unmanned systems. The hangar was set up with the lat-est hardware, and our briefers were enthusi-astic, articulate and very professional.

Rep. Graham serves on the House Armed Services Committee, a significant achieve-ment for a freshman member of Congress. Mr. Sumrean is responsible for approxi-mately 50 percent of our funding, so it was important that we put our best foot forward and you did. I am sure we left a very positive and lasting impression.

Just last week, the Chief of Naval Op-erations, Admiral Jonathan Greenert and Representative Jeff Miller visited Pensacola to inspect our preparations for upcoming testing of the MCM MP equipment at the Remote Operating Site, Naval Air Station Pensacola.

The Mine Countermeasures Mission Package is one of the Navy’s top priorities, and embarkation has begun aboard USS In-dependence for the upcoming TECHEVAL, an important dress rehearsal for the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (OIOT&E) later this summer. On his Facebook page, the CNO remarked, “We were both very im-pressed with the high-caliber crew and ci-vilians who are focused on introducing this enhanced capability to our Fleet.”

As you review the CNO’s Facebook page, you get the sense that his time in Pen-sacola was well spent. It was a productive visit that generated Bravo Zulus to the Pan-ama City team from PEO LCS leadership.

Coming up in April, the leadership team from NSWC Crane Division, including the

CO and SES TD, will be visiting so that we can pass along best practices from across our two divisions. Mr. Charles Werchado, the SES Deputy Director for the Assessment Division on the OPNAV staff will be visit-ing for a Mining and Mine Countermeasures overview. Both the Commander and SES Executive Director of NAVSEA, VADM William Hilarides and Mr. Bill Deligne, re-spectively, are planning visits in May, and you will be able to engage directly with them through planned Town Halls.

In 2015 we are celebrating the Year of the Military Diver (YOTMD), the hun-dredth anniversary of the MK V diving rig, and the 70th anniversary of the Navy here in Bay County. These events will bring doz-ens of senior visitors to Panama City. Also planned for this year, RADM Breckenridge (N9I) and Mr. Novak (N9IB/SES) will visit to discuss the latest in Mission Engineering and Integration and Interoperability. RADM Antonio, PEO LCS, and the new DASN RDT&E, Dr. John Burrow, have pledged trips to PCD in the near term. Also, the entire NAVSEA Warfare Center Leadership Team (Flags, SES ED/TDs, and COs) will descend on Panama City this fall to learn more about what we do, look for collaboration opportu-nities, and advance our strategic initiatives. There are many others, from local JROTC units to local community leaders, and don’t forget our annual Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day in conjunction with the YOTMD events on May 6th.

So, Dave and I are now feeling the love, and we hope you are as well. We are the Technical Center of Excellence for Littoral Warfare and Coastal Defense! Our work is relevant, and senior DoD and Naval deci-sion-makers are seeking out our technical expertise to ensure an operational advantage to the men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line to defend our country.

When we have guests, please put your best foot forward. Be proud of what you do! We want to make sure we make a positive and lasting impression each and every day. Lastly, the CAPT and I want to thank you for the contributions you make to our warf-ighters. Everyone within the PCD family has an important and vital role to play. You are making a difference, and your work is valued and much appreciated. Keep charg-ing! Giddyup! ♦


Coastal CompassNaval Surface Warfare Center

Panama City Division

Panama City, FL, 32407-7001

(850) 235-5990 DSN: 436-5990

Commanding Officer

Capt. Phillip Dawson III, USN

Executive Officer

Cmdr. Paul G. Werring Jr.

Division Technical Director

Edwin Stewart (SES)

Office of Corporate Communication

Public Affairs Officer

Jeffrey Prater

Editor and Media Liaison

Dan Broadstreet

Public Affairs Specialist

Jacqui Barker

Coastal Compass is published monthly by NSWC PCD and is an authorized medium for news of gen-eral interest about employees of NSWC PCD and their work. Contents of Coastal Compass are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the Department of Defense or Department of the Navy. Coastal Compass’ content is pro-vided and prepared by the NSWC PCD Office of Corporate Communi-cations. For details about submissions, con-tact NSWC PCD Corporate Commu-nication Editor Dan Broadstreet at (850) 235-5990.

To contact NSWC PCD’s Fraud, Waste,

and Abuse Hotline, call: (850) 234-4462

NSWC PCD SAR Crew Rescues Distressed Boater

Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) Search and Rescue (SAR) crew return to the NSWC PCD Aviation Unit flight line in Panama City, Florida April 6, 2015 after rescuing a distressed boater whose vessel had run aground and capsized approximately three miles off the coast of Cape San Blas, Florida. (Photo by Ron Newsome, NSWC PCD).

By Jacqui BarkerNSWC PCD Corporate Communications

PANAMA CITY, Florida — The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Divi-sion (NSWC PCD) “DragonMasters” Avia-tion Unit responded to a distress call dis-patched to NSWC PCD’s four man Search and Rescue (SAR) crew at 11:45 a.m. Mon-day, April 6, 2015. The U.S. Coast Guard in Mobile, Alabama relayed a call from a man whose boat ran aground and capsized approximately three miles off the shores of Cape San Blas, Florida.

The NSWC PCD SAR crew lifted off at 12:35 p.m. local Panama City, Florida time and was on scene by 12:55 p.m.

According to NSWC PCD Aviation Unit Officer in Charge Cmdr. Mike Buck-ley, USN, the crew was in constant contact with the distressed man. Once the man’s location was identified, the NSWC PCD SAR crew deployed Naval Air Crewman (Helicopter) Second Class Petty Officer (NAC/AW) Harrison Greenmaki, USN, via the rescue hoist down to the man who was still in the water.

Within 10 minutes of responding to the scene, Greenmaki and the stranded man were pulled into the MH-60S aircraft, and all returned to the NSWC PCD Aviation Unit.

Greenmaki is originally from Boise, Idaho.

Bay County Emergency Medical Ser-

Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Divi-sion (NSWC PCD) Naval Air Crewman (Helicopter) Second Class Petty Officer (NAC/AW) Harrison Greenmaki, USN, receives a hug from a man who he rescued from the Gulf of Mexico waters April 6, 2015 after the man’s boat ran aground and cap-sized approximately three miles off of Cape San Blas, Florida. (Photo by Jacqui Barker, NSWC PCD/RELEASED).

vices and Fire and Rescue personnel, U.S. Coast Guard, and Naval Support Activity Panama City Police were on the flight line awaiting the air crew’s return to NSWC PCD’s flight deck at approximately 1:30 p.m. local time. Bay County EMS person-nel evaluated the man on the Navy base, and he was released without transport to area hospitals. The U.S. Coast Guard trans-ported the man off the base. ♦


Editor’s Note: This article has been re-printed with the expressed permis-sion of the principle editor of CURRENTS Magazine. This specific article was published in the May 2015 issue and may be found at scubadiving.com.

Back to the Future

The Navy’s full-face mask prototype will work like Google Glass for divers. (U.S. Navy Courtesy Photo).

By Ashley AnninCurrents Magazine

The Mark V helmet defined an era for military and salvage divers, and now, on the centennial of the historic device, the U.S. Navy has developed a prototype that stands to revolutionize diving yet again.

The innovative gadget is a full-face mask see-through heads-up dis-play (HUD) that provides critical information to its wearer at eye level — even in zero-visibility conditions. Think of it as a binocular Google Glass on steroids. The mask is still in the developmental stage, but four functioning models have been built and the technology will be used in helmets as well.

“It’s disruptive technology — a game changer,” says Dennis Galla-gher, project engineer for the U.S. Navy’s Underwater Systems Develop-ment Branch. Essentially, these Navy masks will do to flip-down displays what Apple did to the flip-phone.

Currently, military and commercial divers view information from imaging sonars, mapping systems and other devices using a flip-down binocular display attached to their mask or helmet. While Gallagher says these systems “are game-changers in themselves,” the new masks will make the same information — and possibly more — available with a tap of the finger.

“Taking this technology to the next level and integrating its capability right into a dive mask or dive helmet means you’ve eliminated the need for a lot of different gauges and displays,” Gallagher says. “Everything you need — whether it’s decompression information, high-resolution sonar, mapping, compass navigation or encrypted text messages that are being sent to the diver — any kind of data information, visually, that the diver can make use of can theoretically be displayed in the mask.”

The heads-up information display is transformative for military divers and public-safety, who require clear, visual access to information while working in zero-visibility — what they call diving by Braille.

British and U.S. Navy divers have already tested the prototypes, and Gallagher says that their reactions to the mask have been overwhelmingly

positive. “It makes a lot of the work, disappointments and things you go through worth it when you see that diver’s head pop up out of the water and they’re grinning ear-to-ear,” he says.

Early prototypes of the HUD dive mask displayed black-and-white information in the form of letters and numbers, but Gallagher says the system currently in development can display full-color, high-resolution images — including 3D augmented reality.

It will be two to three more years before the new see-through HUD masks and helmets are ready for military production and technology tran-sition to the commercial and recreation diving communities.

“The technology is really exciting, especially if you’ve been in the game a while,” he says. “If you go back and look at some of the videos and the history of diving, it’s mind-blowing.”

The new mask was introduced at the 2015 Underwater Intervention, and coincides with the 100-year anniversary of the Mark V helmet, though Gallagher says the timing was not intentional.

Conceived by Navy Diver Gunner George D. Stillson, the Mark V helmet was the standard for military and salvage divers for roughly 70 years. Stillson created preliminary designs for the helmet in 1915, though it wasn’t produced en masse until 1917.

“Can you imagine getting in your time machine — or your TARDIS if you’re a big Doctor Who fan — and being able to bring a diver forward and say ‘look what we can do now’?” ♦

Training Means Readiness for Support Personnel at NSWC PCD Aviation Unit

Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division Aviation, “Dragon Mas-ter” Unit helicopter Aircrewman Second Class (AW) Jonathan Crabtree, of Gilmer, Texas, secures a cargo line and serves as the “hook-up man” during practice field vertical replenishment, or VERTREP, training in Panama City, Florida March 9, 2015. (Photo by Anthony Powers, NSWC PCD/RELEASED).

As the sun rises over a U.S. Navy MH-60S “Dragon Master” helicopter at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, maintenance and aircraft preparations are continued March 18, 2015 in support of the Littoral Combat Ship Mine Countermeasure Mission Package tests off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. (Photo by Anthony Powers, NSWC PCD/RELEASED).

Hurricane Season is Close. Do You Have a Plan? Are you Ready?By Dan Broadstreet

NSWC PCD Public Affairs


Hurricane Elena photographed from Space Shuttle Discovery Sept. 1, 1985. Elena was an unpredictable and damaging tropical cyclone that affected eastern and central portions of the United States Gulf Coast in late August and early September 1985. The hurricane wrought havoc as a category 3 major hurricane to property and the environment between southwestern Florida and eastern Louisiana, though lesser effects stretched well beyond those states. Overall, nine people died as a result of the hurricane: two in Texas due to drowning in rip currents, three in Florida, two in Louisiana, one in Arkansas, and one in a maritime accident in the Gulf of Mexico. Dam-age totaled about $1.3 billion, and power outages from the storm affected 550,000 people. (Photo available at Wikipedia: Hurricane Elena)

PANAMA CITY, Florida — Hurricane season will begin in the Atlantic June 1, 2015 and end Nov. 30, 2015 with peak sea-son occurring from mid-August to late October. As a result, the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) will soon go into Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readi-ness (COR) V. Due to our proximity to areas where tropical storms form, Panama City residents and all naval activities throughout the Gulf Coast region will remain in at least COR V (see COR chart) until November 30th.

As we have practiced during the Navy’s 2014 HURREX-14, COR updates will again be issued this year via e-mail to NSWC PCD employees. All personnel will need to closely monitor the current CORs and the weather conditions being forecasted.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-ministration (NOAA), the Atlantic basin is expected to see an above-normal hurricane season this year. NOAA’s outlook for 2015 is predicting 12 to 18 named storms of which 6 to 10 could become hurricanes, which includes 3 to 6 major hurricanes.

Each of these ranges has 70 percent likelihood, and indi-cates that activity will exceed the seasonal average of 11 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes. Do not wait until the storm is upon you before you decide to prepare.

The following is a hurricane emergency-weather checklist you can review to make sure you are prepared should severe storm activity hit the Panama City area.

Preparation:• Know the flooding history and elevation in your area.• Learn safe evacuation routes.• Make plans to secure your property. Permanent storm

shutters offer the best protection for windows. A second option is to board up windows with marine plywood, cut to fit and ready to install. Tape does not prevent win-dows from breaking.

• Clear loose and clogged rain gutters and downspouts.Weather Advisories:• Frequently check radio or television broadcasts for up-

dates.• Fill up your car’s gas tank.• Stock canned goods, check on batteries and supplies of

special medication.• Move small boats to a safe port.• Secure lawn furniture and other loose outdoor objects.Hurricane Warning Issued:

• Move valuables to highest point in the house.• Bring in pets.• Fill containers and bathtub with several days drinking water supply.• Turn refrigerator to maximum coldness and don’t open unless necessary.• Evacuate early – during daylight hours if pos-sible and remember the Hathaway Bridge will close when winds exceed 50 mph.

For additional information about hurricane safety and preparedness, review the 2013 Tropical Cyclones: A Preparedness Guide, made available by NOAA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross.

The Preparedness Guide can be viewed or down-loaded by visiting the following web site: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/hurricane/resources/TropicalCy-clones11.pdf. ♦


NSWC PCD Builds Universal Test Platform for Minehunting Sonar

By Dan BroadstreetNSWC PCD Public Affairs

The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Di-vision’s (NSWC PCD) Universal Test Platform (UTP) is shown operating pier side from a Project Support Craft. All main UTP components are visible from the winch system (left) to the A-frame (right). (Photo by Mike Conn, NSWC PCD/RELEASED)

NSWC PCD’s UTP A-frame is shown pier side sus-pending and lowering the AN/AQS-20 (Q-20) Mine-hunting Sonar Set into the water at NSWC PCD to test its readiness for launch and recovery of the Q-20. (Photo by Mike Conn, NSWC PCD/RELEASED)

NSWC PCD’s UTP is shown pier side lowering the AN/AQS-20 into the water at NSWC PCD demon-strating its operational capability for actual launch and recovery of Q-20 system. (Photo by Mike Conn, NSWC PCD/RELEASED)

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – As of calendar year 2014, engineers at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) have researched, tested and evaluated a Uni-versal Test Platform (UTP) capable of launch-ing and recovering the AN/AQS-20A (Q-20) Minehunting Sonar Set.

The Q-20 is a mine hunting and identifi-cation system with acoustic and optic sensors housed in an underwater towed body. Its sen-sors are designed to detect, classify and local-ize bottom and close-tethered mine-like ob-jects.

According to NSWC PCD Branch Head for Ranges and Facilities Steve Shoner, the UTP was designed to launch and recover the Q-20 from alternative platforms to ensure the readiness, reliability and functionality of the Q-20.

“The Q-20 is a component of the Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) Mine Countermeasures (MCM) Mission Package (MP),” said Shoner. “The Q-20 is towed by the AN/WLD-1(V)2 Remote Minehunting System (RMS) Remote Multi-Mission Vehicle (RMMV).”

NSWC PCD Mechanical Engineer Mike Conn said the UTP’s new design enhanced its versatility.

“The UTP was designed and developed for launching and recovering the Q-20 from a va-riety of platforms,” said Conn. “Prior to having developed the UTP, we were restricted to test-ing the launch and recovery of the Q-20 from particular test boats, which had specific form, fit and functional requirements.”

According to Shoner and Conn, their ob-jective was to build a launch and recovery sys-

tem with maximum versatility.“This is an extremely versatile platform,”

said Conn. “We can mount it on almost any craft of opportunity capable of obtaining the Q-20’s required towing speed.”

Conn added that the design of the UTP had to be built to withstand rigorous testing condi-tions.

“The UTP launches and recovers the Q-20 system as a variable-depth sonar. This requires our UTP to be capable of paying out and re-covering cable and running the system at sev-eral different depths while operating.”

“We will be also be able to test in a mul-titude of sea states,” said Shoner. “So, this system has enabled us to test under similar RMMV operating conditions using a surrogate platform.”

“By using the UTP aboard various plat-forms of opportunity, we have been able to reduce the manning requirements for launch-ing and recovering this type of sonar vehicle,” Shoner said. “We should be able to reduce the test deployment crew by two personnel during testing.”

Conn added Shoner’s initial design con-cept was to create a launch and recovery system that could work as a plug-and-play module from test-ship platform to test-ship platform.

“What our team has done is essentially combine all the necessary components to-gether to reduce mounting complexity so we can take it from one ship to another,” Conn said. “We’ve also taken the opportunity to improve some of the components like im-proving the A-frame for corrosion as well as making capture functions operate faster. The Capture-and-Recovery device is more adjust-able and faster to operate than the old test sys-tem currently in use.”

Considering all the improvements and efficiencies designed into this launch and re-covery system, setup was another area of im-provement, according to Shoner.

“The UTP provides high reliability and should one test platform break, we can quick-ly put the UTP on another platform and be up, running and testing in a few days instead of a few weeks,” said Shoner. ♦

The sun rises over the quiet waters of St. Andrew Bay and a Naval Support Activity Panama City harbor patrol boat on the morning, March 18, 2015. (Photo by Anthony Powers, NSWC PCD/RELEASED).

A Sunrise at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division


WASHINGTON — USS Independence (LCS-2) got underway Tues-day to prepare for its Mine Countermeasures Mission Package (MCM MP) technical evaluation (TECHEVAL), which will be followed by initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) in July and likely a declaration of initial operational capability (IOC) by the end of Sep-tember, the program executive officer for Littoral Combat Ships told USNI News.

The LCS left Pensacola, Fla., with the crew that will take it through the TECHEVAL beginning April 21, Rear Adm. Brian Antonio said in an interview at Washington Navy Yard. The ship will conduct several mine countermeasures (MCM) missions at sea until the testing ends around June 9, and the ship will then have to turn around and get ready for IOT&E the next month.

“Coming out of TECHEVAL, there will be a hot wash, we’ll as-sess the data and the plan is then to enter IOT&E in July,” Antonio said.

“That test window runs through September. So it’s my goal to complete that testing before the end of the fiscal year so that when we get the results in the fall, if they’re favorable, then we can declare IOC for the MCM MP.”

Following just weeks behind that schedule, USS Coronado (LCS-4) will be going through TECHEVAL and IOT&E with the surface warfare mission package. The surface warfare package already reached IOC on the Freedom-variant LCS, but both variants must go through the testing process separately on all three mission packages before being allowed to deploy with the MCM, surface warfare or anti-submarine warfare systems.

“By the end of the fiscal year, we will have done two more IOT&Es on mission packages on LCS ships, which would be tremendous,” An-tonio said.

Once fielded, the LCS with the MCM MP would begin to replace the Navy’s wooden Avenger-class MCM ships from the 1980s.

Asked what he was most worried about regarding the MCM test-ing, Antonio said the mission package as a whole – the system of systems – can meet its mission requirements, but he worries that one piece of technology might have a “bad day” and fail to meet a require-ment for the individual mission package components.

“I would say one of my concerns with getting through the MCM MP testing is matching the upfront test requirements to the [key per-formance parameters] for the individual systems. They’re not exactly the same,” he said.

“There are test requirements that we have to get through that show capability of the entire system from end to end. … There are indi-vidual systems that have their own specification requirements, and on any given day one might be having a bad day – the individual system itself may not do particularly well, but in terms of the bigger picture of the end-to-end capability, the component failure might not mean much when looking at the mission package performance as a whole.”

Antonio said the MCM MP “is miles away of any capability we have out there today” and is confident it can meet the needs of fleet

LCS MCM Package May Reach IOC By September 2015

Editor’s Note: This article has been reprinted from USNI News with permis-sion; Copyright (c) 2015 U.S. Naval Institute/www.news.usni.org.

By Megan EcksteinStaff Writer at United States Naval Institute

commanders. But the system won’t go to the fleet until it passes its test.

“I want to match the expectations of a successful test, and what a successful test really means, compared to people nitpicking, going ‘yeah but you weren’t able to recover that in 15 minutes, it took you 17 minutes.’ Or something to that effect,” Antonio said.

Though Antonio did not mention specific technologies he was concerned about, a lot of attention will be on the Lockheed Martin Re-mote Multi-Mission Vehicle (RMMV). Early versions of the vehicle failed on average every eight hours. The Navy and Lockheed Martin put the unmanned vehicle through a reliability growth program, and after rigorous testing the vehicle reached 200 hours average time be-tween failures, USNI News has reported.

Antonio said there are “incredibly smart … national treasures” at Navy Yard, in Florida and in the testing community to work out the technical details of making sure a poorly timed failure in one piece of technology wouldn’t ruin the whole operational test.

At the end of the day, he said, “we’ve proven that the systems work. Will we have issues every now and then? Yes we will. Some of these systems have been in development a long time, it’s time to bring them together and do the end-to-end run and prove them out.” ♦

Navy Diver First Class Petty Officer (DSW/EXW) Zachary Brandon, USN, talks about the 2015 Year of the Military Diver (YOTMD) celebration on the Clear Channel radio program Weekend Conversation in Panama City, Flori-da March 19, 2015. Brandon is the YOTMD committee chairman and is also a Naval Diving Salvage Training Center instructor. (Photo by Jacqui Barker, NSWC PCD/RELEASED)

Year of the Military Diver Discussed on Radio


National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Bronze Medal Apr DoD Disability Awards Apr Women of Color (WOC) Technology Awards Apr NAACP Roy Wilkins Renown Service Award May NAVSEA Excellence Award- Qtr 1 & Qtr 2 May David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award May Frank B. Rowlett Awards* May Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation May (HENAAC) Awards International Test and Evaluation Association (ITEA) Professional May Awards

Name of Award PCD Target Month

April LOS Awards

35 Years

Gregory Holbrook

30 Years

Charles Beckler, IV Daryl Kunkel, John Weber

25 Years

James Elbert Debra Miller

20 Years

Thomas Hosea William Hughes, III

15 Years

Matthew Garner Kwang Lee

April 2015

NSWC PCD Awards & Recognition Program Managers may be contacted at 636-6382 / 235-5290

Upcoming Recognition Opportunities

Congratulations to:

- Mark L. Williams, who received a PRESIDENTIAL LETTER OF APPRECIATION recognizing his 40 YEARS of dedicated Federal Service. On behalf of your NSWC PCD family, we wish you Fair Winds and Following Seas.

- Tyson Kackley, who received a LETTER OF APPRECIATION from Deputy Commander, Systems Engineering, Interoperability, Architecture & Technology (DC SIAT) “…for your exemplary performance of duty from May 2014 to September 2014 as the Office of Naval Research Technology Insertion Program for Savings (TIPS) transportability Engineer.”

Awards & Recognition Bulletin

Highlight Achievements


PENSACOLA, Florida (April 1, 2015) Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert stressed the versatility of the new Indepen-dence-class littoral combat ships (LCS) at a press conference at Naval Air Station Pensacola. Greenert’s visit also included tours of local training commands. (U.S. Navy photo by Ed Barker/Released)

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Prevention Month (SAAPM)On April 1, 2015, the Navy, along with the entire Department of

Defense observes the start of the 11th annual Sexual Assault Aware-ness and Prevention Month (SAAPM). The theme for this year’s SAAPM is “Eliminate Sexual Assault: Know your part. Do your part.”

• Eliminate Sexual Assault: Every NAVSEA employee must know, understand and adhere to the Navy core values of our profes-sion: integrity, trust, dignity, respect, fidelity and courage. We must all continue to strive for an environment where professional values, team commitment and respect define how we treat one another at every command, workplace and throughout our military community.

• Know Your Part: Each member of the NAVSEA community has a unique role in preventing and responding to sexual assault. We must recognize our part in stopping this crime starting with our own awareness and knowing when and where to intervene. We must all take steps to foster a culture of dignity and respect.

• Do Your Part: We have to act. If we see a crime or inappropri-

ate behavior unfolding, we need to take appropriate steps to prevent it. Every member of our NAVSEA community must be committed to advancing an environment where sexist behaviors, sexual harass-ment , and sexual assault are not tolerated, condoned or ignored.

The entire leadership throughout the NAVSEA enterprise is to-tally committed to providing you with a safe emotional and physical environment that is free from sexist behaviors, sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Every team member has a role in the prevention of and response to sexual assaults. Intervention takes courage and commitment. Stepping up to stop all inappropriate behavior is what your team-mates need from you. Let us work together to spread this message as we strive to reduce and eventually eliminate the crime of sexual assault from the Navy and across the Department of Defense!

CNO Stresses Versatility of USS Independence Variant LCSBy Ensign Michael Torres

Naval Education and Training Command Public Affairs

PENSACOLA, Fla. (NNS) — Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert and Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) stressed the versatility of the Independence-variant littoral combat ships (LCS) April 1 during a press conference at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola.

After touring USS Independence (LCS 2) with the congress-man, the CNO highlighted the value of the LCS’s ability to be repackaged for multiple missions.

“The thing that is of value about the LCS is that she has great volume, high speed, and is modular,” said Greenert. “What that means is you can change out packages to perform different mis-sions.

“Currently the Independence is configured for mine counter-measures operations, but she can be reconfigured for other mis-sions including maritime security or anti-submarine warfare. These packages could be forward deployed around the world in hot spots, where in a matter of a few days, the ship could be changed as necessary to meet the demand.”

The ship has been testing its new anti-mine warfare tech-nology in the Gulf of Mexico since February 20th and will be docking between sorties at NAS Pensacola throughout its train-ing operation.

Greenert praised the experience of the crew testing the new LCS, saying it allows the Navy to be more efficient with crew management.

“These Sailors on board the ship are more senior than the average Sailor,” he said. “They’ve been in the Navy for four to six years. This enables us to keep the crew to half of what it would normally be on a conventional ship.”

The CNO also addressed the pace of construction for these new ships.

“In the future I expect to see continued construction of the LCS platform,” said Greenert. “We took a pause and decided we need 52 of these ships. The Secretary of Defense asked us to take a look at this and see if we could make these more sur-

vivable and more lethal. We’ve done that and we are all guns ahead.”

The CNO thanked Miller for his work in Congress in aid-ing military personnel and veterans. The representative likewise thanked the CNO for letting him visit the ship.

“It’s been an outstanding tour of a great new capability that we have in the United States Navy,” said Miller. “I appreciate not only seeing this great vessel, but being able to talk to the men and women of the USS Independence.”

For more information on the LCS, visit www.navy.mil. For more news from Naval Education and Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/cnet/. ♦

coastal compass april 2015

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