USS Harry Truman (CVN 75) - Naval Cruise Book

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MSM t . ' i-; ( YUiviu

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The fictional country of Vandal Land and the surrounding region all became part of a complex training exercise designed to test the HST battle group ' s ability to fight a full-scale conflict. Operating in the ' uerto Rico Operating Area, the battle group spent several days responding U) a series of scenarios generated on a day-to-day basis that were designed U) test the battle group ' s ability to work as a team and uphold the free interna- tional sea lanes. The pilots of Carrier Air Wing THREE practiced targeting and destroy- ' ng strategic land-based targets by dropping 500-pound ' dummy bombs ' on ihc Puerto Rican island of Vieques in a simulated attack on the fictional country of Vandal Land. During the exercise, HST and Air Wing THREE Sailors and Marines conducted more than 100 sorties each day The exercise also included evading a very real tropical hurricane. Exercise planners made the most of the changing weather plan by writing ' Hurricane Debby ' into the exercise scenario. Following the 30-day Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), the T battle group began Fleet Battle Experiment Hotel, a seven-day exercise designed to evaluate how current naval warfare concepts and technological capabilities work together to ensure victory in battle. This was the eighth in a series of fleet battle experiments designed to evaluate new naval warfare concepts and technological capabilities. The major focus of the exercise was to examine how modem technology can be applied to gaining and sustaining access for joint forces in a given area of operations.

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The exercise was conducted in conjunction with the Army ' s Joint Contin- gency Force Advanced Warfighting experiment, the Air Force ' s Joint Contin- gency Force Experiment 2000 and the Marine Corps ' Millennium Dragon I .AM