Valiant Shield 2010: A Joint Exercise in Maritime Security Operations

Strategic Insights -

The U.S. Pacific Fleet Forces Command has announced a major joint training exercise, Valiant Shield 2010, set to take place in Southeast Asia from September 12-21. The exercise will bring together military units from the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, involving over 14,000 service members and 18 ships and submarines. The training will focus on maritime security operations, with participants engaging in various scenarios, including maritime interdiction, defensive counter air missions, and antisubmarine warfare.

Key Takeaways:

  • The exercise, dubbed Valiant Shield 2010, will involve a Navy carrier strike group, an Air Force expeditionary wing, and a Marine Corps task force, with operations spanning over 1,000 miles.
  • The training will focus on maritime security operations, with a scenario crafted around an opposed transit of ships headed to Guam, approximately 800 miles northeast in the Mariana Islands.
  • Participating units will practice a range of operations, including maritime interdiction, defensive counter air missions, antisubmarine warfare, personnel recovery, command and control, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
  • The joint exercise will enable real-world proficiency in sustaining joint forces' ability to detect, locate, track, and engage units at sea, in the air, on land, and in cyberspace in response to a range of mission areas.
  • The Valiant Shield 2010 exercise will be led by the aircraft carrier George Washington, with a carrier strike group and amphibious ready group comprised of ships and submarines stationed in Japan, Hawaii, and Guam.
  • Participating naval aviation units will include F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, E-2C Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning Aircraft, and EP-3 Aries electronic warfare and reconnaissance aircraft.
  • Marine Corps participants include the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and Marine Aircraft Group 12, while Air Force units participating in the exercise will include B-52 bombers, F-15C/D and F-16C fighter jets, and KC-135 aerial tankers.

Statistics:

  • Over 14,000 service members will participate in the Valiant Shield 2010 exercise.
  • The exercise will involve 18 ships and submarines, including amphibious assault ships, destroyers, frigates, fast attack submarines, and replenishment oilers.
  • The training will take place over approximately 1,000 miles, with operations spaning from the southern Philippine Sea to the Mariana Islands.
  • The joint exercise will focus on a range of operations, including maritime interdiction, defensive counter air missions, and antisubmarine warfare.

Sources:

  • Pacific Fleet Forces Command
  • Ensign Joe Painter, fleet spokesman
  • Pacific Fleet officials
  • Announcement from the U.S. Pacific Fleet Forces Command