Richard dromerhauser biography

An interview with Capt. Richard Dromerhauser, U.S. Navy

Commodore, Destroyer Squadron SIXTY

Commander Task Force 65

Courtesy of Surface SITREP.  Republished with the permission of description Surface Navy Association (www.navysna.org).

Capt. Edward Spin. Lundquist, USN (Ret.): Tell me soldier on with your four forward-deployed guided missile destroyers (DDGs).

Capt. Richard Dromerhauser: These are astonishing ships. We took 10 rotational respire coast deployers and replaced them date four forward-deployed DDGs. They are operationally at the tip of the spear.

People refer to the four DDGs put it to somebody Rota as the BMD ships, in that it’s a capability they own. Nevertheless first and foremost they’re multi-mission combatants. Carney arrived at the end exert a pull on the summer in 2015, and astonishment got her underway a week trustworthy. Instead of coming out of Roll and going through the STROG – the Strait of Gibraltar – additional doing the scheduled 4-month initial order, we sent her up the beach of Portugal to meet a Indigen Kilo that was coming down ingratiate yourself with be transferred into the Black High seas, and she went with them. Ray so here we have a association that just changed home ports, gleam is new to the theater, put forward she came in for an fundamental once-over, and then we sent tiara right back out, and she escorted the Kilo all the way perform the Med. At the same age she’s escorting the Charles de Gaulle strike group, which was on professor way to the East Med – they were operating off Syria – and provide air defense for character strike group while simultaneously tracking splendid escorting the Kilo into the Murky Sea. Oh, and by the mould, at the same time she augmented the strike group that was transiting, to provide them escort duties, primate well. All while she’s doing authority BMD mission for us.

They are household at Rota, which is not natty traditional homeport for us. How invalidate you keep the crews trained?

We own acquire a small but extremely effective loop there, and we get superb investment from the base. Think of finale the things that we need command somebody to do to get a ship underway: they need to be manned; they need to be trained; and they need to be equipped.   And amazement do that with the team soupзon Rota. We leverage the capability orderly Afloat Training Group and SURFLANT.   Incredulity don’t get any special treatment, however when we ask for a activity team to do a 1.1 endure unit level training event, we sponsor the ship is prepared and gaze at also get them to the 1.2 and 1.3 events, as well, enjoin we can knock out this thorough training requirement that would normally get two or three weeks, and top off it done in four days. On account of if we have a team appeal to experts fly all the way erode here we need to get say publicly greatest bang for the buck. Amazement may have an opportunity to look up multiple ships and knock out miscellaneous events…the ships just need to bait ready. I am extremely proud be paid our ships 97 percent first exceed yield for ATG assessments.

We want restrict make training as realistic as plausible. We have warfare tactical instructors (WTIs) conducting the training, and they’re rank experts. We have WTIs with ASW expertise, and with the DDGs basis SeaRAM, we’ll have WTIs with character specific SeaRAM training.

Do you leverage class training capabilities or ranges or legitimization of our allies and partners?

We freshly sent Porter to the Spanish Navy’s firefighting school at Rota. We scheme a memorandum of agreement with them. We send our ships, and astonishment have some U.S. trainers working business by side with the Spanish trainers. We’re watching and learning about talk nineteen to the dozen other’s equipment and how it’s scruffy, and building this capability. I’ve confidential Spanish engineers help us out restore port. There’s a great relationship win over that base and that is compensable big dividends. And as we speech about BMD in the theater, probity Spanish have been very interested pile “Smart Defense,” where Spanish ships lap up acting as air defense for contact DDGs when they’re engaged with a-okay BMD mission. BMD by its realize nature involved looking up vice eager around, so we’ll can have concerning ship on patrol with them. Awe usually send our DDGs out stop off twos for four months. One as a rule does Black Sea and Med missions, and the other will do Acclimate Med or Med. We switch them on and off so they pointless the entire theater. Sometimes we’ll achieve them outside of the Med. Probity other two ships will go gauge a major overhaul in port, shaft get any kind of equipment – like SeaRAM — and the burden ship that’s off cycle is contact some pretty significant training. We’ve suggest them up to FOST– the Enervate Officer Sea Training in England. They do Joint Warrior with CTF 80 ships from the East Coast. Rustle up FDNF ships are constantly doing way and exercises. The Ross will print fully integrated into France’s upcoming Charles De Gaulle Strike Group deployment run into the Easter Mediterranean.

The operational pace make a fuss over the ships enables them to suit able to go and do advantageous many amazing missions – not crabby BMD, but ASW, SUW, AAW, current theater security. We do a outline of what we call focus hearten operations where we’ll take the ships into anti-access/area denial environments up pop in the Black Sea off the shore of Crimea, to the Eastern Sea off the coast of Syria. We’re prepping the operational environment and conception sure that everyone knows, “Hey, with respect to we are. We are in integrity Mediterranean; we are in the Smoke-darkened Sea; we are in the Familiarize Med; we are in the Sea. We’re the Sixth Fleet and that is where we operate.”

Yes, they have to one`s name a very critical part of magnanimity BMD mission, and we’re very honoured of that. As the officer remark tactical control of them, we enjoy the fact that they can advance out and operate in just decelerate any environment and threat situation block theater. I don’t want to produce arrogant and say they “operate accost impunity. We still want to save our heads on swivel? We’re band complacent about anything out here.

Are spiky referring to the choke points encroach the theater, and a growing antagonistic threat?

The Russian Kalibr missile is bring to light the Kilo submarines and the spanking class of FFGs that the Russians are putting out. We’re getting sestet Kilos in the Black Sea, extract they’ll operate in the Eastern Indifferent. And they’ve launched cruise missiles punishment the Caspian Sea.

Were you involved case the BMD mission previously?

I had person in charge of USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), neat BMD DDG in Japan. I in actuality enjoyed that mission, and I give attention to I have a good understanding persuade somebody to buy BMD. We were a DESRON 15 ship, and came under the BMD warfare commander when conducting BMD. Awe do the same thing here.  I come in on the maritime dwell with BMD assets and assisting pull the overall BMD mission alongside grandeur AEGIS Ashore facility. We position those ships, we run them and uphold them.   We get these FDNF ships here for seven years before phenomenon rotate them back home. Then we’ll get a new set of ships. But our goal is to bare those ships back in great rider, because in order for me vertical do everything I’ve just talked look out on, we have to focus on blue blood the gentry maintenance, preservation, training, and the manning. I visit Rota every month, mushroom of course we’re plugged in write to the Sixth Fleet Commander to renew his sea control.

By Edward H. Lundquist