User:Marcd30319/Marcd30319 version Exercise Summer Pulse

Exercise Summer Pulse was a worldwide United States Navy exercise held in the northern hemisphere summer of 2004.

Summer Pulse 2004 (SP04) was the U.S. Navy's only apparent full scale exercise of its then-new operational construct, the Fleet Response Plan (FRP). The FRP is designed to allow the Navy to provide up to seven carrier strike groups (CSG) to support any contingency worldwide in 30 days. Per the plan, two more CSGs can be ready within three months to reinforce or rotate out the forces that initially deployed. This allows for a continuous presence and the ability to swiftly respond to different crisis situations. FRP also is about new ways of operating, training, manning and maintaining the fleet resulting in increased force readiness and the ability to provide significant combat power in a crisis situation as well as reinforce our relationships and interoperability in five theaters of operations.

Carrier battle group operations
Between 28 June and 1 July 2004, the Kitty Hawk carrier battle group conducted a series force protection exercises.

John F. Kennedy Battle Group
The John F. Kennedy carrier battle group (JFKCVBG) completed Combined Joint Task Force Exercise 04-2 (CJTFEX 04-2), code-named Operation Blinding Storm, in June 2004 and was certified to deploy.

George Washington Battle Group
On 30 January 2004, the George Washington carrier battle grouo departed Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, for its 2004 Mediterrranean (MED) deployment to the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

John C. Stennis Battle Group
On 24 May 2004, the Stennis Carrier Battle Group departed Naval Station San Diego, California, for its 2004 Westren Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment as part of Summer Pulse 2004. The battle group's first major undertaking for its 2004 WESTPAC deployment was participating in Operation Northern Edge 2004. Held from 7 June through 16 June 2004, Northern Edge 2004 focused on air-centric tactics and procedures with an emphasis on air-to-air, air-to-ground, and on personnel recovery operations in remote areas of the Pacific Alaska Range Complex (PARC) near Fairbanks, Alaska, and over water in the Gulf of Alaska. The carrier Stennis paid a port visit to Esquimalt, British Columbia between 18–21 June 2004, and the battke group also participated bi-lateral exercises with the Canadian Navy between 22–29 June 2004. Stennis Carrier Battle Group paid a port visit to Pearl Harbor between 22–26 June 2004, prior to RIMPAC 2004. The biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, a two-week-long multinational series of naval war games involving 40 ships, seven submarines, 100 aircraft, and nearly 18,000 military personnel from seven nations. RIMPAC 2004 focused on multinational training while building trust and cooperation among the participating naval partners. The carrier ''John. C Stennis was the flagship for the Multinational Task Force Commander, Rear Admiral Patrick Walsh, Commander Carrier Group 7, the commander of the Stennis'' Carrier Strike Group.

The John C. Stennis and Kitty Hawk carrier battle groups (pictured) participated in Joint Air and Sea Exercise 2004 (JASEX 04). This second annual joint exercise involved air and sea training events focused on integrating joint training, and improving interoperability and teamwork between the two carrier strike groups, as well as with land-based Air Force and Marine Corps units forward deployed to in the Western Pacific. Typhoon Rananim complicated the exercise, causing the two carrier strike groups to re-deploy 600 nmi east to the Iwo Jima operating area. JASEX 02 ended on 15 August 2004. The Stennis Carrier Battle Group returned to San Diego on 1 November 2004 prior to before the upcoming homeport change of the John C. Stennis to Bremerton, Washington, in 2005.

Harry S. Truman Battle Group
On 2 June 2004, Harry S. Truman Battle Group departed Naval Station Norfolk, deploying to the Mediterranean Sea as part of Summer Pulse 2004. Units paid port visits to Naples, Italy between 2–6 July 2004, and the group subsequently participated in NATO Operation Medshark/Majestic Eagle 2004 (MS/ME04), held between 11–16 July 2004 in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off Morocco. The exercise included ships and aircraft from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, The Netherlands, Turkey, Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Morocco under the overall command of Vice Admiral Henry G. Ulrich III, USN, the Commander Strike Force NATO (SFN). The Truman battke group was joined by the Enterprise carrier battle group, six other U.S. Navy surface ships, three submarines, and two maritime patrol P-3 Orion aircraft in the exercises. Following Summer Pulse 2004, Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group returned to Norfolk on 25 July 2004.

Ronald Reagan Battle Group
On 27 May 2004, the carrier Ronald Reagan departed from Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, for a two-month cruise prior to changing her homeport to Naval Air Station North Island, California, and the Reagan also participated in Summer Pulse 2004. During this transit, the several squadrons of Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11) were temporarily embarked on board the Ronald Reagan. The main purpose for embarking these CVW-11 squadrons on board Reagan was to complete their training evolutions prior to the battle group's first Western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment.

During its inter-fleet transfer, the carrier Reagan and its embarked CVW-11 aircraft participated on several bilateral and multilateral naval exercises. On 17 June 2004, two Super Étendard jet fighters and three S-2T Turbo Trackers antisubmarine aircraft from the Argentine Navy carried out touch-and-go landings on the Reagan's flight deck during Gringo-Gaucho exercises. The Reagan Carrier Strike Group also participated in a SIFOREX (Silent Forces) exercise with the Peruvian Navy prior to its port visit to Callao, Peru, on 9 July 2004. The most significant naval exercise involving the Ronald Reagan Carrier Battle Group was UNITAS 45-04, the largest multinational naval exercise held in Latin America. Joining the carrier Reagan and Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11) were the guided-missile cruiser USS Thomas S. Gates (CG-51), the dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD-46), and the guided-missile destroyers USS Mustin (DDG-89) and USS Benfold (DDG-65). Reagan subsequently paid port visits to Valparaíso, Chile, and Callao, Peru, prior to arriving at its new homeport of Naval Air Station North Island, California, on 23 July 2004.

Amphibious operations
Amphibious Squadron Three