Nellis officers visit Coronado Navy bases Published July 21, 2010 Nellis Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Members of the Nellis Air Force Base Company Grade Officers' Council got a hands-on look at the capabilities of the U.S. Navy July 15-17. During a CGOC visit to Navy units on Coronado Island, California, a group of junior Air Force officers saw special warfare training, landing and surface warfare operations and life aboard an aircraft carrier firsthand. During the three-day visit, Nellis officers were given an inside view of several areas of Navy operations. First, the officers saw the Navy Special Warfare Center, home to the Navy's elite Navy Basic Underwater Demolition/Sea, Air and Land (BUD/S) and Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen training programs. The officers took a high-speed cruise in San Diego harbor aboard a landing craft, learning about how the Navy transfers personnel and cargo over "the last three miles" from large transport ships onto expeditionary beachheads. The visit provided an overview of how coastal and amphibious surface warfare groups operate and how the U.S. armed forces works together. Additionally, the officers got to compare the past with the present, touring the WWII-era carrier, USS Midway, and the modern nuclear carrier, USS Nimitz. 2nd Lt. Sean Dyson, a bioenvironmental engineer, was struck by the size of the USS Nimitz and the intensity of operations conducted aboard. "This was the first time I really understood -- and more importantly appreciated -- the scale of our aircraft carriers and how impressive what they really do is," Lieutenant Dyson said. "It is amazing to see how over 5,000 Sailors live and work, to accomplish such a complex mission launching so many aircraft in such a short time. It definitely gives you a different perspective." The visit included several opportunities to share viewpoints between Air Force and Navy officers, providing valuable insights to both branches on common military leadership challenges. "As a military branch, the Air Force is involved in missions with our sister services every day; but at our level not many Air Force people get a chance to see what the Navy does up close," said 1st Lt. Jan Kolenda, a laboratory officer assigned to the 99th Medical Group. "This kind of visit gives us a chance to experience different techniques of leading and getting the mission done, and to get a personal awareness of how other services do things. The visit also is a chance to make contacts and be aware of things that you can only understand in person to help us to work better together as military officers in joint assignments later on." The Nellis CGOC is one of several installation councils that advise base leadership. Comprised of company grade officers assigned to the installation, the council is planning additional cross-service exchanges in the future, including a Marine Corps visit at Camp Pendleton, Calif., later this year.
