CAMP SMITH, Hawaii -- U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) led the first iteration of the Department of Defense’s Large Scale Global Exercise (LSGE) which concluded August 27.
The exercise validated the command’s capability to command and control joint and combined forces conducting theater-level, all-domain operations against a dynamic range of rapidly changing scenarios. While training with allies and partners, LSGE also allowed the U.S. and like-minded nations to continue to improve their shared understanding, trust, and interoperability on security challenges in the region.
The forces involved in the four-week exercise included more than 30 ships, 200 aircraft, and 30,000 military personnel from UK Armed Forces, the Australian Defence Force and Japan Self-Defense Forces and five U.S. combatant commands. Those forces conducted and simulated operations in all domains of modern warfare, including air, land, sea, cyber, space, and electro-magnetic spectrum.
“Together with our allies and partners, we are moving to increase our combined presence within the region and will continue to execute complex, high-end exercises across the spectrum of warfare,” said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. David Shoemaker, Deputy Director, Operations Directorate, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. “The participation of our allies and partners in this combined exercise is proof of our shared values and our enduring commitment to maintaining peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”
LSGE exercised USINDOPACOM’s ability to successfully coordinate an integrated global response to multiple threats in the western Pacific Ocean. The exercise tested the concept of theater-level all-domain maneuver warfare.
The exercise began with the assembly of a joint and combined naval task force with the UK Armed Forces, Royal Australian Navy, Japan Maritime Self Defense Force, and U.S. Navy working together to rapidly secure key naval lines of communication and the simultaneous coordination of U.S. Air Force and Army units against anti-access and area denial efforts.
Each service component exercised and integrated its contribution to USINDOPACOM’s concept. U.S. Air Force units conducted Agile Combat Employment to ensure survivability while sustaining the air campaign’s power and flexibility. Naval and air forces conducted increased patrols and operations to protect forward basing while Marines executed Expeditionary Advanced Basing Operations to ensure they are prepared to forward deploy, and project power when required. The U.S. Army conducted airborne and ground maneuvers and special operations activities.
U.S. Navy and Marine Corps units initiated transit to the simulated combat area to secure lines of communication, forward basing, and sea routes. Units conducted training en-route, which culminated in a multi-service, multi-domain live-fire event validating readiness before continuing to the western Pacific Ocean.
While in the western Pacific Ocean, a task force including the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States operated a variety of shore and carrier based 4th and 5th generation fighters supported by U.S. Air Force long-range bombers and space-based capabilities.
Commodore Steve Moorhouse, Commander United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group said, “Our deployment has taken us from the Atlantic Ocean, through the Mediterranean, across the Indian Ocean, to the Pacific, for a series of exercises and engagements with allies and partners.
LSGE has allowed us to demonstrate and develop our interoperability by testing ourselves in a series of dynamic and challenging scenarios that mirror the multi-domain challenges we face around the globe today. The exercise has afforded me opportunity to test the cutting edge capabilities of the UK Carrier Strike Group while also developing the tactics and procedures that allow us to seamlessly integrate with key allies. Training this hard and as realistically as possible is critical if we are to be ready to respond to emergent threats and uphold the international values and rules we hold dear.”
Involvement of the UK Carrier Strike Group in LSGE is one example of the more enduring UK Defence commitment to the Indo-Pacific region that will continue with the permanent deployment of two Royal Navy warships to the region, commencing this fall.
This year’s exercise serves as a springboard towards LSGE 2022 and continually advances U.S. and our allies and partners’ command and control abilities resulting in greater interoperability and support to the rules-based international order.