For a small group of Navy Reservists assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Mine Countermeasures (LCS MCM) Mission Module Unit Mayport, recent months have provided plenty of excitement and hands-on training opportunities aboard the littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS 2).
Three Navy Reserve Sailors from LCS MCM Mayport recently spent more than two months providing direct MCM support to the crew of Independence during training operations off the coast of Southern California and several others are currently in the “Train to Qualify” (T2Q) pipeline.
LCS MCM Mayport’s mission is to provide manpower support to the LCS mission module program through the integration of the Navy Reserve force with their active counterparts. This Navy Reserve mission directly supports the LCS capability of interchangeable module mission packages.
In a time when the Navy’s budget is under scrutiny, the use of Navy Reservists to augment both the LCS mission and maintenance programs helps reduce the cost of contract maintenance while also providing increased operational capabilities.
More than 400 Navy Reservists across the country are currently assigned to LCS support units and are divided between sea frame support and mission module support units. Sea frame units concentrate on augmenting the ship’s maintenance program while the mission module units support surface warfare and mine warfare in addition to anti-terrorism force protection (ATFP) and mission module maintenance.
[mappress] Press Release, June 17, 2014; Image: US Navy