NAPLES, Italy –
Navy Cmdr. Josh Elston acted as the single Defense Logistics Agency Europe & Africa interface during the 6th Fleet 360 war game in Naples, Italy, Dec. 3-8.
Elston, the Customer Operations Director for DLA Energy Europe & Africa, was assigned to support 6th Fleet Commander Navy Vice Adm. Christopher Grady onboard the USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) for the war game. Mount Whitney is the flagship of the 6th Fleet and forward deployed to Gaeta, Italy.
Elston said the war game afforded the 6th Fleet commander an opportunity to improve command and control, planning and campaign management skills in an accelerated environment, which might not be possible during a traditionally executed exercise.
“Vice Adm. Grady was able to tailor the exercise scenario to simulate how the fleet would react against eastern aggression in the North Sea and in Baltic countries,” he said. “The goal of the war game is to improve Maritime Operations Center operational level of war readiness, make preparations for combat operations and augment the knowledge of potential limiting factors across multiple courses of action.”
Fleet 360 is a war game series developed to exercise the fleet MOC at the operational level of war in the performance of advanced warfighting. It is designed to enhance readiness and to improve a fleet MOC’s capability to assess, plan, and command and control maritime forces against a high-end adversary in a focused learning environment.
Acting on behalf of all the major subordinate commands of DLA Europe & Africa, Elston was able to provide insight into several different scenarios involving support from both DLA Energy and DLA Troop Support.
“DLA Energy plays a pivotal role in providing effective and efficient fuel support to the warfighter, especially in providing bulk fuels solutions to the 6th Fleet,” he said.
During the exercise, Elston was able to run “what-if” scenarios on where and how fuel would be staged in the Northern European geographical region. He also provided solutions to scenarios where supply chains were degraded and the warfighter was working in austere and isolated conditions. This included not only fuel solutions but subsistence, clothing, construction, medical supply and engineering equipment solutions.
With the conclusion of Fleet 360, DLA Europe & Africa recognized there is a strong need to provide more innovative ways to support planning efforts in northern Europe and align priorities with the warfighter. It was also determined that DLA Energy Europe & Africa, in conjunction with U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, will also assist with site surveys at several northern locations in order to broaden its concept of support.