Carrier Strike Group Training (CSGT)

Carrier Strike Group Training (CSGT)
Unit name	Carrier Strike Group Training (CSGT)
Country	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Type	Training and readiness organization
Role	Pre-deployment training, integrated carrier strike group certification
Garrison	Norfolk, Virginia; San Diego, California
Notable commanders	Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert, Admiral Michelle J. Howard

Carrier Strike Group Training (CSGT) provides integrated pre-deployment preparation for United States Navy carrier strike groups and associated units, combining surface warfare, submarine warfare, air operations, and logistics under realistic operational conditions. It coordinates with fleet commanders, numbered fleets, and joint commands to align training with operational plans, theater campaigns, and alliance commitments. CSGT emphasizes carrier air wing integration, undersea warfare, expeditionary strike capabilities, and interoperability with allied navies such as the Royal Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and Royal Australian Navy.

Overview

CSGT is organized to deliver comprehensive certification that a carrier strike group can execute missions across the spectrum of conflict, from forward presence to high-end combat. It synchronizes assets from Carrier Air Wing 1, Destroyer Squadron 26, Submarine Squadron 4, and maritime patrol platforms like VP-16 and integrates joint partners including United States Marine Corps aviation, United States Air Force ISR, and partner commands such as United States Sixth Fleet and United States Seventh Fleet. CSGT leverages doctrine from Chief of Naval Operations publications, fleet exercises such as Rim of the Pacific Exercise, and carrier-centric workups modeled on historic events like Battle of Midway lessons and Operation Desert Storm carrier operations.

Objectives and Curriculum

Primary objectives include force-level tactical proficiency, command-and-control validation, maritime strike planning, anti-submarine warfare mastery, air-defense coordination, and logistics throughput under contested conditions. Curriculum modules draw on tactical publications from Naval War College, scenario design influenced by operations like Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and threat modeling derived from analysis of navies such as the People's Liberation Army Navy, Russian Navy, and irregular actors encountered in regions like the Gulf of Aden. Training content covers carrier launch and recovery evolutions, integrated air and missile defense procedures used by Aegis Combat System platforms, underway replenishment sequences employed by ammunition ship crews, and strike planning akin to Operation Allied Force mission cycles.

Training Phases and Exercises

CSGT is executed in progressive phases: unit-level certifications, composite training, live-force exercises, and final certification events. Phases incorporate live-fly carrier qualifications like those practiced by F/A-18E/F Super Hornet squadrons, at-sea anti-submarine drills involving Los Angeles-class submarine participants, and combined surface action group tactics used by Arleigh Burke-class destroyer crews. Major exercises integrated into the program include Composite Training Unit Exercise, Joint Warrior, and multinational drills such as Malabar and Pacific Partnership. Simulations and force-on-force events exploit models from Fleet Synthetic Training and wargames hosted at Joint Forces Command facilities, culminating in a Final Battle Problem that tests strike coordination, defensive counter-air, and sustainment under simulated missile barrage scenarios informed by incidents like the Falklands War.

Participants and Organizational Structure

Participants span carrier strike group flag staffs, carrier air wings, escorting surface warships, submarines, logistics vessels, and embarked Marines or special operations detachments. Command relationships feature carrier strike group commanders reporting to numbered fleets and coordinating with theater combatant commanders such as United States European Command and United States Indo-Pacific Command. Training control elements include instructors from Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center, doctrine specialists from Center for Naval Analyses, and subject-matter experts drawn from Surface Warfare Officers School and Submarine School. Allied liaison officers from Royal Canadian Navy, French Navy, and Indian Navy often augment planning cells to enhance coalition interoperability.

Evaluation, Certification, and Readiness Metrics

Evaluation employs quantitative and qualitative metrics: sortie generation rates, sortie completion percentage for strike and patrol aircraft, time-on-target accuracy, underway replenishment throughput, anti-submarine contact resolution rates, and command-and-control resilience under degraded communications modeled after NATO contested-access scenarios. Certification boards convene flag officers and senior evaluators from Fleet Forces Command and issue readiness statuses aligned with deployment timelines and the Navy’s readiness reporting frameworks. After-action reports are archived alongside lessons learned shared with institutions like the U.S. Naval Academy and Marine Corps University to inform future curricula and doctrine updates.

History and Evolution

CSGT evolved from Cold War-era carrier workups and the post-Cold War Composite Training Unit approaches that emerged after operations such as Operation Praying Mantis and the intensive carrier operations of Vietnam War campaigns. The program incorporated lessons from the Gulf War and adapted to technological changes including the fielding of the F-35 Lightning II and advances in integrated air and missile defense networks. Shifts in maritime strategy—reflected in documents from Defense Department reviews and National Security Strategy updates—expanded CSGT’s emphasis on distributed lethality, cyber resilience, and multi-domain integration with Space Force and allied space assets.

International and Joint Integration

CSGT routinely embeds multinational participants and coordinates with joint service partners to validate coalition command relationships and combined operational procedures. Bilateral exercises with the Royal Navy, trilateral planning with Japan Self-Defense Forces, and multinational taskings within Combined Maritime Forces contribute to standardization of tactics, techniques, and procedures. Joint integration includes close collaboration with United States Special Operations Command for maritime special operations rehearsals, joint air-ground coordination with United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa, and liaison with allied headquarters such as Allied Maritime Command to ensure interoperability during coalition deployments.

Category:United States Navy