The hunt: Mount Whitney tracks terrorists off the Horn of Africa

All Hands, March, 2003 by O'Dell Isaac, II

Fed up with the acid rain from the dark cloud of international terrorism, the United States has been building its military might in the east Africa region in an effort to identify, track and crush terrorist activity at the grass-roots level. An integral part of that anti-terrorist force is USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20), which departed from her homeport in Norfolk to use her unique array of resources in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The 32-year-old ship had been scheduled to begin a six-month shipyard maintenance period in January. But when the President upped the ante in the war on terrorism, Mount Whitney got the short-notice call to embark on an unscheduled deployment in early November. The ship's Commanding Officer, CAPT David Prothero, has always stressed flexibility to this Sailors, and it became a vital trait as crew members canceled their holiday plans, packed their seabags, kissed their loved ones goodbye and shoved off.

"The crew had reacted with incredible flexibility," Prothero said. "They changed their plans and shifted into deployment mode with almost no notice, and without complaint."

On station with Mount Whitney's crew of 560 is the Combined Joint Task Force -- Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA). Headed by Marine Corps Maj. Gen. John Sattler, the task force is comprised of approximately 1,300 service members -- 400 aboard Mount Whitney and another 900 at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, a tiny Country seated centrally in the Horn of Africa region. The camp is strategically placed to allow the task force to track terrorist activity in nearby Keny, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan, as well Yemen, the location of the deadly October 2000 stack on USS Cole (DDG 67).

Mount Whitney, a joint command ship, boasts communications systems unmatched by any other afloat force. The state-of-the-art command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C41) capabilities allow the task force to gather and fuse critical intelligence while on the move, and enables information sharing among the staff, coalition partners and centers of excellence in the United States and abroad.

Victory in the war on terrorism will be partially contingent upon building a strong alliance with friendly nations. To that end, Mount Whitney and CITE-HOA are conducting training operations with ships from Spain, Germany, France ad Italy, in an effort to improve interoperability between the maritime forces. Also, Sattler and other kevtask force members have met with leaders in Dubotti, Yemen, Kenya, Eritrea and Europia.

The primary difficulty in the war on terrorism is in hunting an enemy whose greatest asset is its channelon-like ability to blend in with its surrounding environment. Prothero cautions that the war will likely frequency sears of communications.

There's chance that our children will be lighting the same will, he said, "but terrorism must be elemnated. The efforts Afhanistan after 9/11 freed an oppressed people and pt terrorist on the run. Now we're off to a good start in putting them on notice here in the Horn of Africa."

Second Fleet flagship USS Mount Whitney (LC/JCC 20) is participating in Joint Task Force Exercise 01-3.

Spanish marines on the Godoria Range in Djibouti observe the impact of rounds fired from USS Briscoe (DD 977) during naval shore fire support training. Forces from Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa, along with other coalition partners, practiced coordinating maritime strike assets in a simulated mission environment.

Amid exhaust from ship's diesel generators, Marines from the 2nd Marine Division board USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20) while in Morehead City, N.C.

Marines practice live fire exercises on the fantail of USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20).

CAPT David Prothero, commanding officer of USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20), oversees flight operations on the ship's flight deck while the Spanish ship Panito steams in the background.

GM3 Nicholas Barnett performs maintenance on an M-6o machine gun following a gun quarters exercise on the main deck of the amphibious command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20).

Sailors aboard the amphibious command ship quickly move more than too pallets of supplies received during a vertical replenishment in the Gulf of Aden.

Rainbow sideboys salute VIPs from Djibouti as they depart USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20).

* An aerial gunner deployed to the Combined Joint Task Fore-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), communicates with the pilot during pre-flight checks prior to departure in an MH-53 helicopter for a mission. CJTF-HOA service members are deployed to Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, Africa, to combat terrorism in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.