The staff of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 26 completed its first group sail embarked aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)(Ike), Dec. 2.

Ike's crew welcomed aboard the staff DESRON 26 for the first time during the ship's Tailored Ship's Training Availability/Final Evaluation Problem (TSTA/FEP) - the final piece of the Basic Phase of the pre-deployment workup schedule.

Along with DESRON 26, all of the command staffs comprising the Ike Strike Group (IKECSG) - including Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 10 and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3 - participated in the group sail and elements of Ike's TSTA/FEP.

TSTA/FEP is assessed by Afloat Training Group (ATG) Atlantic and designed to prepare the ship, its crew and embarked air wing for full integration into a carrier strike group by testing their proficiency in a range of mission-critical operational areas.

Prior to embarking aboard Ike, the DESRON 26 staff, commanded by Capt. Brian Fort, started on a nearly month-long group sail involving several DESRON assets, including guided-missile cruisers USS San Jacinto (CG 56) and USS Monterey (CG 61), and the guided-missile destroyers USS Stout (DDG 55), USS McFaul (DDG 74), USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79), USS Mason (DDG 87) and USS Nitze (DDG 94). The group sail, which culminated with the staff participation aboard Ike for TSTA/FEP integration, was the first time all the ships have aggregated and conducted composite operations.

"All the ships are working on their individual readiness," said Lt. Cmdr. Kristen Kerns, the DESRON 26 staff director. "Ike is going through TSTA/FEP, and the smaller ships are working through ATG to complete their individual warfare events."

To prepare for the group sail, DESRON 26 ships went through a week-long training course off the coast of Florida.

"The ships simulated having enemies come up and attack the strike group," Kerns said. "We got to execute our defense plans and responses in a sanitized environment. It allowed the ships to work through how they'd respond so that when we came out for group sail it was already an evolution we had practiced and were very good at."

Kerns said that having the CSG 10, CVW 3 and DESRON 26 staffs aboard Ike was vital to communication and mission-effectiveness.

"The advantage is what we call the 'sneaker-net,'" she said. "We're able to physically walk from our space to the space where the strike group commander is standing and, without any ambiguities, just have a quick conversation one-on-one and clear up all the confusion you might have in a long-distance scenario. If we were on a destroyer, our best bet would be a phone call, but that's not always possible. We'd have to rely solely on radio telecommunication to express our intent. A large portion of communication is visual and includes body language, so it's more reasonable to use the sneaker-net."

Having completed their training, the DESRON 26 staff disembarks until February when they will continue preparations for next year's Composite Unit Training Exercise (COMPTUEX). COMPTUEX will test all warfare mission areas of the ship and all the strike group assets.

The Ike Strike Group is the first to implement and operationalize the Optimized Fleet Response Plan (OFRP) which represents the Navy's new strategy of generating ready forces for employment.

For more news from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), visit http://www.navy.mil/.