SSN 578 History

FleetEx ‘83 was a mission that took place between 29 March and 17 April of 1983 and consisted of three carrier battle groups. The US carriers Enterprise, Midway, and Coral Sea, along with their respective escort ships, participated in the exercise. According to Admiral Robert L. J. Long, Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Forces in the Pacific, FleetEx ’83 comprised “the largest fleet exercise conducted by the Pacific Fleet since World War II.” The group consisted of approximately forty ships, 23,000 crew members, and 300 aircraft.

The exercise lasted approximately two weeks and was conducted in the Northern Pacific, within flight range of the Soviet coast. The purpose of the mission was to intentionally provoke the Soviet Union into responding so that US and NATO forces could study their response, tactics, and capabilities as well as demonstrate the effective operations of a three-carrier battle force in joint and combined operations across multiple service branches in both the United States and Canada in a high-threat environment. The exercises were extremely successful and effective in integrating the combined forces of the United States Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Canadian Maritime Command forces into an effective battle-worthy whole. Despite poor weather, the fleet excelled throughout the exercise.