Roosevelt Earns Bloodhound Award
16 March 2021
NAVAL STATION NORFOLK -- USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) was recently awarded the 2021 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) Bloodhound Award representing the best in the Atlantic Fleet.
The Naval Surface Forces award is presented annually to one Pacific Fleet and one Atlantic Fleet ship for exceptional performance in the ASW mission area. Roosevelt maintains one of the Fleet’s most advanced ASW capabilities and her crew employs these assets with great technical skill.
Completing a successful home port shift a year ago, Roosevelt is forward deployed to Naval Forces Europe (FNDF-E), in Rota, Spain, where she has participated and excelled in numerous anti-submarine warfare exercises and missions within the 6th Fleet area of operations.
"Before our homeport shift to the 6th Fleet, we knew that Roosevelt's ASW capabilities would be put to the test in the Atlantic and Mediterranean,” said Lt.j.g. Evan P. Oltmanns, Roosevelt’s anti-submarine warfare officer. “What we didn't know is just how much we would accomplish. I am incredibly proud of my team and what they have accomplished in 2020."
During the NATO Allied Maritime Command-led exercise Dynamic Mongoose 2020, Roosevelt conducted simulated integrated submarine engagements with USS Indiana (SSN 789) as well as naval forces from Canada, France, Germany, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Roosevelt was an integral player in the exercise, boasting the SQQ-89A(V)15 sonar suite and an embedded, organic, MH-60R Knighthawk helicopter capability.
"Roosevelt’s ASW team diligently pursues excellence in training and real-world operations,” said Cmdr. Ryan Kendall, the ship’s commanding officer. “Their expertise paired with the most advanced technology in the Fleet has distinguished Roosevelt as a capable leader in anti-submarine warfare. We are eager to continue honing our skills and working with our NATO partners in future ASW exercises and missions.”
In a ceremony later this month, Capt. Joseph Gagliano, commodore, Destroyer Squadron 60, will present Roosevelt with the Bloodhound Pennant which will be flown throughout 2021.
"The Bloodhound Award is an award you find out about in 'A' school but seems to be so rare that you rarely meet someone who has won it,” said Sonar Technician 1st Class Thomas D. Buchinsky. “To have won the Bloodhound and be seen as the best ASW ship in the Atlantic fleet is a great honor.”
Roosevelt is one of four U.S. Navy destroyers based in Spain and assigned to commander, Task Force 65 in support of NATO’s Integrated Air Missile Defense architecture. These FNDF-E ships have the flexibility to operate throughout the waters of Europe and Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Arctic Circle, demonstrating their mastery of the maritime domain.