Hall Tests Sonar Capabilities

John L. Hall spent two days, May 6-7 working on the AUTEC range which provides ships with test results and calibration information in order to optimize performance of sensors for undersea warfare. From a Sonar Technician's standpoint, the excitement began on Wednesday morning, when the ship received a special inert exercise torpedo via helicopter vertical replenishment (VERTREP) and continued on into the early hours of Thursday with a tracking, localization, and prosecution exercise.

For most of Wednesday, the ship conducted testing with special underwater sensors to monitor the noise it makes. Based on this information, the crew can better configure the ship to remain quiet when hunting submarines. Following this testing, the crew of John L. Hall headed to another area to conduct an exercise against a submarine-like drone.

During this exercise, the ship used its tactical towed array (TACTAS) and hull-mounted sonar to passively track the target, a MK30 Expendable Mobile Anti-submarine Training Target or "EMATT' for several hours. As Antisubmarine Warfare Evaluator (ASWE), Sonar Technician Surface 1st Class (SW) Brian Smith gathered inputs from every station in the Combat Information Center and gave recommendations to the Tactical Action Officer to localize and track the target.

"Being an ASWE is challenging yet rewarding," Smith said. "The thrill of the hunt is overwhelming at times, but the satisfaction of contact localization/prosecution and the combined effort of a well-trained bridge, CIC, and sonar watch teams make the job worthwhile."

When the order was given to launch the torpedo, the entire team got to see the results of their hard work.

"The firing exercise was my favorite event," said Sonar Technician Surface 3rd Class Kyle Green. "It was my first time being Sonar Supervisor. After we tracked our target and finally launched our torpedo, none of us wanted the event to end when our time was up."

The experience left John L. Hall's crew feeling well-trained and Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Derek Lavan, feeling confident in his ship's undersea warfare capabilities.