What is a COMPTUEX?

In reading the Captains Underway report from last Sunday, April 29, 2012, I wondered what the heck is a COMPTUEX? So for my edification and passing that on to you, I looked it up in Wikipedia:

Composite Unit Training Exercise

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

COMPTUEX, or Composite Training Unit Exercise, is a rehearsal each US Navy Carrier Strike Group performs before departing for deployment. Each ship and aircraft in the battle group trains in its speciality, COMPTUEX brings ships together to project force as a battle group. COMPTUEX is an intermediate level battle group exercise designed to forge together the battle group and its components into a fully functional fighting team. COMPTUEX is a critical part in the training pre-deployment.

An F/A-18F Super Hornet from VFA-41 deployed with USS Nimitz (CVN-68) during an COMPTUEX in late 2006 off the coast of Southern California.

Each Carrier Battle Group performs a rehearsal called Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) before departing for a six-month deployment. Over the previous several months, each ship and aircraft in the battle group has trained in its specialty. COMPTUEX brings ships together to project force as a battle group. COMPTUEX is an intermediate-level battle group exercise designed to forge the battle group into a cohesive, fighting team. It’s a critical step in the pre-deployment training cycle and a prerequisite for the battle group’s Joint Task Force Exercise.

COMPTUEX is normally conducted during a two-week to three-week period six to eight weeks before deployment. Successfully completion of COMTPUEX certifies the carrier and its air wing as qualified for open ocean operations. COMPTUEX consists of an 18 day schedule of even driven exercise which the follows with an 3 day Final Battle Problem. It’s conducted and directed by the training carrier group commander and the focus is to bring together the carrier and it’s air wing as a working team that can operate in a combat environment, as well as integrating with other assets of the battle group.