East Coast ‘High-end Fight’ Training Command Conducts Change of Command
12 July 2022
NORFOLK, Va. -- NORFOLK, Va. - Carrier Strike Group Four (CSG) 4 held a change of command ceremony at the CSG 4 headquarters building aboard Naval Station Norfolk, July 8.
Rear Adm. Jeffrey Czerewko relieved Rear Adm. Rich Brophy as commander, CSG 4.
Brophy served as CSG 4’s commander since May 2021 and for his next assignment he will serve as Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA). As the CSG 4 commander, he was responsible for leading CSG 4’s mission of mentoring, training and assessing East Coast-based deploying carrier strike groups, amphibious ready groups and independently-deploying ships.
"It has been a privilege to serve with the outstanding professionals of Carrier Strike Group 4, training, mentoring and assessing our units deploying around the globe,” said Brophy. “I know that through the efforts of this staff, forces trained by CSG 4 deploy as an effective and lethal naval force able to win the high-end fight.”
Under Brophy’s leadership, CSG 4 conducted six complex, integrated exercises to ensure readiness of deploying forces, including the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group / Marine Expeditionary Unit Exercise (ARGMEUEX) and composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX), Harry S. Truman CSG COMPTUEX, George H. W. Bush CSG COMPTUEX, Large Scale Exercise 2021, and Task Force Exercise 2022.
Brophy championed CSG 4’s and CSG 15’s “Vision 2025” and its associated lines of effort which created a unified vision keenly focused on the synchronization of training and assessment, and ensured focused efforts to “bend the curve” of high-end fight training. Specific initiatives include: continued emphasis of expeditionary strike force training, dedicated training to prepare units to operate with North American Treaty Organization (NATO), full alignment with United State Marine Corps evaluation teams, continued emphasis and progression in live, virtual, and constructive (LVC) scenario integration, and incorporation of all recent concepts of operation into integrated training.
Czerewko previously served as director, Fleet Integrated Readiness and Analysis, N02R, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, and has also commanded Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 146 and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2. He additionally served as the inaugural head of the Digital Warfare Office and acting director on the Navy Staff, the chief of staff for Commander, Naval Air Forces, and as the deputy director for Joint Staff Global Operations (J 39).
“The CSG 4 team has built an outstanding legacy of training deploying units to meet the demands of the fleet,” said Czerewko. “I’m honored to be able to lead this team of exceptional Sailors, Marines and civilians as they continue this critical mission of ensuring warfighting readiness.”
CSG 4 trains and delivers combat-ready naval forces to U.S. 2nd Fleet and U.S. Fleet Forces Command, which are capable of conducting full-spectrum integrated maritime, joint, and combined operations in support of U.S. national interests. CSG 4 conducts training through exercises that create a realistic training environment and includes academic, synthetic and live training. CSG 4 includes subordinate commands Expeditionary Warfare Training Group, Atlantic (EWTGLANT); Tactical Training Group, Atlantic (TACTRAGRULANT) and Training Support Vessel Squadron Four (TSVRON-4).