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Stealth Destroyer Sunk
Growing costs and vulnerability to anti-ship missiles sank the Navy's once-heralded ``stealth destroyer,'' a highly advanced warship designed to slip close to the shore unnoticed and pummel targets with big guns. Growing costs and vulnerability to anti-ship missiles sank the Navy's once-heralded ``stealth destroyer,'' a highly advanced warship d... more
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Robot submarine gliding across the Atlantic Ocean
An unmanned submersible operated by Rutgers University's Coastal Ocean Observation Laboratory (COOL) is "flying" -- underwater -- from New Jersey to Spain. The remote-controlled undersea glider will travel more than 3,800 miles, and will collect key scientific information on the temperature and salinity of the Atlantic Ocean.
"The big advantage is, it's totally unmanned," according to Conrad Lautenbacher, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which sponsors the submersible. "It's very efficient and can be used to obtain the same kind of data we gather from ships."
In general, sea gliders are Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) that use small changes in buoyancy in conjunction with wings to convert vertical motion to horizontal, and thereby propel themselves forward with very low power consumption. While not as fast as conventional AUVs with propulsion systems, gliders using buoyancy-based propulsion represent a significant increase in range and endurance compared to vehicles propelled by electric motor-driven propellers. The sea glider has a battery-powered data collection and satellite communication system. The U.S. Navy as well as NOAA have been developing such sea gliders for several years.
During its trans-Atlantic cruise the glider will periodically rise to the surface of the ocean to transmit data up to a satellite. But most of the time the COOL glider will travel at depths between 15 feet to 300 feet below the surface. The COOL researchers will share all collected oceanographic data with the Navy and other interested agencies. The lack of a propulsion system will aid in data collection, alleviating self-noise interference.
The Navy is also looking into glider-type AUVs -- which it calls UUVs for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles -- for several missions, primarily to undertake environmental measurements in areas where surface ships or aircraft (dropping sensors) cannot easily operate. And, of course, flotillas of such unmanned gliders would be much cheaper than manned research ships and craft.
The COOL-developed submersible is yellow, less than 8 feet long, and weighs about 130 pounds. Developed by Rutgers University, the craft will also provide the university with other important information, such as how long the craft’s batteries will last and systems reliability. Larger and more capable AUV/UUVs are being developed by the Navy under the auspices of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command’s systems center in San Diego and the Office of Naval Research.
According to the 2000 Program Guide to the U.S. Navy, the highest priority missions for Navy UUVs, presumably including gliders, are intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; mine countermeasures (i.e., locating and mapping mines); and anti-submarine warfare. Sea gliders could be very useful in collecting environmental information for ASW operations. An unmanned submersible operated by Rutgers University's Coastal Ocean Observation Laboratory (COOL) is "flying" -- underwater -- from... more -
Impending naval blockade against Iran?
Congress has gone mad for sure. This resolution of a naval blockade against Iran could be considered an act of war.
Hello Americans. Call your congressman and tell them you don't want another war! Congress has gone mad for sure. This resolution of a naval blockade against Iran could be considered an act of war. ... more -
Religion and Its Role Are in Dispute at the Service Academies
Three years after a scandal at the Air Force Academy over the evangelizing of cadets by Christian staff and faculty members, students and staff at West Point and the Naval Academy are complaining that their schools, too, have pushed religion on cadets and midshipmen.
The controversy led the Air Force to adopt guidelines that discourage public prayers at official events or meetings. And while those rules do not apply to other branches of the service, critics say the new complaints raise questions about the military’s commitment to policies against imposing religion on its members.
Religion in the military has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, especially because the close confines of military life often put two larger societal trends — the rise of evangelicals and the rise of people of no organized faith — onto a collision course.
At the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., nine midshipmen recently asked the American Civil Liberties Union to petition the school to abolish daily prayer at weekday lunch, where attendance is mandatory. The midshipmen and the A.C.L.U. assert that the practice is unconstitutional, based in large part on a 2004 appellate court ruling against a similar prayer at the Virginia Military Institute. The civil liberties group has threatened legal action if the policy is not changed.
But the academy is not persuaded.
“The academy does not intend to change its practice of offering midshipmen an opportunity for prayer or devotional thought during noon meal announcements,” Cmdr. Ed Austin, an academy spokesman, said in an e-mail message. Three years after a scandal at the Air Force Academy over the evangelizing of cadets by Christian staff and faculty members, students ... more -
Navy v. dolphins: Supreme Court to hear battle over sonar
The Supreme Court will settle a fight that pits Southern California dolphins against the U.S. military.
In a closely watched case involving national security and the natural environment, the court agreed to review restrictions on the Navy's use of sonar off the California coast. The Bush administration contends that the sonar rules, meant to protect marine mammals, hinder military preparedness.
"The chief of naval operations determined ... that those restrictions unacceptably risk naval training, the timely deployment of (naval) strike groups and national security," Acting Solicitor General Gregory Garre said in a legal filing.
The California Coastal Commission and environmental groups worry about sonar's potentially destructive impact in a 120,000-square-nautical-mile training area that extends from Santa Catalina Island in the north to Mexico's Guadalupe Island in the south. A federal judge agreed and imposed the strict rules that the Bush administration now is challenging.
One rule requires the Navy to shut down its sonar when a marine mammal comes within 2,200 yards of a sonar source. Another requires the Navy to reduce sonar power during certain ocean conditions. The active sonar also is banned within 12 miles off the California coast.
"The imposition of these measures is not likely to prevent effective training," the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded in February, adding that "irreparable harm to marine mammals will almost certainly result should the Navy be permitted to conduct its remaining exercises without appropriate mitigation measures."
The Supreme Court's decision to take up the case, announced Monday, means that at least four justices agreed to review the lower court's decision. That's notably good news for the Bush administration.
The court, dominated by Republican appointees, often defers to the Pentagon's judgment on military matters. The court is also in the habit of overturning the 9th Circuit. The Supreme Court has reversed the 9th Circuit in seven cases and upheld it only once this year, according to statistics compiled by scotusblog.com.
The Supreme Court will settle a fight that pits Southern California dolphins against the U.S. military. ... more -
Duty calls
A moment of silence for fallen soldiers, for those serving abroad and at home. Just goes to show that you never know when and where we have to chalk up another one.
Navy: Pilot killed in jet collision over Nevada
"Two fighter jets from the U.S. Navy's elite training school collided Friday over northern Nevada's high desert, killing one pilot and injuring two others who parachuted to safety.
The pilot who died was based at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va., said Jeffery Wells, a spokesman at Fallon Naval Air Station. He was at the controls of an F/A-18C Hornet at the time of the crash.
The two pilots who ejected from a two-seater F-5 Tiger were rescued about 50 miles east of the air station, said Zip Upham, another base spokesman. They were in stable condition and being treated for minor injuries at Banner Churchill Medical Center in Fallon.
The two were assigned to the Fallon Naval Air Station, where both jets had taken off.
The names of the three were being withheld pending notification of the pilots' families, Wells said. The cause of the crash was under investigation.
The air station, about 60 miles east of Reno, is home to the Navy's elite Strike and Air Warfare Center. The center was formed in 1996 with the consolidation of the Navy fighter Weapons School known as "Top Gun" and the Carrier Airborne Early Warning Weapons School, or "Top Dome."
The F-5 Tiger is a Vietnam-era fighter aircraft. The F/A-18C Hornet, which was used in Operation Desert Storm, is a fighter-attack aircraft that can carry air-to-air missiles and infrared imaging air-to-ground missiles.
The two aircraft collided about noon near the town of Middlegate, some 110 miles east of Reno, Upham said.
Travis Anderton, of Middlegate, said he had seen the two jets before the crash.
"Then I heard a crash, looked up and saw them coming out of the sky, falling," he told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "Then it was smoke and you couldn't see any more."
Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman Chuck Allen said some of the wreckage landed about a mile from a highway.
The most recent fatal crash involving aircraft from Fallon was in May 2007. Five crew members were killed when their SH-60 Seahawk helicopter crashed during a nighttime training mission in north-central Nevada about 140 miles west of Reno.
Upham, who has served as base spokesman since 2001, said that crash was the worst in recent memory. Over the previous six years, he said there had been four separate jet and two helicopter crashes, resulting in one death."
By Scott Sonner A moment of silence for fallen soldiers, for those serving abroad and at home. Just goes to show that you never know when and where we... more -
Memorial Day 2008: Soldiers
Soldiers at Camp Pendleton Kyle Fenton, Corey Crawford, Eileen Donovan, and Christopher Hagan share what Memorial Day means to them.
Soldiers at Camp Pendleton Kyle Fenton, Corey Crawford, Eileen Donovan, and Christopher Hagan share what Memorial Day means to them. ... more -
Memorial Day 2008: Taps
At the VA memorial cemetery in Westwood, CA Private First Class Vidal Cantu performs taps at a funeral of a fallen soldier.
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Memorial Day 2008: Kaj
Kaj Larsen opens our memorial day special with a personal story from his Navy Seals experience. He visits the memorial in San Jose of 11 Navy Seals that died in combat in 2002, and shares his personal memories of those men. Kaj Larsen opens our memorial day special with a personal story from his Navy Seals experience. He visits the memorial in San Jose of ... more
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Memorial Day 2008: Navy Captain
Chief operations Specialist, Joseph Mitchell at a Naval Base in San Diego takes a moment to appreciate the freedom of the United States and those that lost their life to help protect it. Chief operations Specialist, Joseph Mitchell at a Naval Base in San Diego takes a moment to appreciate the freedom of the United State... more
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Suffolk Tornado Cleanup Begins
After an unprecedented number of tornadoes struck southeastern Virginia, residents of Suffolk are beginning to recover from the damage to their homes.
Operation Blessing is coordinating volunteer cleanup efforts, collaborating with Samaritan's Purse, United Way, Suffolk city government, Mercy Chefs, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, God's Pit Crew, and other local organizations.
The US Navy also lent a hand by volunteering to remove debris and salvage anything of value for the homeowners. After an unprecedented number of tornadoes struck southeastern Virginia, residents of Suffolk are beginning to recover from the damage... more -
US-hired cargo ship fires at unknown boats in Gulf
A cargo ship hired by the US military fired warning shots at approaching boats in the Gulf, the US Navy said on Friday, underscoring tension in the region as the Pentagon sharpened its warnings to Iran.
According to American defense officials, the Westward Venture cargo ship chartered by the US Defense Department was traveling in international waters when two unidentified small boats approached on Thursday... A cargo ship hired by the US military fired warning shots at approaching boats in the Gulf, the US Navy said on Friday, underscoring t... more -
US contracted ship fires towards Iranian boat
A cargo ship contracted by the U.S Military Sealift Command has fired at least one shot toward an Iranian boat, a U.S. defense official said on Friday.
"It was an MSC vessel," the official said, confirming the ship had fired on an Iranian boat.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain did not have any immediate comment. Is this a sign that the friction between the two nations is at boiling point? If you spot any updates on the story then please share them in a comment. A cargo ship contracted by the U.S Military Sealift Command has fired at least one shot toward an Iranian boat, a U.S. defense officia... more -
Pirates Seize Spanish Fishing boat near Somalia
The BBC Reports:
A Spanish naval frigate is heading for the area off Somalia where pirates seized a Spanish fishing boat with 26 crew on board, officials say.
FACTS:
The Playa de Bakio - a Basque tuna boat - was attacked about 250 miles (400km) off the coast on Saturday.
Somali coastal waters are among the most hazardous in the world.
The Spanish trawler's crew consists of 13 Spaniards and 13 Africans.
The Spanish government is now trying to locate the boat.
A Basque regional government source said the trawler was in "international waters" when it was attacked.
The BBC Reports: ... more -
Naval Station Everett Holds Children's Deployment Day Camp
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (NAC) Jason Beckjord, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Det. Northwest
EVERETT, Wash. (NNS) -- Children of service members from around the Puget Sound got a chance to experience a deployment through the eyes of their parents at the Children's Deployment Day Camp, in the Totem Recreation Hall, at the Naval Support Complex at Smokey Point, April 4.
This event, sponsored by the Naval Station (NAVSTA) Everett, Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC), is in recognition of April as the Month of the Military Child. The goal of the month is to serve as a positive outlet for military children who often experience a variety of emotions during a parent's deployment.
"I think that this will help some kids feel closer to their parents," said Amber Jackson, a civilian staff member of NAVSTA Everett. "We have some kids here whose parents are deployed, and doing the activities where they are actually making things to send to their parent definitely gives them a closeness to them, and a little bit more of an understanding."
The day began with the children taking the oath of the military child, led by Cmdr. Donald Leingang, NAVSTA Everett executive officer. Throughout the day, children made arts and crafts, ran in a fun run and wrote letters to deployed parents.
The deployment phase of the camp was the most exciting. Divided up into different "ships", children with Dixie cup hats and passports made their way to different "country stations," each with a different activity.
"They are traveling to different countries," said Stacie Bodenner, FFSC Staff, and director of the day camp. "One of our countries is 'how to use a fire extinguisher,' and we've given them little passports that they can stamp. The fire department brought their stickers, and they will get a stamp at each station, representing every country they visited on their deployment. We wanted to do something nice for our military kids."
Retired Chief Enginemen Heinz Hickethier, with the Game Wardens of Vietnam, and his crew of fellow Northwest chapter members, were at one stop of the deployment. They were dressed in camouflage and giving the kids a tour of a patrol boat, explaining the responsibilities and roles of each crew member's station, as well as the vital mission of this riverine craft.
"We just want to give the children a sense of what happened," said Hickethier. "It's so they have some idea of what their parents go through."
"[With this camp], they experience what we feel," said Army Sgt. Hank Tamen. "I am leaving in June for a two-year deployment, and they're having a hard time with it. It's going to give them a feeling of how we feel when we leave, and when we come back."
At the end of the day, to the great surprise of the children, parents and volunteers from all over the Puget Sound had decorated Totem Hall for a homecoming party for the children, complete with balloons, snacks, and their parents and siblings waving, yelling, and holding huge "Welcome Home" signs.
Military members and their families can rest assured that the next time they must leave, their children will be ready. By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (NAC) Jason Beckjord, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Det. Northwest ... more -
Peruvian Navy Ship Visits Seattle
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (NAC) Jason Beckjord, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Det. Northwest
SEATTLE (NNS) -- Navy Region Northwest said farewell to the captain and crew of the Peruvian Navy transport ship BAP Mollendo (ATC 131) April 6, following a port visit in Seattle.
Mollendo, commanded by Capitan de Fragata, Gonzolo Carrera Mazuelos, and its 134 enlisted Sailors and 28 officers were in Seattle for a four-day port visit.
During their visit, the crew toured the USS Ford (FFG 54) homeported at Naval Station Everett and visited Boeing airfields, as well as Microsoft headquarters in Redmond.
The crew also toured famous Seattle sites, such as the Space Needle, the Seattle Aquarium, and Pike's Place Market.
"My junior officers took them on a tour and they enjoyed it a lot," said Cmdr. John Wilshusen, Ford commanding officer. "I spent the last two years in my previous job working with South American navies. I can see we all face similar situations."
With more trade and commerce between the countries, most of it goes by ocean. So, we all have a common interest in protecting those sea-lanes, and opportunities like this help build those ties," Wilshusen added.
During their stay, the Peruvians also hosted tours of Mollendo, which houses a museum displaying some of Peru's industrial products and cultural artifacts.
"This training cruise lasts 180 days," said the Peruvian skipper. "We've already visited ports in French Polynesia, Hong Kong and Shanghai, the People's Republic of China, The People's Republic of Korea, Vladivostok in the Russian federation, Tokyo, Japan, and Hawaii, and now we are in the beautiful city of Seattle."
Mazuelos added that fourth and second year midshipmen from the Peruvian Naval Academy were also on board Mollendo.
"They are increasing their knowledge about other cultures and training on board," he said. "This institution will help our midshipmen think about their reasons for becoming Navy officers in the near future."
Rear Adm. Stewart O'Bryan, commander, Carrier Strike Group 3, who was on board Mollendo April 4 for a Peruvian buffet style banquet and a performance by traditional Peruvian Marinera dancers and a salsa band, stressed the importance of maintaining friendly ties between the two navies.
"It's very important for Peru and the United States that our navies work together as we both fight terrorism," said O'Bryan.
Mollendo, which left Seattle's Elliot Bay April 6, will make one final stop in San Diego before returning to its homeport in Lima, Peru. By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (NAC) Jason Beckjord, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Det. Northwest ... more -
Anti-War Military Wife
This pod looks at a woman who is in the difficult predicament of being married to someone actively serving in the military, but who is also actively against the war. This pod looks at a woman who is in the difficult predicament of being married to someone actively serving in the military, but who is... more
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USS George Washington departs for Japan
Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington departs its Norfolk, Va., homeport for its new homeport of Yokosuka, Japan.
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Northwest Navy are stewards of the environment
A longform video by the Navy that shows how they are working to be good friends of the environment
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Kitsap Mall Military Appreciation Day
Interaction between Marines and Sailors, and Kitsap Mall
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