[HTML1] The aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush is getting ready to wrap up its Persian Gulf deployment, but before they head home, they’re lending a hand to American operations against the Islamic State in Iraq. In this official Navy video, ordnancemen pack explosives to assemble bombs for the strikes. In the clip below, you’ll see what happens after they’re loaded onto F/A-18 Hornets and dropped onto targets. The video shows an airstrike in northern Iraq on Friday. [HTML2] The Bush carrier strike group and Carrier Air Wing 8 left Norfolk back in February and are scheduled to make their way…
Author Meghann Myers
If you’re in the market for a one-of-a-kind 100-foot yacht at a bargain basement price, has Craigslist got a deal for you! This 1985 Naval Academy trawler that took generations of midshipmen on summer cruises, according to the seller’s description, sports one of the “best” hulls built in history, made from double-planked Alaskan cedar. In its former life, the yard patrol boat now billed as the “ultimate trawler yacht” was a training vessel for mids that went on umpteen cruises up and down the East coast, giving mids their first taste of at sea life and liberty ports. The academy is…
The Coast Guard turned the big 2-2-4 on Monday, celebrating with some guest appearances and other festivities all around the country. Pop quiz: Did you know that the Coast Guard is actually older than the Navy? The CG came together in 1790 as the Revenue Cutter Service, a customs enforcement agency. That same year, the United States disbanded the Continental navy, the Revolutionary War fleet, and didn’t officially form the U.S. Navy until 1798. (Although the U.S. Navy cites theirs to the founding of the Continental navy in 1775.) In 1915 the RCS merged with the United States Lifesaving Service to…
A Washington-based sailor who made a run in late July at the Guinness world record for pullups held by a Navy SEAL ended up in the hospital, but says he plans to make another attempt once he recovers. Air Traffic Controller 2nd Class (AW) Mike McCastle made it to 3,202 pullups on July 26, just 828 shy of the record, before health concerns forced him to head to the emergency room. He lasted 19 1/2 of the allotted 24 hours, but still raised almost $10,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project. As of July 31, he said, he had collected $9,600,…
Internet trolls this week pranked the Navy’s top enlisted sailor, who took to his Facebook page to dispel social media rumors he’d been charged with drunk driving — at over two times the legal alcohol limit. Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (AW/NAC) Mike Stevens debunked the rumors Thursday, saying he had not been arrested for driving under the influence. Shipmates, I heard that there’s a prank going around on social media that involves me! No DUIs for me! I’m finishing my motorcycle safety course today and getting ready to visit our hard working Sailors in Boston! Have a great evening. V/r, MCPON As…
American soccer fans adopted “I believe that we will win” as a rallying cry for Team USA during July’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil, but as it turns out, the slogan dates back to 1998 at the Naval Academy, thanks to then-Midshipman 4th Class Jay Rodriguez. According to ESPN, the chant debuted at the 1999 Army-Navy football game, lead by Rodriguez’s friend and academy cheerleader, Corey Strong. It’s been adopted by numerous teams since then, but if one university has its way, no one else will be using the slogan in the future. San Diego State is vying for a trademark…
WASHINGTON — Cast members, producers, hundreds of sailors and even a few Coasties gathered here Wednesday night to attend the premiere of “The Last Ship,” a TV show in which the crew of the fictional destroyer Nathan James attempts to save the world from a deadly virus. The stars walked the blue carpet at the Newseum in downtown Washington, D.C., while sailors mingled at a reception in the lobby to music from a Navy band to celebrate the opening of a drama where the U.S. Navy is the world’s last, best hope. The Navy’s Office of Information-West played a key…
For as long as women have been in the Navy, they’ve been wearing a different cover than the one issued to men. That is, until last year, when the service began wear tests on a combination cover, using the Naval Academy midshipmen as research subjects. “I hate it,” an unidentified graduating female midshipmen told Navy Times at the academy’s commissioning ceremony Friday. “Almost everyone I know hates it.” The female “bucket” hat has come into question recently, as Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has pushed to make male and female service members’ uniforms more, well, uniform — starting with unisex covers.…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2czUvI0SBX4&[/youtube] Cryptologic Technician 1st Class Bonnie McCammond thought she was among friends when she crashed on the couch at a housewarming party several years ago. She awoke to another sailor raping her, and as she was leaving the next morning, he asked for her phone number. He said he had a great time and he’d like to see her again, she recalled. “And in that moment it’s like, ‘You really think this is okay,’ ” she said. “You think that someone asleep, anywhere, whether intoxicated or not — you didn’t think there was a problem with this.” McCammond’s story is…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmcDxS2zAcg[/youtube] Ever since the Harvard baseball team’s viral “Call Me Maybe” video made it all the way to a live performance on The Today Show two years ago, college baseball has been waiting for another vehicular musical. Now they have it. Naval Academy relief pitcher Midshipman 1st Class Matt Kilby posted this video to his You Tube account Friday and it’s since gotten more than 600,000 views. According to Facebook, his co-pilot there is infielder Midshipman 2nd Class Brad Borosak. If you’re under 12 years old or the parent of someone under 12 years old, you likely already know all…
