https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hi1VkNPJHA The aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman is cruising the Persian Gulf as we speak, launching strikes against ISIS in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, and a video posted to 360 Fly shows just what that looks like from the inside. The clip sent into the digital video gadget company shows an F/A-18F Super Hornet launch with one of the pilots from the Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia-based Strike Fighter Squadron 103 “Jolly Rogers.” VFA-103 is deployed on the Truman. The pilot recorded the take-off in 360 degrees, which means viewers can get a full view of what’s happening in the cockpit at…
Browsing: The Middle East
On May 7, 1970, the Beatles released their last single: “The Long and Winding Road.” Last week, the amphibious transport dock Ponce, launched 13 days after the song and commissioned in July 1971, completed its own long journey, coming home for the last time after four decades of service. Those years were filled with significant events. Ponce helped evacuate nearly 300 mostly U.S. and British Westerners from Lebanon during the 1976 civil war, and supported 6th Fleet air strikes on pro-Syrian militia positions in defense of U.S. Marines ashore. It supported military disaster relief in Florida following 1992’s devastating Hurricane…
The Norfolk-based destroyer Mason finally made it home today, bringing up the rear of the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group, most of which arrived at home ports or bases July 15. One of the happy sailors was Electrician’s Mate 1st Class Eugene Andal, who was selected to debark and receive the traditional first kiss from his wife and kids: The Strike Group left Norfolk Jan. 13 to support theater security cooperation and maritime security cooperation efforts during a deployment to the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility that covered nearly 60,000 miles.
It’s gotta be at least a little frustrating. You’re just wrapping up a highly successful deployment and you’ve finally got a whole mess of reporters who want to talk to you about it. But they don’t. They want to talk about that. You know. That guy you buried at sea and now utterly defines your ship, crew and deployment, at least until the next big thing happens. You are no longer the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson. You are The Carrier That Buried Osama Bin Laden, and it’s sticking with you, no matter how tangential the story. Check out these…
The vision that began with a January 2001 contract award will be fully realized on Wednesday, May 11, when the carrier George H.W. Bush leaves Norfolk to begin its first-ever combat deployment. The 1,092-foot Bush is the 10th and final carrier of the Nimitz class. Commissioned in January 2009, the carrier, as well as its strike group, have been in training for this cruise for most of the past year. The Bush Carrier Strike Group, led by Rear Adm. Nora Tyson, will consist of five total ships, eight aircraft squadrons and nearly 6,000 sailors, and will operate in the 5th…
The deputy commander of Fleet Forces Command used his keynote speech at the decommissioning of the amphibious assault ship Nassau in Norfolk March 31 to stump for continued support for the “Gator Navy” and the capability to launch U.S. Marines onto contested shore, arguing that such a capability reduces the need for U.S. bases on foreign shores. Vice Adm. Peter Daly pointed to the Essex Amphibious Ready Group and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit providing humanitarian assistance and disaster response following the earthquake and tsunami that ravaged northern Japan; the Boxer ARG and 13th MEU being accelerated into the Persian…
Thankfully, this battle is more semantic than deadly. Thursday morning, the popular-yet-normally-benign Facebook page for the U.S. Navy was hit by cyber activists demanding that a certain body of water be referred to as the “Persian Gulf.” The Navy, as you know, calls it the “Arabian Gulf,” although not always. The moderator of the Navy site has since struck a conciliatory tone, welcoming the new fans and inviting regulars to share their favorite Navy acronyms and jargon. Although too much alphabet soup could get them into hot water as well. Oh, and Persian Gulf folks: Don’t bother doing the same…
Date: May 13, 2010 Location: Heritage Foundation, Washington D.C. Subj: CNO comments In a speech and response to questions offered at the Heritage Foundation Thursday, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead urged fiscal responsibility yet downplayed talk of further cuts to Navy ships and programs. He agreed with Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ call for greater scrutiny in procurement, and said he is a “proponent” for considering revisions to decades-old laws governing personnel issues. (You can read more about that in Monday’s edition of Navy Times). Other highlights:
Defense Secretary Robert Gates dropped the bomb of the week. In his first invitation to the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space symposium, Gates suggested a need for cutting carriers, sinking SSBN(X) and eliminating Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles. You can read Gates’ speech here, and find out how this affects you in Monday’s edition of Navy Times. Speaking of amphibious operations, the personnel bubbas in Millington are starting to dry out. Two days of rain dumped more than 14 inches in the area. A levee couldn’t hold the water back and the base was flooded. This delayed one promotion board and threw many administrative matters into…
So what was that Iranian aircraft doing buzzing over the carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower last week? Filming it, according to the Iran’s naval chief. TEHRAN – An Iranian navy plane that came close to a US aircraft carrier in the Gulf was filming the vessel, the Fars news agency quoted Iran’s naval chief as saying on Tuesday. “The F27 plane of the navy flew above this aircraft carrier and took a thorough film. Despite the carrier’s objection we insist that this is our right,” the agency quoted Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayari as saying.
