Commander of Australia’s Joint Task Force 633 (JTF633) in the Middle East Region (MER) Major General Craig Orme, AM, CSC has officially transferred command to Rear Admiral Trevor Jones, AO, CSC, RAN. The Transfer of Authority ceremony was held this week at Camp Baird, Australia’s main headquarters i
The US Coast Guard and a good Samaritan rescued four people whose boat caught fire off the coast of Murrells Inlet, south of Myrtle Beach, Sunday. Rescued were two men and two women. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Charleston received the initial report over VHF Channel 16 at approximately 11 a.
HMS Defender returned to her home in Portsmouth on December 12, after more than six months deployed on high intensity operations in the Northern Gulf. The ship has spent part of her deployment supporting the US-led Carrier Task Group and her F18s conducting strikes in the fight against ISIL. The Typ
Sailors aboard Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG-101) received approximately 120 supply pallets during a replenishment-at-sea, Dec. 02. The pallets were received via vertical replenishment (VERTREP) between the Gridley and Military Sealift Command Fleet Replenishment Oile
The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105) departed Salalah after a four-day port visit, Dec. 3. While in port, Sailors from Dewey were able to enjoy liberty and partake in various Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) sponsored events. There were many tours offered in Sala
The U.S. Navy completed tests on the GhostSwimmer unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story (JEBLC-FS), Dec. 11. GhostSwimmer is the latest in a series of science-fiction-turned-reality projects developed by the chief of naval operations’ Rapid Innovation
U.S. Navy frigate USS Vandegrift (FFG 48) returned from its final deployment Dec. 12, where it operated in the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR). The ship will begin to make preparations for decommissioning after 30 years of service. During this final dep
Pyotr Velikiy Practices Submarine Seeking Skills Pyotr Velikiy, Russian Navy’s fourth Kirov-class battle cruiser, yesterday deployed on a mission to undertake submarine seeking exercises. UK to Establish Permanent Naval Base in the Middle East Royal Navy’s vessels will soon have its first permanent
The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) was recognized, along with three other organizations, as the winner of the 2014 Best Workforce Development Program in the U.S. Government award, Dec. 1. The eighth-annual award was sponsored by the Human Capital Management for Government (HCMG) Train
Senior leaders from U.S. 7th Fleet visited Colombo, Sri Lanka and Male, Maldives and attended the Galle Dialogues international Maritime Conference Dec. 1-6, building relationships to improve maritime security in the Indo-Asia Pacific. While in Sri Lanka, 7th Fleet leaders met with officials from th
Thales Australia has delivered a significant upgrade to the Collins submarine Platform Training Simulator (PTS), which now has the highest levels of reliability and availability since entering service in 1993. Thales completed the complex upgrade of the dual simulator on time and with an accelerated
The U.S. Navy’s duty oiler in the Mediterranean Sea, fleet replenishment oiler USNS Leroy Grumman (T-AO 195), is currently finishing a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea supplying the U.S. Navy and its allies with fuel and supplies at sea, Dec. 11, 2014. Grumman, a Military Sealift Comman
Portsmouth-based frigate HMS Kent joined forces with a US Navy carrier strike group when she linked up with the USS Carl Vinson in the Persian Gulf. The Type 23 has also been helping French allies during her first major work period upon arrival in the Middle East. The Vinson is carrying out strikes
The U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) and ships from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (Navy) PLA(N) commenced a bilateral counter-piracy exercise, U.S.-China Counter-Piracy Exercise 15, in the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa, Dec 11. Aiming to promote partnership, st
