Sailors and Marines from Expeditionary Strike Group Seven (ESG 7) and the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (3d MEB), along with their counterparts from the Republic of Korea (ROK), wrapped up exercise Ssang Yong 2014, April 5. Ssang Yong, Korean for “twin dragons,” is an annual, bilateral amphibio
Ardent One, embarked in HMAS Launceston, participated in the Multilateral Naval Exercise KOMODO from 29 March to 3 April 2014. The exercise was developed and coordinated by the Indonesian Navy in the vicinity of the Indonesian Islands of Batam, Riau, Anambas and Natuna. It focussed on Humanitarian
Guided-missile frigate USS Simpson (FFG 56) held a change of command ceremony April 4 at Naval Station Mayport. Cmdr. Ken Anderson relieved Cmdr. Chris Follin as commanding officer. Anderson is “fleeting up” after being Simpson’s executive officer since November 2012 and will serve as the ship’s f
Australian Defence Vessel (ADV) Ocean Shield deployed its towed pinger locator (TPL) for the first time on the morning of 4 April, as part of its ongoing search for missing Flight MH 370. Almost 600 nautical miles west of Exmouth, the TPL was towed around 3,500 metres below the surface along the p
Marine Corps tanks were loaded onto Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) during a port visit in Gwangyang Hang, South Korea, April 1. Ashland pulled into Gwangyang Hang for an on-load of six M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks. “The reason for the port visit was to on-l
The personnel of the Royal Australian Navy at Fleet Base West (FBW) resupplied and helped HMAS Toowoomba, which is tasked to search for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, to return to sea in under six hours. Toowoomba was tasked to Operation SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN (Op SIO) from operations in northern
Malaysian Navy frigate KD Lekiu is the country’s only naval vessel included in the search and rescue efforts for the missing Malaysian Airlines MH370 in the southern part of the Indian Ocean, according to Malaysian Defence. As explained by Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) chief Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Azi
Australian Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Scott Morrison MP, participated in a keel laying ceremony on March 31st for the sixth Cape Class Patrol Boat being manufactured at Austal’s Henderson shipyard in Western Australia. The vessel, Cape Leveque, is the sixth of eight Cape Class
Two Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) ships, “Inazuma – 105” and “Umigiri – 158”, arrived at the Port of Colombo on a goodwill and logistics visit on the 1st of April 2014. The ships are en route for counter piracy operation off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden. Commander [&
A memorial rededication service held at HMAS Albatross today marked the ninth anniversary of the loss of the Sea King helicopter ‘Shark 02’, which crashed in 2005 while supporting a humanitarian support mission on the Indonesian island of Nias. Nine Australian Defence Force personnel were killed in
The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group (BOXARG), with embarked 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), began participation in Exercise Ssang Yong 2014 March 27 off the coast of the Republic of Korea (ROK) with the ROK navy and Marine Corps. Ssang Yong, which means “twin dragons,” is an annual combined exe
The U.S. and Republic of Korea (ROK) navies enhanced their combined and joint maritime capabilities after completing a series of drills and exercises ashore and at sea from March 8-31 in support of exercise Foal Eagle 2014. Exercise Foal Eagle in an umbrella of regularly scheduled, annual exercise
On March 31, Major General (MAJGEN) Tim Gall became the Commander Joint Forces New Zealand. At a Change of Command parade held at Trentham MAJGEN Gall was promoted to his new rank and took command of Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand (HQ JFNZ). MAJGEN Gall was raised in Invercargill and Nelson
A ceremony was held yesterday at Australian company, Marand, commemorating the delivery of the first ship of Australian made F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter vertical tails. The Honourable Dr. Denis Napthine, Premier of Victoria, and The Honourable Michael Ronaldson, Senator for Victoria rep
