If you’re looking for the Fleet Air Arm unit at the very top of its game, look no further than the Merlins of 820 Naval Air Squadron. The Culdrose-based squadron can rightly call itself ‘the best of the best’ after bagging all four major naval aviation trophies for its global deeds over the past [&h
British aircraft have again conducted long-range strikes against some of Colonel Gaddafi’s remaining military bases, as NATO continues with Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. On Thursday, Royal Air Force Tornado GR4s participated with other allied
A clear lower deck was called at NU808 Squadron on August 26 when the Commander of the Fleet Air Arm, CDRE Peter Laver, presented the first members of the Aviation Support (AVN) category with their rate badges. CDRE Laver also welcomed CPOs Robert Strutt, Peter Cassar and Christopher Swift, and LSs
An elite U.S. Coast Guard unit joined the visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team on amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) to conduct counter-piracy and maritime security operations in the Gulf of Aden. Members of a maritime safety and security team, based out of Seattle, Was
USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) departed Mauritius after an eight-day goodwill port visit as part of their involvement with Africa Partnership Station (APS) East’s hub, Sept. 12. The visit featured on board classroom training in critical shipboard areas of damage control and fire fighting, search and
On September 12, EU NAVFOR welcomed the German frigate FGS KÖLN to Operation ATALANTA. Commanded by Commander Christopher Karow, the ship and her 219 crew members will operate in the area of operations off the Horn of Africa for the next three months; the ship previously deployed to the mission duri
On Saturday EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta vessels intercepted and boarded a skiff suspected of involvement in an incident with the French Sailing Yacht, SY TRIBAL KAT. EU NAVFOR reports receiving a distress call from the SY TRIBAL KAT on Thursday, September 8. FGS BAYERN responded to the call, locati
USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) Commanding Officer Cmdr. Angel Cruz met with local senior officials Sept. 6 to mark the ship´s arrival and participate in a cultural leadership exchange. The visit was conducted as part of the Mauritian training hub of Africa Partnership Station (APS) East. Cruz met wi
The Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Ray Griggs, AM, CSC, RAN says the report in the Australian newspaper today that a Navy submarine was involved in a ‘near disaster’ last month are sensationalist and will have upset the families of the Navy’s submarine force. HMAS Farncomb was at sea off the coast of We
BAE Systems, Norfolk Ship Repair, Norfolk, Va., is being awarded a $14,074,420 modification to contract (N00024-11-C-4403) for the USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) fiscal year 2012 Extended Selected Restricted Availability (ESRA). An ESRA includes the planning and execution of depot-level maintenance, alterat
Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset has recently taken over duties from sister ship HMS Monmouth in the Middle East. On her journey to relieve her sister ship, HMS Somerset paused at Souda Bay in Crete for an operational capability check at the NATO range to confirm the accuracy of her communications an
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Korea (CNFK) held a change of command Sept. 9. Rear Adm. Bill McQuilkin relieved Rear Adm. Pete Gumataotao during a ceremony held at Collier Field House. McQuilkin previously served in Washington D.C. as chief of staff for the Strategy and Policy division on the staff of
U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) arrived home in Baltimore Sept. 8 after completing Continuing Promise 2011 (CP11), a five-month humanitarian and civic assistance mission in the southern hemisphere. CP11 was part of an annual mission that fosters goodwill, and demonstrates U.S. commitm
Courtesy meeting between Russia’s Baltic Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Viktor Chirkov and Royal Danish Navy Commander Rear Admiral Finn Hansen was held on Sept 8 in conference hall of the Central Naval Museum, St. Petersburg. Meeting of the admirals was conducted within the framework of official stat
