U.S. 6th Fleet officially welcomed its new commander at Naval Support Activity Naples Capodichino in Naples, Italy, Dec. 14. Vice Adm. James G. Foggo III officially assumed command of U.S. 6th Fleet from Vice Adm. Phil Davidson. Davidson will take the reins of U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk. D
Representatives of more than 20 Navy and Marine Corps commands met Dec. 9-11 at Naval Station Mayport to plan for Southern Partnership Station-Joint High Speed Vessel (SPS-JHSV) 2015, a four-month deployment that will focus on subject-matter expert exchanges with partner nations. U.S. Naval Forces S
The guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) is moored pierside at Marathi NATO Pier Facility in Souda Bay, Greece. Oscar Austin, homeported in Norfolk, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe and
Commodore Aage Buur Jensen and key members of his staff visited NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) on Friday, 12 December 2014, to formally hand over command of Standing Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) and NATO’s counter-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD Task Force 508 (TF-508). Vice Admiral Peter Hudson, C
Defence and security company Saab has received an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) to overhaul the Swedish Navy submarine HMS Södermanland. The order covers the period 2014-2016 and is valued at SEK121 million. The order is part of the letter of intent regarding Swedish a
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
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
US Navy’s Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) arrived to Souda Bay, Greece, on December 10. The vessel pulled into the Marathi NATO pier facility during a scheduled port visit. Leyte Gulf, homeported in Norfolk, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of
The future Task Force Commander for the EU’s counter-piracy Operation Atalanta, Rear Admiral Jonas Haggren (Swedish Navy), visited the NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) to meet with MARCOM Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Giorgio Lazio for discussions concerning counter-piracy operations and other ma
Command of guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74) passed from Cmdr. Lester A. Brown Jr., to Cmdr. Michael J. Gunther during a change of command ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk, Dec. 5. Rear Adm. Bruce Lindsey, commander, Carrier Strike Group 10, congratulated Brown and Gunther on their succe
Representatives from international counter-piracy organisations, as well as nations deploying warships independently, have gathered in Bahrain to discuss how they can best work together to combat the threat posed to shipping by criminal gangs from Somalia. NATO chaired the 34th Shared Awareness and
US Navy announced that a delay in coordinating approval for reauthorization of the Revised Surface Warfare Officer Critical Skills Retention Bonus (RSWOCSRB) will mean no new contracts will be processed for the bonus after Dec. 16 until reauthorization is received, which should be early next year. C
BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair is being awarded an $115 million undefinitized contract action as a modification to a previously awarded contract for USS Bataan (LHD 5) fiscal 2015 dry-docking planned maintenance availability. A dry-docking planned maintenance availability includes the planning and
After covering 7,300 miles attached to a NATO minehunting force in and around the Mediterranean Sea, the Sandown-class ship HMS Grimsby has parted company with her Allied friends. The ship has spent the autumn with NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2, working under the Italians with vessels
