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
Republic of Korea (ROK) minister of national defense visited the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) March 31. Kwan-jin Kim’s visit took place during exercise Ssang Yong 2014, an annual combined exercise conducted by Navy and Marine forces with the Republic of Kor
Korea Opts for Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Aircraft The Republic of Korea has formally selected the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft for its F-X fighter acquisition program. USS Elrod Takes Over Escort Duties of Libyan Seized Tanker The U.S. Navy’s USS Elrod relieved the USS Stout of
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur that “based on satellite imagery, it can be confirmed that no one on board the Malaysian flight MH 370, that went missing, survived.” Earlier today, the Australian Navy’s P3 Orion detected two objects in the southe
Indian Puts Search Operation for MH370 on Standby The Malaysian authorities have indicated that based on investigation, the search operations for the missing Malaysian Airlines aircraft MH 370 have entered a new phase and a strategy for further searches is being formulated. Accordingly, search opera
After an intense three weeks of operations, the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) Mine Counter Measures and Dive Exercise 2014 (MCMEX14) closed with a traditional ceremonial Beat to Quarters at the Navy Museum in Auckland, New Zealand. The MCMEX14 was hosted by the Royal New Zealand Navy and
The Royal New Zealand Navy’s frigate HMNZS TE MANA returned this morning to Devonport Naval Base after a seven-month deployment. About 700 family members along with three Seasprite helicopters welcomed TE MANA’s 182 Warriors of the Sea. The ship fired a 17-gun salute as she arrived, replied by a s
During FS Siroco’s port visit to the Seychelles, 20 trainees from the Basic Training course for the Seychelles Coast Guard embarked for electronic navigation equipment training. The training was supported by staff from EUCAP Nestor. The trainees received practical and theoretical instruction in ho
On Wednesday 26 February 2014, German Navy frigate, FGS Hessen which is operating as part of the EU Naval Force, and South Korean destroyer, Kang Gam Chan, met up in the Gulf of Aden to carry out a joint exercise. Both warships are currently conducting counter-piracy operations. The counter-piracy
On Friday, 21 February 2014, New Zealand Warship HMNZS TE MANA concluded her support to NATO’s counter-piracy task force as part of Operation OCEAN SHIELD. “Over the past month, the crew of TE MANA have demonstrated the highest standards of professionalism and interoperability with NATO, fully int
The U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) was awarded the Commander, Naval Air Forces Carrier Battle Effectiveness Award, or Battle “E”, Feb. 15. The Battle “E” recognizes sustained superior performance in an operational environment, and sustained continuous
On Sunday 16 February, the Luxembourg Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) detachment flew its 1,000th operational sortie as part of the EU Naval Force. As the Swearingen SW3C Merlin aircraft landed back in the Seychelles, it was given an impressive ‘water-spray’ welcome by the Seych
Crewmembers of the Spanish Navy warship ESPS Tornado, assigned to EU Naval Force, conducted an exercise with the Malagasy Navy. The exercise took place in Antisiranana, Madagascar from 5 to 8 February and included participation of 18 people from the Malagasy Navy. The primary goal of the exercise
The South Korean Navy destroyer ROKS Choi Young has finished a joint exercise with the Ukrainian Navy frigate Hetman Sahaydachnyi in the Gulf of Aden. This was the first time in the history of the Ukrainian Navy to conduct an exercise with the South Korean Navy. The primary goal of the exercise wa
