The EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) French flag ship FS Marne visited Djibouti between Saturday 21 April and Friday 27 April. Whilst there the Task Force Commander, Rear Admiral Jean-Baptiste Dupuis and his staff met with representatives and authorities of the maritime world and various stakeholders in t
U.S. Pacific Fleet’s humanitarian and civic assistance (HCA) mission, known as Pacific Partnership, deployed aboard U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) May 3, 2012, for a four-month deployment to the host nations of Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia. Mercy was originally sche
April 28, late afternoon, after 24 dense hours and three consecutive replenishments at sea led by EU NAVFOR flag ship Marne, Force Commander Rear Admiral Dupuis received his counterpart from NATO – Operation Ocean Shield. This long sequence started at dusk on April 27 for the command and replenishme
Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) departed Naval Station San Diego May 3, beginning its part in Pacific Partnership 2012, a four-and-a-half month humanitarian and civic assistance mission to Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia. Mercy is crewed by 70 civil servi
Major General Ramsay is the son of the late Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, best known for his roles in organising Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940, and for planning the naval part of the D-Day landings, Operation Neptune, in 1944. On opening the building Major General Ramsay said “
The guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) received a visit from Commander, Strike Force Training Atlantic (CSFTL), while at sea, on its progress though a composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX), May 1. Rear Adm. Dennis E. FitzPatrick, CSFTL, landed on the destroyer via helic
Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset has begun a nine month docking period being undertaken by Babcock at Devonport – marking the first refit to be undertaken under the Surface Ship Support Alliance (SSSA) Class Output Management (COM) Phase 2 arrangements, which officially came into effect last month (Apri
The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, announced the commanding officer for the 2013-14 seasons during a press conference at the National Aviation Museum on board Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Fla., May 1. A panel of admirals and former Blue Angels commanding officers sel
The combined U.S. and Canadian Exercise Frontier Sentinel 12 (EX FS12) formally kicked off with a live diving demonstration by the Royal Canadian Navy’s, Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic (FDUA), at the Sydney Marine Terminal, May 1. Led by Royal Canadian navy, Rear Adm. Dave Gardam, Canadian Joint Task Fo
The secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) visited Sailors and Marines assigned to amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18), while the ship was in Aqaba, Jordan, for a port visit, April 26. SECNAV Ray Mabus, was in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility as part of a regional tour to thank
Sailors aboard the guided-missile frigate USS Simpson (FFG 56) concluded their participation in exercise Saharan Express 2012 while underway off the coast of West Africa, April 30. Saharan Express, one of four express series exercises, focused on improving communications and building relationships o
In order to strengthen its knowledge and expertise regarding cyber threats, the Netherlands Defence organisation has joined the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. The official membership ceremony was held in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, on 24 April. The Netherlands is the eleve
An aircraft at the cutting edge of naval airpower will return to RNAS Yeovilton for its annual Air Day on 23 June. Living up to its name, the Dassault Rafale (‘Squall’, or ‘Hurricane’) will tear through the skies over this key Royal Naval Air Station. The Dassault Rafale M is the French Navy’s most
Fleet Base West has experienced a busy first half of 2012, with both HMAS Stirling and West based Fleet Units playing host to several high profile international visitors since January. April was particularly busy with a flurry of VIP visits to the West. The first was from the United States Secretary
