The U.S. Navy’s first afloat forward staging base-interim, USS Ponce (AFSB-I), arrived in Bahrain for duty in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR), July 6. Prior to arriving in theater, Ponce, formerly designated as an amphibious transport dock (LPD), was converted and reclassified as an
USS Constitution and her crew got underway for her annual July 4th turnaround cruise in Boston Harbor, July 4. The cruise was Constitution’s second of 2012 and one of the last major events of Boston Navy Week, June 28-July 5. “There is simply no better way to celebrate Independence Day than being on
The guided missile frigate USS Carr (FFG 52) arrived in Santa Marta, Colombia, for their first Caribbean port visit, June 28, during their deployment in support of Operation Martillo. Carr visited Santa Marta following a month at sea conducting operations to counter transnational organized crime (CT
Guided-missile frigate USS Nicholas (FFG 47) with an embarked U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Law Enforcement Detachment Team (LEDET) employed airborne use of force (AUF) to stop a vessel suspected of transporting illegal drugs, June 19 in support of Operation Martillo. The interdiction operation recovered
HMNZS TE KAHA and HMNZS ENDEAVOUR sailed from Devonport Naval base at the beginning of June bound for Hawaii and Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC 2012), being conducted from 29 June to 3 August. Other units from the NZ Defence Force are also taking part in the exercise—the Operational Diving Team
Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo. has been awarded a $145,090,000 firm-fixed-price contract on June 29. The contract includes procurement of 34 harpoon missile bodies in addition to two encapsulated harpoon certification training vehicles, the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md being the contrac
The Maintenance department of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 12 completed its 18th phase inspection, June 26, allowing the squadron to maintain a 100 percent sortie completion rate while deployed with the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). A phase is an hours-based inspection of va
Sailors from guided-missile cruiser USS Cape St. George (CG 71) took part in a four-day training exercise with the royal navy destroyer HMS Daring (D32) that concluded June 7. The first event between the ships was a weapons exercise. Cape St. George delivered a firepower demonstration firing on seve
Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) are attending the first command indoctrination workshop of the ship’s maiden deployment. The command indoctrination workshop seeks to provide n newly reporting Sailors with a base-level of knowledge on the ship to allow for a suc
USS George Washington (CVN 73) arrived in Busan, Republic of Korea (ROK) June 27, for a port visit to foster relations with a longstanding ally of the United States. Welcomed on the pier by ROK military members and the ROK Navy Band, George Washington made its first port call of its 2012 patrol and
A Raytheon Company Standard Missile-3 Block IB fired on June 27 from the USS Lake Erie has destroyed another ballistic missile target. The test marks the 21st successful intercept for the SM-3 program, a critical piece of the United States’ Phased Adaptive Approach for missile defense. “Today’s flig
USS Constitution won the gold level 2012 President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) for community service at the ship’s berth in Charlestown, Mass., June 26. The PVSA is divided into three levels: bronze, silver and gold. Groups must volunteer a minimum of 1,000 hours of community service to qualify
Guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94) arrived in Victoria, Seychelles, for a port visit, June 24. The visit serves as an opportunity for the crew to relax after being at sea for more than a month. “The crew has been working hard, providing maritime security in a difficult area of the world to
The multinational training exercise FRUKUS 2012 began with an opening ceremony held at the Baltic Fleet Headquarters in Baltiysk, Russia, where participating senior leaders from France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States discussed the exercise objectives, June 25. Russian navy Vice Adm