After two years in a command that encompassed four Anzac class frigates, Commander Matthew Doornbos handed over command of HMAS Anzac to Commander Belinda Wood at a ceremony held alongside Sydney’s Fleet Base East last week. Commander Doornbos took command of HMAS Ballarat in November 2012, and has
The U.S. Navy completed an MQ-8B Fire Scout demonstration aboard U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Bertholf (WMSL 750) on Dec. 12 as part of the Coast Guard’s ongoing efforts to assess the potential for future unmanned air system (UAS) operations from the 418-foot National Security Cutter class. The 1
Birkenhead (Liverpool City Region UK) shipyard and marine engineering services provider Cammell Laird is completing a £49.5m refit of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Fort Victoria. The massive 10-month refit is the biggest ever undertaken by the yard since it began its through life support ‘cluster’
Leadership from Navy Expeditionary Forces Command Pacific (Commander, Task Force 75), Naval Special Warfare and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5 toured littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) while the ship stopped to refuel in Guam en route to Southeast Asia, Dec. 11. With an eye towar
Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO) Adm. Michelle Howard visited Naval Air Station (NAS) Key West and conducted an all-hands call, Dec. 15. During Howard’s visit, she toured annexes, received a first-hand look at on-base housing provided by Balfour Beatty Communities and addressed Sailors and Coas
Babcock, in association with Raytheon, is to deliver four Phalanx 1B kits and convert four land Phalanx Weapons Systems to their original marinised configuration to provide naval Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS) capability (the UK’s primary defence for ships against anti-ship missiles), under a contra
The Deputy Commander of Allied Land Command (LANDCOM), Lieutenant General Ed Davis, CBE, visited the NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) to meet with the MARCOM Command Group to discuss coordination of joint operations between the two NATO components and exchange views on areas of common ongoing e
On Monday 15 December, during her port visit to Djibouti, EU Naval Force warship ESPS Rayo conducted Local Maritime Capacity Building (LMCB) training in support of and in coordination with, the EU maritime capacity building mission, EU CAP Nestor. The training began with a briefing on board ESPS Ray
The Fleet Flagship of the Royal Navy, HMS Bulwark, returned to her base port of Plymouth on 15 December from its amphibious and diplomacy deployment. After four months deployed to the Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf on the amphibious exercise Cougar 14, the vessel docked in Devonport Naval Base. HMS
Rear Admiral Pakorn Wanich, the Commander of Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) visited senior leadership in Djibouti on 9 December 2014, building on existing relationships to cement and reinforce the bonds between the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) and the north African country. During his visit to
Leaders of the U.S. and British navies agreed on a shared vision for closer cooperation Dec. 11, the culmination of a yearlong effort that will build on a long-standing maritime partnership over the next 15 years. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert and his counterpart in the United Kin
Fire Controlman 2nd Class Mathew Vogel, left, from Bolton, Mo., and Operations Specialist Seaman Ryan Larson, from Bothell, Wash., fire a .50-caliber machine gun at simulated targets during a small-craft attack team exercise aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67). Cole is conducting n
On 5 December 2014, the French frigate Guépratte sailed out of the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, ready and willing to support Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) counter-terrorism operations under Canadian-led Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150). For this mission, Guépratte’s crew have four goals: gathering
The Head of the Lebanese Navy, Rear Admiral Nazih J’baily, was welcomed to the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) headquarters in Bahrain by Commodore Keith Blount OBE Royal Navy on 11 December 2014. Rear Admiral J’baily took the opportunity presented by the visit to attend the CMF morning briefing, whe
