The European Union will remain fully engaged in Somalia: this is the message conveyed in the first week of February by the EU during a visit in Mogadishu by senior representatives operating under the EU Common Security and Defence Policy. For the first time, General Håkan Syrén, Chairman of the EU M
Four months to the day before the 68th anniversary of the landing at Normandy, the Navy and Marine Corps team conducted another historic amphibious operation. Exercise Bold Alligator 2012, the largest amphibious exercise in the past 10 years, culminated Feb. 6 with a D-Day landing on the beaches of
Sailors and Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) aboard amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) returned to the United States following a 10 1/2-month deployment when the ship pulled into Morehead City, N.C., Feb. 4. After offloading the embarked 22nd MEU Marines, W
Seaway Marine and Industrial Inc. (SMI) was awarded a $21.7 million contract to refit Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Athabaskan, one of the Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) three Iroquois-class destroyers. This contract supports more than 240 skilled workers in St. Catharines. “Today’s announcement i
Fleet Surgical Team (FST) 6 is currently underway with the medical team aboard USS Wasp (LHD 1) in support of Exercise Bold Alligator 2012. USS Wasp, like other large deck ships, often take on an extra medical component when getting underway for various operational and training events. FST-6, based
Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs) assigned to the 2nd Amphibious Assault Battalion, Delta Company, 1st and 2nd platoons, embarked the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) Feb. 2. The 11 vehicles will play a pivotal role in exercise Bold Alligator, the first large-scale amphibious operation unde
Commander, Naval Surface Forces, Vice Adm. Richard W. Hunt visited the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) Feb. 4 to talk with Sailors, Marines and coalition forces during Exercise Bold Alligator 2012. Hunt arrived via CH-46 as part of a tour of units participating in Bold Alligator, the l
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Feb 4 kicked off naval maneuvers near the Strait of Hormuz which is the key oil traffic route in the Persian Gulf. So far, Iran has not tried to block the strait which is the transit route for one fifth of world’s oil shipment. The US and allies said they […]
The first 13 days of January were busy ones for NATO’s counter piracy task force; they successfully stopped and disrupted three separate pirate groups from launching attacks on legitimate maritime traffic. In the first incident on Friday 6th January the USS CARNEY acting on intelligence from other c
Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) vehicles began ensuring amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) is fit to fight for Exercise Bold Alligator 2012, Feb. 2. The air-cushion hovercraft, which can carry more than a 60-ton payload, are heading from a beachhead in Little Creek, Va., to the open well dec
The forward-deployed dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42) pulled into Okinawa, Japan Feb. 2 to onload nearly 500 Marines assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and their equipment in preparation for exercise Cobra Gold. Cobra Gold is a regularly scheduled joint and coalition multi
Sri Lanka Navy accorded a 25-Gun Salute to the Nation today (04th February 2012) at the Light House premises in Colombo Fort at 12.00 p.m. to mark the 64th Independence Day. The traditional 25-Gun Salute, the highest of its kind, is accorded by the Sri Lanka Navy to the Nation on the Independence Da
Pacific Fleet (PF) task unit headed by Capt 1 rank Andrei Saprykin and consisting of large ASW ship Admiral Panteleyev, tanker Boris Butoma, and salvage tug Fotiy Krylov deployed in the Pacific has finished formal call at Philippines on Feb 3. Through the 4-day visit to Philippines’ capital city Man
Exercise Bold Alligator 2012 is in full swing and Sailors from Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 4 are playing a vital role in getting Marines and their equipment where they need to be. Bold Alligator is the largest amphibious exercise in 10 years and includes elements from Expeditionary Strike Group 2, the