Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON)(SS/SW) Rick D. West released the following holiday message to the Fleet Dec. 12. “Shipmates and Navy families, Can you believe another year is almost over? It’s amazing how quickly time passes when you’re staying busy! It seems we were kicking off 2011
The Missile Defense Agency awarded Raytheon Company a $241 million contract modification for continued engineering design and development work on the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA. The SM-3 Block IIA is a co-development effort between the U.S. and Japan and the cornerstone of phase three of the admin
NATO warship USS De Wert prevented a suspected pirate dhow from engaging in acts of piracy and forced it back to the Somali coast making further acts of piracy impossible at this time. While engaged in a replenishment at sea, USS De Wert received intelligence reports that a dhow acting suspiciously
Hospital corpsmen assigned to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) conducted combat stress training Dec. 9 while deployed aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18) as the ship conducted operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR). The training required
Guided-missile cruiser USS Anzio (CG 68) returned to its homeport of Norfolk, Va., Dec. 10, after completing a seven-month deployment in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility (AOR). The first Sailor off the ship was Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Simon Johns, winner of the “First Kiss”
Guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57) returned to Naval Station Norfolk, Va., Dec. 10, after a seven-month deployment to the U.S. 5th and 6th areas of responsibility. While in theater, Mitscher conducted maritime security operations and security cooperation efforts, and supported Operations
DRS Laurel Technologies has been subcontracted to provide the U.S. Navy with submarine combat and sonar systems. The systems will be designed around commercially available hardware and software. The five-year, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity subcontract from Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Navy
BAE Systems, Rockville, Md., is being awarded a $58,238,299 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee contract to provide Systems Engineering Integration support for the TRIDENT II (D5) Strategic Weapon System (SWS) Program and the SSGN Attack Weapon System (AWS) Program and Ohio Replacement Prog
Nearly 6,000 Sailors aboard the ships of the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (GHWB CSG) returned to their homeport in Norfolk Dec. 10, following a seven-month deployment supporting operations with the U.S. Navy’s 5th and 6th fleets. Commanded by Capt. Brian Luther, USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77
The Navy successfully concluded its final alternative fuel demonstration for the year today with the Dec. 7-9 operational tests of the 50/50 algae-derived, hydro-processed algal oil and petroleum F-76 blend in a landing craft air cushion (LCAC) amphibious transport vehicle. The tests also marked the
Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., Hurst, Texas, is being awarded an $85,201,239 cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the software upgrades in support of the H-1 Upgrade Program. This contract includes design, development, studies, and implementatio
More than 600 new light emitting diode (LED) lighting fixtures were installed on USS Chafee (DDG 90) during the ship’s recently completed availability, providing the ship with longer-lasting lights that use less electric power than the replaced incandescent and fluorescent light fixtures. The new fi
A ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor took place Dec. 7 aboard amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) as the ship conducted operations in the western Pacific Ocean. Hundreds of Makin Island Sailors and Marines from 11th Marine E
The forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) returned to Sasebo, Japan Dec. 8 after completing a two-and-a-half month patrol of the Western Pacific. Throughout the patrol, Essex Sailors along with the embarked Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) participated in two
