March 2014 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 9.
USS Taylor Runs Aground While Moor- ing in Turkey
United States Navy News
From Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Eu- rope-Africa/U.S.6th Fleet Public Affairs SAMSUN, Turkey (NNS) -- The May- port-based frigate USS Taylor (FFG 50) is being inspected for damage after running aground Feb. 12.
The incident occurred as Taylor was preparing to moor in Samsun, Turkey. Taylor was able to moor without further incident.
There were no reported injuries, and the incident is currently under investigation. Additional information will be released as it becomes available. Taylor is currently supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the Black Sea to establish and enhance cooperation, mutual training and interoperability with regional partner nations and allies. Taylor is currently on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations.
Keel Authenticated for 11th Littoral Combat Ship, the future Sioux City From PEO LCS Public Affairs
MARINETTE, Wis. (NNS) -- The Navy and Lockheed Martin, with Marinette Marine Corp., held a keel laying ceremony Feb. 19, for the future USS Sioux City (LCS 11), the Navy’s 11th littoral combat ship (LCS). The keel-laying ceremony recognizes
the fi rst joining together of a ship’s compo- nents. While modern shipbuilding processes allow advanced fabrication of individual modules, laying the keel represents the formal beginning in the life of a ship. LCS 11 is the fi rst Navy ship to be named after Sioux City, Iowa.
Ship sponsor Mary Winnefeld, wife of
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral James “Sandy” Winnefeld, Jr., authenticated the keel by having her initials welded into a sheet of the ship’s hull. “I’m both honored and delighted to be back in my home state of Wisconsin as the sponsor of Sioux City,” said Mrs. Winnefeld. “It’s been a real privilege to meet the great Americans who are building this versatile ship, and I thank them in advance for their quality work. I look forward to meeting her crew soon, being part of her family, and bringing our ship to life when she’s com- missioned.”
LCS is a high-speed, agile, shallow draft, mission-focused surface warship designed for operations in the littoral, or coastal, environment (within 300 nautical miles of land), yet fully capable of open ocean operations. Sioux City is one of four Freedom-variant LCS currently under con- struction at Marinette Marine. The ship is expected to deliver to the fl eet in 2017. “We are acknowledging an important milestone in the life of the newest Littoral Combat Ship, and we are also celebrating a monumental leap forward in the strength, capability, and fl exibility of the Navy’s future Surface Fleet. LCS 11 and the entire LCS Class are truly without precedent in our national defense arsenal -- breaking new ground in Navy acquisition, ship design, and warfi ghting technology,” said Capt. Tom Anderson, LCS program manager. The Navy is committed to the LCS pro- gram and is leveraging competition, fi xed- price contracting and ongoing production to reduce construction time and costs. Lessons learned from the lead ships have been incor- porated in the follow on ships.
PEO LCS is responsible for delivering and sustaining credible littoral mission capabilities to the fl eet and is working with industry to achieve steady production to increase production effi ciencies and lever- age cost savings. Delivering high-quality warfi ghting assets while balancing afford- ability and capability is key to supporting the nation’s maritime strategy.
America’s Sea-Going Force Returns to Amphibious Roots
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class John Scorza
Pascagoula, Miss. (NNS) -- After more than a decade of fi ghting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Marine Corps is retooling and repo- sitioning itself back to its traditional role of operating with agility from the sea. Instead of training almost exclusively to
fi ght enemies deep inland, the new genera- tion of Marine is preparing for roles ranging from conventional warfi ghting, air assault and humanitarian assistance missions. Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) America (LHA 6) is a new amphibious assault platform specifi cally designed for the Marine Corps in order to reposition and effectively return Marines to their roots as a sea-going force. The ship is in the fi nal stages of construction in Pascagoula, Miss.
Commercial & Recreational Marine Suppliers
USCG Safety Inspection Station Mooring Supplies
Polyform US Fenders & Floats Areas Largest Rope Supplier Revere Liferafts Trawl Netting
Sports Netting for Golf/Baseball Offices in Rockland, Camden, Belfast and Southwest Harbor. Personal Service | Experienced Team | Client-Centered Solutions | On Land or at Sea
AllenIF.com/marine (800)439-4311 Waterfront News
USS TAYLOR grounds while preparing to moor in Samsun, Turkey.
The ship’s mission will be to embark, trans- port, control, insert, sustain and extract ele- ments of Marine air-ground task forces, and support forces by helicopters and tilt-rotor aircraft. The fi rst America-class ship is designed to support a variety of fi xed and rotary-wing aircraft consisting of the MV-22B Osprey, F-35B Joint Strike Fighter, AV-8B Harrier II, CH-53D/E Sea Stallion helicopters, CH-46D/E Sea Knight helicopters, AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters and U.S. Navy MH- 60S/R helicopters.
This multi-mission assortment of air- craft will bring new mission capabilities to the fl eet. The realignment and expansion of the aviation maintenance facilities provides more room for aircraft parts and increased aviation fuel capacity. In addition, the ship’s enlarged hangar bay offers more room for aircraft, making the ship perfect for avia- tion-centric missions. “The America was designed for 19 additional [aviation maintenance] spaces,” said Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jesse Ramirez.
“I don’t believe the impact of the ship’s design will really be felt until the full-blown aviation combat element comes aboard and those maintainers look back and say, ‘It was so much easier to keep [more] aircraft up and functional vice other [amphibious ships] with the limited amount of maintenance spaces.’”
Ramirez said that with the addition of these spaces on PCU America, the expecta- tion will be to keep more aircraft service- able, as well as implement faster turn-around times when performing maintenance. For Marine Chief Warrant Offi cer 4 Shane Duhe, PCU America’s combat cargo offi cer, he sees PCU America as an oppor- tunity for the Marine Corps to concentrate more on a wide-spectrum of amphibious operations.
“It is important to the Marine Corps, as we downsize our force, that we focus on amphibious [capability],” said Duhe. “We need to ‘right-size’ our force and our
Continued on Page 20. Owner,Vessel,Fleet orCrew | Serving Maine people and their boats since 1866. Marine Insurance
1-800-IMP-8865 NEW BEDFORD, MA 02740
44 SOUTH STREET
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32