|
[Stratpost]
A line of MV-22 Osprey aircraft from Marine Medium Tilt-Rotor Squadron 266 arrives at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, Sept. 10, 2010. The squadron is deployed aboard USS Kearsarge, which is en route to provide relief to flood-stricken regions of Pakistan. US Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. WASHINGTON: The US Navy has chosen the first submarines that will carry women among the crew Bangor, Wash. The Navy announced earlier this year that it was lifting the ban on women serving aboard subs, the last warships with all-male crews. Twenty-four women were chosen for training this summer and are expected to join their ships by the end of next year. They will serve in teams of three or four, all sharing a stateroom. The lone bathroom for officers will bear a reversible sign - letting men know it's in use by women and vice versa. WASHINGTON: Giving up smoking may be a New Year's resolution for some, but all US sailors will now have to follow suit, as the US Navy moves to ban its crews from smoking aboard submarines starting on Friday. In a country where fights against Big Tobacco are common, troops deprived of fresh air and natural light for months were surprisingly allowed to smoke in submerged submarines. But no more, after a Pentagon study found the risks of second-hand smoke were severe in those highly confined spaces. Submarine Forces Commander Vice Admiral John Donnelly ordered the ban aboard 73 US subs, citing health concerns. "Our sailors are our most important asset to accomplishing our missions," he said in announcing the measure in April. "Recent testing has proven that, despite our atmosphere purification technology, there are unacceptable levels of secondhand smoke in the atmosphere of a submerged submarine. The only way to eliminate risk to our non-smoking sailors is to stop smoking aboard our submarines. [PIB] Indian Navy's Divers will commence exercises with US Navy divers in a Joint Salvage Exercise off Port Blair in the Andaman Sea. The Salvage Exercises (SALVEX) is being conducted from 05 to 12 Jan 2011. INS Nireekshak, the diving tender of the Indian Navy and USS Safeguard, a specialised Salvage ship are the ships participating in the exercise. The aim of the exercise is to strengthen capability in niche techniques associated with diving and salvage. In the course of the seven day exercise various specialist salvage techniques will be practiced jointly by the IN and USN divers. Amongst the notable salvage techniques being demonstrated are; operation of underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and side scan SONARs being launched from USS Safeguard, and demonstration of Hot Tap Equipment. Hot Tap Equipment is a special equipment used for removal of oil/fuel from tanks of sunken vessels. During the SALVEX the divers will also hone their salvage skills on a 'Mud Monster', a pontoon specially built and sunk to practice salvage and diving exercises. [Stratpost]
Tim Alexander, Program Manager, International Weapons Programs, Boeing Defense, Space and Security. Photo: Shashanka Nanda/StratPost US defense and aerospace company Boeing is to start building the the air-to-surface Harpoon missiles ordered by the Indian Air Force (IAF) for their Jaguar maritime patrol aircraft. Tim Alexander, Program Manager, International Weapons Programs for Boeing Defense, Space and Security told StratPost in mid-February, “We will start that work from within Boeing – the design aspects and our engineering staff will work it. We may not have a finalized contract by then but we will have a funding source,” adding, “They (US government) can give us money to start the work. Regardless of the final concluded contract. So we’re going to start work very soon – maybe by the end of this month or early next month. WASHINGTON: The US Navy intercepted a North Korean ship suspected of carrying missile technology to Myanmar and after dramatic stand-off forced it to turn back, according to a report of The New York Times. Pyongyang was forced to recall the ship home after last month's confrontation, which involved several days of diplomatic wrangling, the newspaper said in its report late Sunday, citing unnamed US officials. The US government made no official announcement about the operation, the paper added. But it said US officials had described the episode as an example of how they can use a combination of naval power and diplomatic pressure to enforce UN sanctions imposed on North Korea after its 2009 nuclear test. "This case had an interesting wrinkle: the ship was North Korean, but it was flagged in Belize," one US official told The Times. And the authorities in Belize gave permission to the United States to inspect the ship, according to the report. On May 26, somewhere south of Shanghai, the US destroyer McCampbell caught up with the cargo ship M/V Light and hailed it, asking to board the vessel under the authority given by Belize, The Times wrote. DUBAI: The US Navy says it has rescued an Iranian merchant seaman and recovered the bodies of three others after their boat capsized during rough weather in the Gulf. US Navy vessels and helicopters called off the search today for two remaining members of the Iranian crew because of harsh conditions, including 30-knot winds and waves up to eight feet (2 1/2 meters), that made chances of survival slim. The Navy says it launched the rescue mission yesterday after spotting a life raft with one survivor, who said their boat went down late Friday. The bodies of three crew members were later found. The Navy says the survivor was transferred to an Iranian coast guard vessel yesterday. The US Navy's 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain. CAMP SMITH (HAWAII) - The commander of NATO-led operations that helped Libyan rebels overthrow Moammar Gadhafi took over Friday as the top US military commander in Asia and the Pacific. Adm. Samuel Locklear's new role with the US Pacific Command comes as the U.S. places more emphasis on its military presence in the region in response to the area's growing economic importance and China's rise as a military power. The Pacific Command is responsible for an area stretching from the U.S. West Coast to India. It oversees some 325,000 military and civilian personnel - about one-fifth of the military's payroll. America's future depends on the peace and prosperity of Asia and the Pacific, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told the crowd at Friday's ceremony, at which Locklear assumed command from Adm. Robert Willard. "When I look across the world to the threats and challenges that we face as a nation - from terrorism, natural disasters, proliferation of weapons of nuclear destruction, to rogue nations and the rising powers of the Pacific - this region has most of those threats here," Panetta said. VIRGINIA BEACH: A US Navy jet crashed on Friday into an apartment building in Virginia and both pilots ejected, the Navy and media reports said. DUBAI: The US Navy says it has deployed a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf amid rising tensions with Iran over its nuclear program. Cmdr. Amy Derrick-Frost of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said on Monday that the deployment of the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise along the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group marks only the fourth time in the past decade that the Navy has had two aircraft carriers operating at the same time in the region. Derrick-Frost says the two carriers will support the American military operations in Afghanistan and anti-piracy efforts off Somalia's coast and in the Gulf of Aden. The battleships will also patrol the Gulf's strategic oil routes that Iran has threatened to shut down in retaliation for economic sanctions. |
