Not-so-fair winds at farewell
January 17th, 2012 | Deployment Life at Sea Maritime operations Navy Norfolk Naval Station Photos Surface Force Atlantic | Posted by Bill McMichael
The temperature would rise to near 60 in Hampton Roads Tuesday, but winds gusting to 37 mph made it feel 45ish — and it always feels colder down at the Naval Station Norfolk waterfront, where the frigate Nicholas left around 10 a.m.
How windy was it? The line handlers had to go hatless:
Line handlers aboard the frigate Nicholas pull up the mooring lines as the ship prepared to depart Naval Station Norfolk for a regularly scheduled deployment to South America. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kayla Jo Finley
The chop also made for a tricky getaway:
A tugboat assists the frigate Nicholas as it departs Naval Station Norfolk Tuesday. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kayla Jo Finley
And off they went:
Family members watch as the frigate Nicholas heads out to sea. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kayla Jo Finley
Nicholas will be joining other U.S. and partner-nation ships in support of Navy Maritime Interception Operations, according to Naval Surface Force Atlantic.
Haze gray in Charm City
November 16th, 2011 | Community relations Historical Navy Photos Ships Surface Force Atlantic War of 1812 | Posted by Bill McMichael
Next year marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, and the Navy is helping the state of Maryland kick off its multi-year commemoration with a two-ship visit to Baltimore’s beautiful Inner Harbor. The war with Great Britain that gave us the Star-Spangled Banner and “Don’t give up the ship!” was declared on June 18, 1812, and lasted another 2 1/2 years.
Two patrol coastals, Hurricane and Monsoon, arrived at Baltimore's Inner Harbor Tuesday morning. The two ships are in town to take part in Maryland's Star-Spangled Bicentennial Launch, slated for Wednesday morning. // U.S. Navy photo
The Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard will be marking the bicentennial through 2015 with week-long events, parades of sail, public visits and numerous other community relations activities in Baltimore, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Boston, and the Great Lakes ports of Milwaukee, Chicago, Toledo, Cleveland, Detroit and Buffalo, according to Naval Surface Force Atlantic.
The kickoff ceremony will be held Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in Baltimore’s Bicentennial Plaza.
McFaul’s new chiefs beat the crowd
September 15th, 2011 | Chiefs leadership Navy Photos Pinning Promotion Surface Force Atlantic Traditions | Posted by Bill McMichael
The Norfolk-based destroyer McFaul broke ranks Thursday and pinned its five new chief petty officers day earlier than the rest of the Navy. There was a good reason for that.
Sailors aboard the guided missile destroyer McFaul gather on the ship's flight deck for their chief petty officer pinning ceremony Sept. 15. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kayla Jo Finley
McFaul did so to accommodate a scheduled deployment. So even when a short-notice delay changed that deployment date, the ship held the ceremony so as not to exclude family members who’d traveled to take in the rich tradition.
Chief Logistics Specialist (AW/SW) Tamika Tillman receives her chief's cover during the destroyer McFaul's chief petty officer pinning ceremony. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kayla Jo Finley
“It was very important to have my family here with me today,” said Chief Logistics Specialist (AW/SW) Tamika Tillman. “I can’t even describe what it means to have them present.” Tillman was pinned by her daughter, son, fiancé, fiancé’s grandparents and her best friend of 17 years.
Also entering the McFaul Chief’s Mess Thursday were Chief Engineman Christopher Brown, Chief Fire Controlman Daniel Chenowitz, Chief Sonar Technician Surface Johnny Nichols and Chief Fire Controlman Corey Stowe.
Command Master Chief (SW/SCW) Dianne Lohner shared the importance of the day and welcomed the new chiefs to the mess.
“Today, without a doubt, is one of the most important days in a sailor’s life,” said Lohner. “This is a day they will never forget. Every year we are taken back to the day we were promoted. It is always an emotional day pinning our sailors.”
Command Master Chief (SW/SCW) Dianne Lohner grants "permission to enter the mess" to the newly-pinned chiefs aboard the destroyer McFaul. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kayla Jo Finley
Our hearty congratulations to the new McFaul chiefs, and to new chief petty officers everywhere.
San Antonio: still pierside — but getting there
March 23rd, 2011 | Board of Inspection and Survey Fleet Forces Command Gator Navy LPD-17 Maintenance Navy Photos San Antonio class Ships Surface Force Atlantic | Posted by Bill McMichael
The amphibious transport dock Mesa Verde left its Naval Station Norfolk pier at 9:05 Wednesday morning as the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group began deploying to the Med and the Libya crisis.
As it pulled away, its wake gently lapped up against the starboard-side hull of San Antonio, moored at the next pier over, in what amounted to a love tap. Mesa Verde’s crew might have preferred delivering more of a kick in the rear. The third ship in the class, Mesa Verde had been home only eight months since its last overseas deployment, and it wasn’t supposed to deploy until late 2012. Instead, it was going to sea more than a year earlier than planned in the place of San Antonio — the class’s lead ship. Commissioned in 2006 and plagued by structural and systemic issues during its maiden and only deployment in 2008-2009, it is still getting undergoing repairs.
The amphibious transport dock San Antonio, Naval Station Norfolk, March 23, 2011. // Camera phone photo by William H. McMichael
But there’s light on the horizon. According to the ship’s executive officer, Cmdr. Neil Koprowski, San Antonio is rounding into shape and on April 25 will go to sea for three weeks of intensive sea trials. Koprowski said it’ll be a “full assessment — soup to nuts” — with high visibility. One visitor, he said, will be Adm. John Harvey, commander of Fleet Forces Command, who made the call to hold San Antonio back.
If the ship passes muster, it’ll begin a 20-week basic training phase in preparation for getting back into the fleet’s rotation. Then, in October, another test: a visit from the famously tough Board of Inspection and Survey.
Koprowski, nine months into the job, is optimistic. “We’re excited about getting back out there and showing the world … we’re gonna do good things,” he said.
A new San Antonio-class ship that’s ready to fight
February 16th, 2011 | Board of Inspection and Survey LPD-17 Maintenance Navy Photos Surface Force Atlantic | Posted by Bill McMichael
It took the Navy just five tries to get it right the first time — at least, when it comes to San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships. Naval Surface Force Atlantic announced Monday that the New York successfully completed its post-commissioning Final Contract Trials Feb. 4.
CORRECTION: SURFLANT incorrectly first reported that the New York is the first of the five ships of the LPD-17 class to be certified for sustained combat operations on its first such evaluation. Rather, SURFLANT says, the ship produced the highest score during the FTC process of all previous San Antonio-class ships.
The class has been plagued with problems ever since its first, the San Antonio, was commissioned in January 2006. Five years and one long-delayed yet mechanically challenged deployment later, the San Antonio remains moored at Norfolk Naval Station, undergoing main propulsion diesel engine repairs and other work, according to Naval Sea Systems Command; the problems are such that the ship was bumped out of the rotation for a scheduled summer 2011 deployment. The first four ships of the class struggled with lube oil contamination and in late 2009 — just after commissioning — a bent crankshaft was found on one of the New York’s four diesel engines.
For the New York, those problems are apparently in the past, with the ship’s major systems having passed muster — after the delay for crankshaft repairs — with the infamously tough Board of Inspection and Survey. FTC inspections begin with two days of in-port checks followed by two days of underway checks including a full-power engine run, steering checks and a ship self-defense exercise.
The ship having “scored the highest” of all other LPD-17 ships on the FCT doesn’t come as much of a surprise, given the class’s history. Still, officials were pleased.
“Completing FCT the first time out has set a new standard for the class,” said Cmdr. Curt Jones, the ship’s commanding officer. “It’s a testament to the progress made and a rise in the level of technical knowledge in the class.”