2,000 Tomahawks and counting
August 5th, 2011 | Combat Navy Norfolk Naval Station Photos Royal Navy Ships Submarines Tomahawk Video | Posted by Bill McMichael
The Navy today commemorated its 2,000th Tomahawk cruise missile combat launch during a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk aboard the destroyer Barry, which took part in the March air strikes on Libyan military facilities in support of U.N. Resolution 1973 and was credited with the 2,000th launch. Check this great pic of a launch from Barry the night the milestone was reached:
The destroyer Barry launches a Tomahawk missile in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn on March 19, 2011. This was one of approximately 110 cruise missiles fired from U.S. and British ships and submarines that targeted about 20 radar and anti-aircraft sites along Libya's Mediterranean coast. // U.S. Navy photo by Interior Communications Electrician Fireman Roderick Eubanks
We don’t know if that is THE 2,000th or not, but you get the idea. Even better: Check the video.
The commemoration honored the Barry crew members for their role in the milestone launch.
Tomahawks have been around for more than 30 years and have been used in every major U.S. combat operation since the first Gulf War in 1991. It can be launched from Navy ships and submarines, as well as Air Force bombers. It’s also used by the Royal Navy.
Here’s a Tomahawk close-up:
A Tomahawk cruise missile launches from the forward missile deck aboard the destroyer Farragut during a 2009 training exercise. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Leah Stiles
Home for Dad’s day
June 18th, 2011 | Ballistic missile defense Homecoming Libya Maritime operations Navy Norfolk Naval Station Personnel Photos Ships SURFLANT The Med Tomahawk | Posted by Bill McMichael
The destroyer Stout came home to Norfolk Saturday following a Med cruise in support of theater security operations and ballistic missile deterrence …
Tugboats move the destroyer Stout into its berth pierside at Naval Station Norfolk after returning from a six-month deployment to the Med. // U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW) Lolita Lewis
… and just in time for Father’s Day:
Fire Controlman 2nd Class (SW) Gary Richard greets his family and meets his newly adopted daughter for the first time after returning home from a six-month deployment onboard the destroyer Stout. // U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW) Lolita Lewis
Stout took part in the coalition strikes on Libyan forces that began in mid-March. Stout was the first ship on station and fired multiple salvos of Tomahawk cruise missiles at Libyan air defenses, surface-to-air sites and communications nodes, along with the destroyers Stout and Barry, the attack submarines Providence and Scranton and the guided missile submarine Florida, according to the Navy.
The crew also had to deal with the March 1 firings of its commanding officer and command master chief., and a junior officer, six chiefs and one petty officer were also kicked off the ship. The disciplines centered around what 6th Fleet called a “pervasive pattern of unprofessional behavior” among members of the ship’s crew related to misbehavior in Mediterranean liberty ports.
The Navy strikes
March 21st, 2011 | Aviation Libya Naval aviation Navy Odyssey Dawn Ships Submarines Tomahawk Video | Posted by Bill McMichael
Navy ships and subs launched a barrage of Tomahawk cruise missiles at Libyan air defenses Saturday, including this one, filmed by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Sunderman, leaping skyward out of the Norfolk-based destroyer Barry. The strikes, and subsequent bomb attacks by U.S., French and British aircraft, followed the March 17 passage of a U.N. resolution authorizing “all necessary measures” to protect civilians in Libya, particularly rebel fighters, being attacked by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s forces.
The coalition air strikes continued Sunday, with the Associated Press reporting that a line of Libyan tanks south of Benghazi were destroyed. Rebel forces had taken the city before coming under a withering counterattack by Libyan forces. AP also reported that a building in Gadhafi’s residential compound in Tripoli was destroyed late Sunday.
More on the other U.S. and coalition assets taking part in Operation Odyssey Dawn here.