United States Marine Corps News

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division on Saturday christened the U.S. Navy’s third America-class amphibious assault ship Bougainville (LHA 8).“Today is not only a day to celebrate our namesake, representatives of the successful outcome of a World War II campaign, but also the team work and collaboration of our United States Navy and Marine Corps that enabled it,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson said. “To fulfil our mission here in the shipyard, our sailors and Marines…

VT Halter in Pascagoula, MS has been on a strong run, capped by its winning the high-profile contract to build the U.S. Coast Guard’s next generation of icebreakers. Maritime Reporter recently spoke with Ron Baczkowski, President and CEO, VT Halter Marine, for insights on the shipyard’s recent success and future prospects. Globally, the shipbuilding industry has gone through some ‘interesting’ times of late. How has it looked from your perspective?The shipbuilding market and activity at VT Halter during the past 12 months has been dynamic.

Ask folks unfamiliar with the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) where it’s graduates can be found and they will likely tell you on a cargo ship plying the deep oceans, or in some exotic port on the far side of the globe. And they would be, for the most part correct. However, most don’t realize that no other federal service academy offers the career options of Kings Point. Yes, many graduates become ship’s officers at sea, and some take jobs ashore in the maritime and intermodal transportation field…

The fourth expeditionary sea base vessel, USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams, was delivered to the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) on February 22. Shipbuilder General Dynamics NASSCO began constructing the 784-foot-long ship in October 2015, applying lessons learned from ESB 3, USS Lewis B. Puller, throughout the ESB 4 build. The vessel, named after World War II Medal of Honor recipient Hershel “Woody” Williams, is designed to carry out various missions including air mine counter measures…

The Australian Defence Force Joint Task Group, Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2017, has completed the first international engagement activity of the deployment. HMAS Adelaide, one of the Royal Australian Navy’s Canberra class amphibious ships, reached the milestone after recently conducting aviation training with the USS Bonhomme Richard off the east coast of Australia. The training involved both the SH60S Seahawk helicopter and a United States Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor, with a focus on flight deck familiarisation for the United States Marine Corps aircrew and currency training for Adelaide’s aviation support sailors. Commander of the Joint Task Group…

Richard V. Spencer was officially sworn in as the 76th secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) August 3, at a ceremony conducted in the Pentagon by William O'Donnell, Department of the Navy administrative assistant. Spencer, a Connecticut native, graduated from Rollins College in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Upon Graduation he joined the United States Marine Corps and served as an H-46 pilot until 1981 before departing active duty to enter the private finance sector. He held…

Staff from Brisbane-based 1st Division/Deployable Joint Force Headquarters joined other Defence representatives for an amphibious force staff exercise in Townsville in October. Conducted by the Amphibious Task Group, the exercise provided an opportunity for personnel representing the key enablers of Australia’s amphibious capability to discuss the future. Joining in were personnel from HMA Ships Canberra, Adelaide and Choules, Army's Forces Command and 3rd Brigade, Director General – Land, Maritime Operations, 5th Aviation Regiment and Combat Training Centre. Colonel Terence Dunne, United States Marine Corps, who is posted to the Joint Force Headquarters and in charge of amphibious capability and development…

Organizers of this summer’s inaugural LA Fleet Week 2016 are in full planning mode for the week-long call of U.S. Navy ships on the LA Waterfront  in the days leading up to and including Labor Day Weekend. Friday September 2, through Monday September 5, big crowds are expected to converge at the Port of Los Angeles World Cruise Center for Naval vessel ship tours and a variety of exhibits and activities along the main channel that will bring together the public and more than 1,500 military personnel descending on the nation’s largest trade gateway for the end-of-summer celebration. Fleet Week is a United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard tradition in New York, San Francisco and a number of other port cities.

During a ceremony to honor women who served in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced an Arleigh-Burke class destroyer, DDG 123, will be named Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee. Higbee, the future ship's namesake, was a pioneering United States Navy chief nurse, who served as the Superintendent of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps during World War I and was the first female recipient of the Navy Cross. “It is a great honor to name this ship in recognition of Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee,” Mabus said.

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division marked the start of fabrication for the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) for the U.S. Navy. The start of fabrication signifies that 100 tons of steel have been cut. “This is a significant day for our shipbuilders and for the U.S. Navy as Ingalls once again begins fabrication of another destroyer,” said George Nungesser, Ingalls’ DDG 51 program manager. “We have delivered 28 of these ships to the U.S.

The Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) flagship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) celebrated the Navy’s 240th birthday Oct. 13, 2015. The Kearsarge ARG team is comprised of the multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), the amphibious dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51), the amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24), and embarked Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), which departed the U.S. on October 6, 2015. Kearsarge celebrated the event with 1MC announcements throughout the day, a cake cutting and singing during a ceremony aboard. The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (26th MEU) is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) entered U.S. 6th Fleet’s area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe March 3, 2015. While on deployment, Jason Dunham will interact with allied and partner nations, highlighting the U.S. commitment and emphasis of building strong partnerships and improving warfighting capability. It will also conduct several port visits and participate in a number of exercises while in U.S. 6th Fleet’s area of operation. The U.S. remains committed to maintaining a persistent presence in Europe. It looks forward to further commitments with its allies to ensure a coordinated and continuous land, air and sea presence in the region as part of the commitments made at the NATO Summit.

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) departed Naval Station Norfolk Nov. 21 for a deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR). The ship will conduct maritime security operations and provide theater security cooperation efforts within the AOR. Oscar Austin will deploy with ScanEagle, an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) designed to provide real-time, low-altitude reconnaissance. The crew recently participated in Baltic Operations 2014, a multinational exercise in the Baltic Sea. Exercise goals were to improve maritime safety and security through increased interoperability and cooperation among participating nations. "The crew has worked hard to prepare this ship for deployment," said Cmdr. Russel Sanchez, Oscar Austin's commanding officer.

More than 400 veterans attended a Military2Maritime career fair this week sponsored by the American Maritime Partnership (AMP), the voice of the domestic maritime industry. The event was hosted by the Port of Houston and is part of a national program to help connect the nation’s servicemen and women with jobs in the American maritime industry that support families and build communities. The domestic maritime industry’s goal is to provide the more than 720,000 servicemen and women out of work with an opportunity to maximize their professional strengths.

The charter of the Austal high speed vessel 'WestPac Express' has been extended for a further six months by the United States Navy’s Military Sealift Command. The modification to the charter will see the ship continue to support the operations of the United States Marine Corps’ Third Marine Expeditionary Force through to February 2014. The contract extension comes almost exactly 12 years after Austal announced it had signed a world first contract to charter the 101 metre high speed catamaran to the US military for the rapid deployment of Marines and their equipment in the Western Pacific.

Capt. Edward Lundquist, U.S. Navy (Ret.) talks with Vice Admiral Jerry Beaman, the commander of the U.S. THIRD Fleet, about the 2012 “Rim of the Pacific” (RIMPAC) multi-national fleet exercise. How has the Rim of the Pacific or “RIMPAC” exercised evolved to the current involvement of more than 20 nations? Our naval heritage and our tradition really began in the War of 1812. In February of 1813, the frigate USS Essex was the very first Navy ship to sail into the Pacific. Our young nation giving notice that we had as much right to the seas as anyone else.

The Army vessel reportedly struck an object and began taking on water in Chiniak Bay. A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter was launched with dewatering and rescue equipment, to assist the Army crew aboard the Monterrey, a landing craft with the 481st Transportation Company located in Vallejo, Calif. To keep the vessel from sinking, the Monterrey crew successfully beached the vessel on Puffin Island. The crew reported a breach in an 8,000-gallon fuel tank and Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Kodiak personnel responded. The Coast Guard has contracted Alaska Chadux Corporation to assist in containing and cleaning up the fuel leak. While only one fuel tank has been reported as damaged, the Monterrey is reportedly carrying up to 40,000 gallons of fuel on board.

Robert J. Flynn Elected Chairman of the Board. ADM Thad Allen and Clay Maitland among an impressive slate of of 11 others. The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that in accordance with its bylaws, a new slate of officers has been elected to serve on the Board of Trustees, beginning January 1, 2012. Robert J. Flynn was elected Chairman of the Board at the organization’s annual meeting in the fall. Joining Mr. Flynn as officers are Al J. Bernard, vice chairman; William E.

Huntington Ingalls Industries announced today that its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division has partnered with The Mariners' Museum to share the shipyard's history through a collection of 51 photographs. The exhibit, named "Always Good Ships," will be open to the public Aug. 6 through Oct. 31. "We are excited to partner with The Mariners' Museum to recognize our shipbuilders and the important role they play in our community and in the security of our nation," said Matt Mulherin, president of NNS.

MSHIP to Team with Huntington Ingalls Industries' subsidiary, AMSEC LLC. under U.S. Navy's SEAPORT-E Electronic Procurement Program. M Ship Co., LLC of San Diego, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded acceptance as a subcontractor of Huntington Ingalls Industries’ subsidiary, AMSEC LLC, under U.S. Navy’s SeaPort Enhanced (SeaPort-e) electronic procurement program providing naval architecture and marine engineering services. SeaPort-e enables electronic procurement of support services in 22 functional areas including engineering, financial management and program management. It provides a standardized, efficient means of soliciting offers from amongst the diverse population of large and small businesses and their approved team members.

Crowley Maritime Corp. announced today that it has named Ken Black director of product logistics and engineering. He will continue to be based in Jacksonville and report to Steve Collar, senior vice president and general manager, logistics. In this new position, Black has oversight for Crowley's product logistics team, which develops a wide array of logistics solutions for customers, in addition to managing pricing and vendor relations. He will maintain his previous responsibilities for the company's supply chain operations…

General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), on Saturday christened the U.S. Navy's newest supply ship, USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE 13). Named in honor of the African American civil rights leader from Mississippi, the USNS Medgar Evers is the 13th ship of a class of 14 dry cargo/ammunition ships designed and built by NASSCO. More than 1,000 people attended the Saturday morning christening ceremony for the USNS Medgar Evers at NASSCO's San Diego shipyard. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus was the ceremony's principal speaker.

Alion Awarded Navy Contract Valued at $4.6M to Analyze Naval Submarine and Surface Ship Survivability and Underwater Explosions Response. Technology Solutions Firm to Provide Engineering Support to Evaluate Fleet Survivability Under SeaPort Enhanced Contract. To help the Navy in determining the survivability and operational reliability of the fleet, Alion Science and Technology, an employee-owned technology solutions company, will analyze the effects of underwater explosions (UNDEX) on U.S. Navy platforms under a $4.6 million SeaPort Enhanced award. Alion’s team of experts will examine submarines, surface ships and associated platforms for the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division’s Survivability and Weapons Effect Department.