Navy Surveys North Sea for Links to the Toughness of its Past
A multinational group of Sailors and scientists from a variety commands, organizations and militaries searched for the wreckage of Revolutionary War ship Bonhomme Richard, Sept. 2-9. Underwater archaeologists from the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC), Navy divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit(MDSU) 2, Sailors from Naval Oceanography Mine Warfare Center (NOMWC), Sailors from the French Mine Clearance Dive Unit (MCDU) and members from Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration (GFOE) embarked upon Military Sealift Command rescue and salvage ship USNS Grasp (T-ARS 51) to survey a late 18th or early 19th century-shipwreck off the coast of England in the North Sea.
Naval Oceanography Mine Warfare Center Established
The Navy established the Naval Oceanography Mine Warfare Center (NOMWC), Oct. 26, at Stennis Space Center (SSC) with Cmdr. Paul Oosterling as its first commanding officer. Oosterling is a native of Ontario, N.Y., and a graduate of Florida Institute of Technology, the Naval Postgraduate School, and the Naval War College. He was the executive officer of the Naval Oceanography Operations Command before he was named NOMWC Commanding Officer. NOMWC provides ongoing support for the Navy's mine warfare forces to neutralize threats and to allow for assured access of maritime assets. It also provides the Navy's mine warfare operators with access to products and services of the Naval Oceanographic Office, also located at SSC.
