Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek News

Founded as the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) and renamed Military Sealift Command in 1970, MSC today not only support the Navy, but we are the Department of Defense's provider of all sealift. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News recently interviewed Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, U.S. Navy, for insights on the service today and it’s needs to grow in the future.What makes MSC so vital to the Navy’s fleet and our military forces around the world?When we  look at the history of contested logistics in World War II…

Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship namesake, USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) held a decommissioning ceremony at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Va. on July 22 before its inactivation next month.The ship’s decommissioning ceremony was held on the quay wall, alongside the moored USS Whidbey Island. The ceremony was attended by nine of her previous Commanding Officers and over 50 plankowners. “The last crew of Whidbey Island performed with great dignity and resiliency,” said Cmdr. Matt Phillips, the ship’s final commanding officer.

Preparations underway all along the Eastern Seaboard. As Hurricane Florence threatens a wide swath of the U.S. East Coast, the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard are taking no chances as the dangerous storm advances westward. As that happens, most Navy ships are departing ports in Virginia. As many as 30 vessels from Naval Station Norfolk and Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek on Monday. Following close behind, the Coast Guard’s medium endurance cutter Bear could also be seen heading for sea.As all Navy installations in the Hampton Roads area were making preparations for the storm’s possible arrival, further south in North Carolina, commercial ports were making similar arrangements.

The U.S. Navy’s joint high-speed vessel USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) delivered wheelchairs and medical supplies to Ghanaian non-governmental organizations March 26, 2015. The materials were delivered under the U.S. Navy’s Project Handclasp program, which accepts humanitarian, educational and goodwill donations, contributed by the American private sector, and transports them to foreign nations on a space-available basis aboard U.S. Navy vessels. Spearhead delivered 168 of these three-wheeled, hand-cranked wheelchairs, with 154 being adult sized and 14 being for children. The shipment weighed more than 15,600 pounds, with an estimated total worth of $42,000. The humanitarian items are from charities in the United States.

The U.S. Navy completed tests on the GhostSwimmer unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story (JEBLC-FS), Dec. 11. GhostSwimmer is the latest in a series of science-fiction-turned-reality projects developed by the chief of naval operations' Rapid Innovation Cell (CRIC) project, Silent NEMO, an experiment that explores the possible uses for biomimetic, unmanned underwater vehicles in the fleet. Over the past several weeks, Boston Engineering's tuna-sized device has been gathering data at JEBLC-FS on tides…

Dec. 7, 1941 is a day that America will never forget. Claiming more than 2,400 American lives, 21 ships sunk or damaged, and more than 300 aircraft lost, the attack on Pearl Harbor goes down as one of the worst attacks on American soil. The Japanese attack came in two waves. During the first wave, six Japanese carriers launched 181 planes carrying torpedo bombers, dive bombers, horizontal bombers and fighters. Only 30 minutes later 170 more aircraft launched their attack on the Harbor. The U.S. was able to repair all but three of the ships sunk or damaged. The three ships that were beyond repair were USS Arizona (BB-39), USS Oklahoma (BB-37), and USS Utah (AG-16). This year marks the 73rd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Chief of Naval Personnel (CNP) Vice Adm. Bill Moran visited Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Sailors during an all hands call on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Oct. 21. Moran discussed a variety of topics, including enlisted retention boards, retirement, and compensation. "I don't often get to see and talk with NSW Sailors for a lot of reasons, mostly because you're always deployed," Moran said. One of the topics Moran addressed was Sailors' concerns about the possibility of another enlisted retention board (ERB). The ERB was a manpower reduction tool that resulted in a force reduction of nearly 3,000 Sailors in 2011. Moran said, "We didn't do a very good job communicating about the ERB and the program was not executed very well.

Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous marked its official arrival at its new homeport at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia Beach, Friday. Vigorous is the first of two Medium Endurance Cutters from Cape May, New Jersey to be relocated to Little Creek. The Coast Guard Cutter Dependable is scheduled to arrive in 2015. “Cape May was a wonderful home for Vigorous over the past 21 years and we thank the community for its steadfast support,” said Cmdr. Terry Johns, Vigorous commanding officer.

The U.S. Navy informs that its first -in-class joint high-speed vessel USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) has left the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations, after more than three months of operating in the European and African theaters. "I am extremely proud of the work Spearhead has achieved in theater, primarily for her efforts in supporting Africa Partnership Station and the pillars that program represents," said Vice Adm. Phil Davidson, commander, U.S. 6th Fleet, who recently visited the ship during a port visit in Gabon. "I commend the Sailors and civilians who performed superbly over the course of their work here in U.S. 6th Fleet. Since entering the theater in late January…

Registration for the Multi-Agency Craft Conference (MACC) 2014 will open at 12:00 EDT on Thursday, April 3. To comply with new government regulations for access to military installations, there are certain pieces of information ASNE will require when an individual registers. Everyone wishing to attend MACC 2014 in any capacity - from exhibitors to attendees to presenters - must register. The registration rate for attendees and exhibit personnel is $235. ASNE offers complimentary registration for active-duty military and government employees (non-contractors). Exhibiting companies will receive two complimentary registrations per exhibit space purchased. •    U.S. •    U.S. •    U.S.

The Navy's first joint high-speed vessel departed Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Ft. Story today on its maiden deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet Area of Responsibility. USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) is expected to remain in U.S. 6th Fleet until May 2014 and sail to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility through the end of fiscal year 2014. While deployed, the ship will undergo planned experimentation and testing to determine the ship's capabilities. "The JHSV ship class will play an important part in the future of our joint forces in terms of affordability…

The U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy are scheduled to remove two buoys from the Chic's Beach and Oceanview areas of Virginia Beach and Norfolk, Tuesday. The buoy removal at Chic's Beach is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and the removal at Oceanview is scheduled to follow. The buoys washed ashore during recent storms that passed through Hampton Roads. Navy assets from Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek will tow the buoys off the beach and back into the Chesapeake Bay, where a crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Frank Drew will hoist them aboard, assess them for damage and then return the buoys to their assigned navigational positions. The Coast Guard Cutter Frank Drew is a 175-foot Coastal Buoy Tender homeported in Portsmouth. uscg.mil

Four Sailors from USS Bataan (LHD 5) and three civilian instructors from the Center for Security Forces were injured aboard a rigid hull inflatable boat when it collided with USNS Big Horn (T-AO 198) during a small boat training exercise near Thimble Shoals Channel, off the coast of Hampton Roads, Va. The exercise was being conducted in support of the Amphibious Ready Group/Marine Expeditionary Unit (ARG/MEU) Visit, Board, Search & Seizure (VBSS) Boat Crew Course. Six injured personnel were transported by ambulance to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital.

Military Sealift Command's (MSC) joint high-speed vessel, USNS 'Spearhead' visits the Port of St. Petersburg, FLA. U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, Mayor Bill Foster and other distinguished visitors from St. Petersburg joined Navy Chief of Information Rear Adm. John Kirby, Capt. Sam Norton, commander, MSC Atlantic, and Capt. Doug Casavant, the ship's civil service master, during an arrival ceremony in honor of the ship, its crew and the Navy. The three-day port call is primarily a working visit and an opportunity for senior officials and military personnel from U.S. Central Command and U.S.

The Stiletto Maritime Demonstration Program conducted its first Capability Demonstration, Jan. 14-27. The initial demonstration was hosted for the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) off the Virginia coast near the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Va. The Capability Demonstration provided NECC Sailors an opportunity to observe new technologies developed by industry in a realistic military maritime environment. The program also provided the 15 participating industry partners an opportunity to receive immediate end-user feedback toward increasing technology readiness levels. “Warfighting needs are rapidly changing…

The three amphibious ships supporting Hurricane Sandy relief efforts off the coast of New York & New Jersey return to their homeports in Virginia. Operations in support of relief have shifted into the recovery phase and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are fully operational and providing sustained assistance as requested by state and local authorities. Navy and Marine Corps forces aboard the ships systematically transitioned the services…