Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.
Alert - Community Build 8th Session
The 8th session of our MSW Community Build is coming to a close soon, make sure you have your progress shots ready, uploaded, and posted in your Blog by 2/1/09, EST to be in the running for this months point awards!!
A friend in need…
MSW crew mate Bruce Miller (grayghost666) is up against some stiff medical challenges. Clink on the link below and give him your support.
Bruce
USS Kidd and Veterans Memorial
Today’s website is the USS Kidd and Veterans Memorial. This webpage not only is the internet site for the WW2 destroyer Kidd, but also packs a lot of great information on the military history of the state of Louisiana. Enjoy.
Website
This Day in U.S. Naval History
1942 - USS Gudgeon is the first U.S. sub to sink an enemy submarine in action, Japanese I-173.
1945 - Commissioning of USS Higbee (DD 806), the first U.S. Navy ship named after a women member of the U.S. Navy.
1967 - Fire in a command module at Cape Kennedy during simulation countdown. Lunar module pilot Lt. Cmdr. Roger B. Chaffee and two other crew members died.
1973 - Paris Peace Accords signed, ending U.S. participation in the Vietnam War.
San Antonio Key to Counterpiracy Mission
Source: US Navy
SAN ANTONIO, At Sea --- Amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD-17), the flagship for Combined Task Force 151, is serving as an afloat forward staging base(AFSB) during its current counterpiracy mission.
Fulfilling the role of an AFSB is one of the many mission areas the ship was specifically designed to perform.
"We're able to embark and support a wide range of forces and equipment, and as the [executive officer], it is my job to ensure that these embarked units-- just like the crew -- have the resources and support they need to accomplish their assigned tasking," said Lt. Cmdr. Sean Kearns, San Antonio's executive officer.
As an AFSB, the San Antonio brings a robust capability to the theater and task force commanders, and the breadth and depth of embarked forces currently on board San Antonio are a prime example. Those embarked on San Antonio from the Marine Corps are the 3rd platoon of the 26 Marine Expeditionary Unit's (MEU) 'Golf' Infantry Company, a military police detachment, and intelligence personnel.
Others using the ship as an AFSB include an eight-man Coast Guard law enforcement detachment (LEDET) that specializes in maritime interdiction operations, three HH-60H helicopters from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 3 that cross-decked from USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), and members of Fleet Surgical Team 8 who bring a level-two surgical capability to the ship to deal with trauma, surgical, critical care and medical evacuation needs.
"If you take all these forces that have been assembled on board San Antonio, you have an incredible breadth and depth of capabilities, training, and experience, and the synergistic manner in which we all are able to work together on an AFSB ship such as San Antonio acts as a force multiplier and allows us to accomplish much more together than we ever could independently," said Kearns.
The Sailors and Marines of San Antonio have worked hard during the past few weeks to prepare the ship for its role as the flagship and AFSB for CTF 151.
"We have configured several of the ship's spaces so that the equipment and resources available are suited for specific missions that the CTF 151 staff will be planning and executing," said Kearns.
"In addition to material preparations, the ship has been conducting targeted training on the missions and tasks that we may be called upon to perform as part of the CTF 151 anti-piracy mission."
As part of their pre-deployment, unit-level and integrated level training, the crew of San Antonio and the 26 MEU conducted robust training across a wide range of mission areas.
"The mission skills that were developed during this training provide abroad spectrum of capabilities that can be tailored and applied to virtually any mission," said Kearns.
In preparation for CTF 151's antipiracy mission, San Antonio has focused on its existing capabilities in surface and air warfare, maritime interdiction operations, anti-terrorism and force protection, mobility, intelligence collection and medical and logistical services.
They also conducted additional training to tailor these capabilities to the specific needs of their current antipiracy tasking.
"The one thing you can't buy is experience, and the greatest asset that each of the units embarked on San Antonio brings to the fight is the robust experience that they have developed through training and operations within their own organizations," said Kearns.
"Each service or organization has its own way of doing business based on the specifics of how they train and the environment in which they operate.
"By bringing such a diverse group of forces together, we are able to capitalize on each other's experiences and training to gain perspectives and insights that allow us to better prepare for future missions. This is the heart of joint warfare, and it is rooted in the camaraderie and military heritage that we all share in the armed forces."
San Antonio, the first ship in its class, is the command ship for Combined Task Force (CTF) 151. The multinational task force conducts counterpiracy operations in and around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Red Sea and was established to create a lawful maritime order and develop security in the maritime environment.
This marks San Antonio's first deployment.
Marines' Raiding Craft is Up-Armoured and Up-Gunned
Source: UK Ministry of Defence
Royal Marines from 539 Assault Squadron put on a display of their latest up-armoured and up-gunned Offshore Raiding Craft in the choppy waters of Plymouth Sound yesterday, Thursday 22 January 2009.
The Marines, whose traditional role has always been to maintain law and order on the high seas, put the new mid-console variant of their Raiding Craft, known as the 'racing car' of the amphibious fleet, through its paces at speeds of more than 20 knots.
The Royal Navy has a large amphibious fleet and the Raiding Craft represent the smallest and most manoeuvrable elements of this fleet. Their role is to allow Royal Marines from the fleet to close with the enemy either at sea or on land. With the latest upsurge in piracy this role could not be more pertinent.
But protection is just as important to maritime equipment as it is to equipment used in the land environment, especially when undertaking dangerous engagements such as intercepting potential pirates. And the new craft have been designed following experiences in southern Iraq, when Marines came under attack from local insurgents, with improved armour and more firepower added.
Colour Sergeant Baz Fowler gave his thoughts on the new craft:
"The main difference for me is that there is better all-round visibility from the craft. We now have 360-degree arcs of fire all round, which we can bring down to within a metre of the craft. In a river or sea environment we can produce intimate fire support close in. Modifications have added weight to the craft but the fire support we can now provide is a good trade off."
Manufactured by Holyhead Marine in Anglesey, the lightweight air transportable boats are powered by twin Steyr diesel engines linked to Rolls Royce waterjets. They cost around £200,000 each, can be carried by C-130 Hercules aircraft or underslung beneath a Chinook helicopter.
The new craft carry a crew of seven, with two coxswains now situated in the centre. Two gunners are at the front, using twin general purpose machine guns, while there are three more gunners on the stern, two on the guns, one on fire control:
"For the two coxswains aboard, the craft gives better protection all round," says Lance Corporal Tom Lockyer. "And having them further forward has given them better visibility. It will be fantastic when we start using the craft for what they were designed to do."
At the stern the craft carry more general purpose machine guns along with 0.5-inch calibre heavy machine guns or grenade machine guns depending on mission requirements:
"This is a good bit of equipment," says Captain Matt Pinckney. "It is very manoeuvrable and ideal for what we need to do. It moves at 20 knots one minute, and then can stop dead still to allow us to lay down effective fire.
"Royal Marines' landing craft are always at the forefront of military operations in the river environment. Now we have a much greater capability to take the fight to the enemy. The guys can feel very confident of going into these areas to complete the tasks they have been set.
"There was a sense of urgency after Operation Telic where there was a huge threat environment and we needed more armour and firepower. Equipment is improving all the time with investment from the Government. Royal Marines are training to go into any situation – we can now go in and do an even better job."
Introduced into service in 2005, the Raiding Craft have proved a success in the squadron's tasks of landing from sea on hostile shores and providing support and reconnaissance to other UK forces in the river environment.
Two of the new fast craft will be debuted on Exercise Taurus in the Far East in February:
"Our initial feedback is that we are certainly heading in the right direction," continues Colour Sergeant Baz Fowler. "The craft and its weapons systems have never been in doubt. It's now a case of putting them all together in operational use."
Photo of the Day
Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) throw a "killer tomato" target off the fantail during a .50-caliber machine gun live-fire exercise.
Gator
