Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.



On Display - December 7, 1941

New MSW crew-mate Chuck Bauer (DIESELDOG) sends shares with us a labor of love December 7, 1941 in this "On Display" feature.


On Display - The Greyhound and the Flea

New MSW crew-mate Karl Zingheim (CaptSonghouse) shares a gallery of images of his fine build of The Greyhound and the Flea in this "On Display" feature.




HMS Ark Royal Makes Her Final Return to Portsmouth
Source: UK Ministry of Defense

Fleet flagship HMS Ark Royal returned to her home port of Portsmouth for the final time today (December 3), ending 25 years of service to the Royal Navy across the globe.

The aircraft carrier is being decommissioned early next year and sailed into Portsmouth Naval Base following a brief farewell tour of the UK and a stopover in Hamburg.

In keeping with tradition she flew a decommissioning pennant.

Her role as the current Royal Navy flagship will initially be taken on by amphibious assault ship HMS Albion.

Ark Royal’s farewell voyage took her around the north of Scotland and on into Newcastle where she was built by Swan Hunters at Wallsend.

“There is no question that there is a certain amount of sadness attached to this final deployment,” said Commanding Officer, Captain Jerry Kyd. “But it is also an opportunity for us to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of this fine ship and for us to show her off once more.

“She has played a very important role throughout her history and we have always been lucky enough to draw great affection and support from the British public wherever we go.

“For me, personally, I have been exceptionally proud to serve as her Captain – my very first job after finishing my initial officer training 25 years ago at Dartmouth was in the then brand new HMS Ark Royal. It is therefore a great honour for me to be able to command her farewell tour as her last Captain.

“I am very fortunate to be at the helm of an exceptional crew, whose professional skills will be re-allocated and valued in the wider Royal Naval service, long after the ship herself has been decommissioned – so her work and memory will continue to serve the Royal Navy well.

“I am only too aware that this famous ship and her iconic name mean so much to so many, but although Ark Royal will be decommissioned, the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers are vastly more capable and provide the Royal Navy with an exciting future.”

The fifth vessel to bear the proud name, Ark Royal was launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on 20 June 1981, accepted into service on July 1 1985 and commissioned on November 1985.

During her busy life the ship has seen service around the globe and has shown her adaptability from the original role as an anti-submarine helicopter carrier designed for the Cold War through to the Commando helicopter and carrier strike role of recent years.

Ark’s operations have included playing a pivotal part of the NATO campaign during the Bosnia conflict and, in early 2003, leading the UK’s naval forces during Op Telic – the invasion of Iraq, with a fleet of helicopters embarked.

In 2010, HMS Ark Royal has led a large multi-national task force during Operation Auriga and, this year alone, has demonstrated versatility operating a wide range of aircraft, including Joint Force GR9 Harrier jets, US Marine Corps, AV8B Harrier jets, as well as Chinook, Apache, Sea King, Merlin and Lynx helicopters.


Marines, Navy to Conduct Synthetic Amphibious Exercise
Source: U.S Department of Defense

For nearly a decade the Marines have been heavily involved in land-locked battles in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, the Marine Corps’ II Marine Expeditionary Force is teaming up with the U.S. Navy’s Second Fleet for Exercise Bold Alligator 2011, a synthetic training exercise that’ll test the Marines’ famed amphibious capabilities.

Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group Two, and Commander, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade in coordination with ships assigned to the U.S. Navy’s Second Fleet will conduct a joint large-scale fleet synthetic amphibious exercise Dec. 11-17, which will concentrate on the fundamental roles as “fighters from the sea.”

The synthetic exercise, which Owens says will "make extensive use of modeling and simulation in an effort to simulate weather, battlefield conditions, and force-on- force opposition," will focus on the command element in order to replicate live combat situations. Exercise Bold Alligator 2011 also serves as a test run for a planned live exercise in 2012.

“It's the first brigade-level amphibious exercise on the East Coast in nearly ten years, but it's also a first step in our revitalization of our amphibious proficiency,” Brig. Gen. Christopher Owens, deputy commanding general, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine, said during a "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable Dec. 2.

“During the exercise, we plan to refine our current concepts involving sea-basing, forcible-entry operations, and command-and-control,” because “so much of what the U.S. does, in terms of international security, relies on amphibious access to areas of conflict,” he explained.

Owens alluded to Navy assault amphibious ships like USS Iwo Jima, USS Tarawa, and USS Inchon as to how amphibious operations have been perceived, but was quick to point out that not all amphibious operations are assaults. In fact, of the 100 amphibious operations that have taken place in the last 20 years, many were non-combat situations like disaster response, noncombatant evacuations, and humanitarian assistance.

Although numerous military analysts have thought amphibious operations to be obsolete, time and again they have proven their worth in a variety of combat situations -- including possible pre-emptive action. This is why planners for the exercise are working to refine and emerging amphibious concepts and improve amphibious operations overall.

“We do have to find a way to keep our amphibious capability and proficiency, and keep it relevant to the types of operations that we are going to be called upon to provide,” said Owens. “I think [Defense] Secretary [Robert M.] Gates is challenging us to make sure that we remain relevant and ready,” he continued.

Owens believes that the close link between the Marines and the Navy is the backbone of successful amphibious operations.

"What the Marine Corps provides that is unique is that amphibious capability that we provide in conjunction with our Navy partners," he explained. "It is only through that link -- that inextricable link between us and the Navy -- that provides that unique capability."




USS Monaghan (DD-354)

Today’s website is the USS Monaghan (DD-354). Enjoy.


This Day in U.S. Naval History

1933 - The Secretary of the Navy establishes the Fleet Marine Force, integrating a ready-to-deploy Marine force with their own aircraft into fleet organization.
1941 - The United States declares war on Japan.
1941 - USS Wake (PR 3), a river gunboat moored at Shanghai, is only U.S. vessel to surrender during World War II.
1942 - Eight PT boats (PT 36, PT 37, PT 40, PT 43, PT 44, PT 48, PT 59 and PT 109) turn back eight Japanese destroyers attempting to reinforce Japanese forces on Guadalcanal.


Photo of the Day



The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) transits the Pacific Ocean at sunset.

Gator