Five Things You Need to Know about Vella Gulf's Time in the Black Sea — USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) departed the Black Sea Aug. 26 after completing exercises in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, an operation which demonstrates the United States’ commitment to European security. The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser returned to the Aegean Sea, where she is “deployed in a multi-mission role in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations to contribute to regional maritime security, conduct bilateral and multilateral training missions, and to support NATO operations and deployments throughout the region.”
USS Norfolk Returns from Final Deployment — USS Norfolk (SSN 714) returned to Naval Station Norfolk from its final deployment Aug. 26. Named for the city of Norfolk, the Los Angeles-class attack submarine will begin the deactivation process in 2015.
Ike Departs Dry Dock, Returning to the Fleet — The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike), which has been in dry dock since September 2013, moved from dry dock 8 to pier 42/43 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) in Portsmouth, Virginia, Aug. 26. Ike’s crew is scheduled to begin moving aboard the ship within the next month.
Women’s Equality Day Celebrates Women Having the Right to Vote — On Aug. 26, the Navy observed Women’s Equality Day, which celebrates the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote. This year saw two firsts for women in the Navy – Admiral Michelle Howard became the Navy’s first female four-star admiral and Rear Admiral Margaret Kibben became the first female to serve as both the chaplain of the U.S. Marine Corps and chief of Navy Chaplains.
X-47B Achieves New Set of Firsts Aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt — X-47B returned to Naval Air Station Patuxent River after completing its final test aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Aug. 24. The UAV spent eight days at sea, during which it flew in the carrier pattern with manned aircraft for the first time and conducted a total of five catapult launches, four arrestments and nine touch-and-go landings, including a night time shipboard flight deck handling evaluation.
Unmanned Systems Experts Convene to Discuss Challenges, Chaos and Opportunities at Navy's "High-Value" Technical Exchange — On Aug. 20, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) held the first Unmanned Systems Integration Workshop and Technical Exchange Meeting. The event took place at the University of Mary Washington Dahlgren campus; 175 military and civilian participants were in attendance.
Nimitz Named CNO Environmental Award Winner — During a video teleconference ceremony Aug. 20, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert recognized USS Nimitz (CVN 68) as one of the winners of the 2013 CNO's Environmental Awards. Nimitz was given the CNO's 2013 Environmental Award for the Environmental Quality in the large ship category.
MCPON Visits Sweden, Discusses Leadership Development — Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Mike Stevens visited Berga Naval base in Stockholm, Sweden Aug. 18, where he met with the Swedish Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Rear Adm. Jan Thornqvist, toured the base and visited with Sailors aboard the corvette class ship HSwMS Visby (K31).
Training Support Center San Diego Earns Meritorious Unit Commendation — On Aug. 11, the Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC) was presented to Training Support Center (TSC) San Diego for superior performance from January 2009 to December 2012. Rear Adm. Mike White, commander of Naval Education and Training Command (NETC), presented the award on behalf of Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Jonathan Greenert and Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.
New Navy-Funded Blue and Fin Whale Tagging Study Begins — The Navy is funding a study which documents blue and fin whale distribution, occurrence, and movement patterns along the U.S. West Coast and throughout the Eastern Pacific. The study, performed in conjunction with Oregon State University researchers, began July 31 and involves attaching long-term satellite tracking tags to blue and fin whales off the coast of Southern California. The tags were developed by Naval Research Laboratory and the Navy's Living Marine Resources Program.
These stories originally published by Navy News Service during August 22-29, 2014. For more Navy news, go to: www.navy.mil/.