Army-Navy Game: A Proud History of Tradition — The Naval History and Heritage Command gives us a closer look at the long-standing traditions of the Army-Navy game.
Navy Commands Receive Federal Energy and Water Management Award — Four U.S. Navy Commands were honored with the Department of Energy's (DoE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) 2014 Federal Energy and Water Management Awards at the National Archives, Dec. 9. This year FEMP honored 25 individuals and teams with Federal Energy and Water Management Awards. The recipients collectively contributed to saving approximately 2 trillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy, 1.3 billion gallons of water, 18.1 million gallons of fuel, and $115.8 million in energy and water cost in fiscal year 2013.
US, China Conduct Anti-Piracy Exercise — The U.S. Navy's guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) and ships from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (Navy) PLA(N) commenced a bilateral counter-piracy exercise, U.S.-China Counter-Piracy Exercise 15, in the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa, Dec 11. Aiming to promote partnership, strength and presence, the exercise includes combined visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) operations, communication exchanges, and various other aspects of naval operations.
Navy Tests New Unmanned Underwater Vehicle at JEBLC-FS — 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. Silent NEMO is an experiment that explores the possible uses for biomimetic, unmanned underwater vehicles in the fleet.
Navy Moving Forward With LCS — Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has directed the Navy "to move forward with a multi-mission small surface combatant based on modified Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) hull designs."
USS Paul Hamilton Rescues Missing Mariner — Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) rescued a stranded mariner Dec. 9 while operating south of the Hawaiian Islands. Paul Hamilton Sailors rendered assistance to Ron Ingraham after receiving a distress call from U.S. Coast Guard District 14's Honolulu Sector. Ingraham, stranded at sea since Nov. 27, was caught in a storm that blew his vessel approximately 200 miles south of the Hawaiian Islands, leaving him without food or water for 12 days.
USS Norfolk Decommissioned — The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Norfolk (SSN 714) was decommissioned Dec. 11 during a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk. The submarine will remain in Norfolk until in leaves in January to begin the decommissioning process at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine. The 360-foot submarine is the third naval ship to be named in honor of its namesake city of Norfolk, Virginia. It was built by Newport News Shipbuilding and was commissioned May 21, 1983 by then Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger. Norfolk was also the Navy's 133rd nuclear-powered submarine, the 89th attack submarine, and the 24th Los Angeles-class submarine.
Historic Leap: Navy Shipboard Laser Operates in Arabian Gulf — Officials at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) announced today the laser weapon system (LaWS) - a cutting-edge weapon that brings significant new capabilities to America's Sailors and Marines - was for the first time successfully deployed and operated aboard a naval vessel in the Arabian Gulf. The operational demonstrations, which took place from September to November aboard USS Ponce (AFSB[I] 15), were historic not only because they showed a laser weapon working aboard a deployed U.S. Navy ship, but also because LaWS operated seamlessly with existing ship defense systems.
Anchorage Completes NASA Orion Mission — San Antonio class amphibious transport dock ship USS Anchorage (LPD 23) successfully completed recovery operations of the NASA Orion crew module, forward bay cover, and parachutes, Dec 5. The Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) recovery is part of a U.S. government interagency effort to safely retrieve the Orion crew module that is capable of carrying humans into deep space.
SECNAV Discusses Navy and Arctic at UAF — Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus met with senior research personnel and faculty members at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Dec. 5 to discuss the role of the U.S. Navy in the arctic. Home to the International Arctic Research Center, UAF's unique location makes it especially well situated to serve as a hub of research for areas such as the integration and coordination of the study of the arctic and the impact of climate change on this dynamic region.
These stories originally published by Navy News Service during Dec. 8-12, 2014. For more Navy news, go to: www.navy.mil/.