Chaplain Corps Celebrates 239th Birthday — More than 100 Navy chaplains from across the country gathered together to celebrate the Chaplain Corps' 239th birthday at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia, Nov. 6. This is the first Navy Chaplain Corps anniversary dinner held in honor of its establishment, which took place in 1775 when Congress agreed that divine services should be implemented and chaplains placed on large vessels.
Navy Christens Littoral Combat Ship Montgomery — The Navy will christen littoral combat ship (LCS) Montgomery Nov. 8 during a ceremony at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michelle Howard, will deliver the principal address during the ceremony. Mary Sessions, wife of Sen. Jeff Sessions (Alabama), will serve as the ship's sponsor. The ceremony will be highlighted by Sessions breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow to formally christen the ship, which is a time-honored Navy tradition. The selection of Montgomery honors the capital city of Alabama, and will be the second ship to bear the city's name.
Military Sealift Command Consolidates Headquarters in Norfolk — Military Sealift Command (MSC) received approval Oct. 30 to officially begin geographically consolidating at Naval Station (NS) Norfolk, a single headquarters that since 2012 has been physically split between the Washington Navy Yard, D.C., and NS Norfolk. The consolidation is scheduled to be complete by the end of fiscal year 2019.
Truman Enters Norfolk Naval Shipyard — USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) transited the Elizabeth River and entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) Nov. 5 to begin its carrier incremental availability.
Strike Group Leads Crisis Response Exercise — More than 4,500 Sailors from 19 countries got underway to train across a range of simultaneous and near-simultaneous crisis response missions during Exercise Bold Alligator, the largest multinational amphibious exercise conducted in a decade. The exercise, which is scheduled to run Oct. 29-Nov. 10, reached its midpoint Nov. 4. Rear Adm. Cindy Thebaud, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 2, leads the multinational maritime force of 18 ships which includes platforms from five countries.
On Nov. 4, 1923, tests designed to prove the feasibility of launching a small seaplane from a submarine took place at Hampton Roads Naval Base. The seaplane Martin MS-1 was stored disassembled in a tank on board USS S-1, then removed and assembled. When the submarine submerged, the action enabled the plane to float free and take off.
'Chip and PIN' Credit Cards Coming to DoD Travelers — Starting in January, Defense Department government travel card holders will begin receiving new "chip and PIN" cards, according to Harvey Johnson, director of the Defense Travel Management Office. In December, the department is due to wrap up a pilot program that started in February and involved about 600 users.
Greenert Discusses U.S. Maritime Strategy Shift — The Chief of Naval Operations discussed the U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region during a presentation at the Brookings Institution, Nov.4. Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert said the new strategy should be out by the end of the year and he spoke about the need for changes and gave a short status report on his service's rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region. The last maritime strategy report was issued in 2007.
F-35C Completes First Arrested Landing aboard Aircraft Carrier — The Navy made aviation history Nov. 3 as an F-35C Lightning II carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter conducted its first arrested landing aboard an aircraft carrier off the coast of San Diego. Navy test pilot Cmdr. Tony Wilson landed F-35C test aircraft CF-03 at 12:18 p.m. aboard USS Nimitz's (CVN 68) flight deck. The arrested landing is part of initial at-sea Developmental Testing I (DT-I) for the F-35C, which commenced Nov. 3 and is expected to last two weeks.
Naval War College Aims to Forecast Changing Arctic — Responding to the opening of the Arctic region to increased human activity, the U.S. Naval War College (NWC) is exploring the geopolitical future of the area. A course at NWC, Arctic Security in an Age of Climate Change, is part of the Arctic area of study elective track and explores the future and how the Navy and other global stakeholders will likely participate as climate change continues to alter the region.
These stories originally published by Navy News Service during Nov. 3-7, 2014. For more Navy news, go to: www.navy.mil/.