United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy adjacent to Annapolis, Maryland. Established on 10 October 1845, under Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft, it is the second oldest of the United States' five service academies, educates officers for commissioning into the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps; the 338-acre campus is located on the former grounds of Fort Severn at the confluence of the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay in Anne Arundel County, 33 miles east of Washington, D. C. and 26 miles southeast of Baltimore. The entire campus is a National Historic Landmark and home to many historic sites and monuments, it replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum, in Philadelphia, that served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845 when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis. Candidates for admission must both apply directly to the academy and receive a nomination from a Member of Congress. Students are referred to as midshipmen. Tuition for midshipmen is funded by the Navy in exchange for an active duty service obligation upon graduation.
1,200 "plebes" enter the Academy each summer for the rigorous Plebe Summer. About 1,000 midshipmen graduate. Graduates are commissioned as ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps, but a small number can be cross-commissioned as officers in other U. S. services, the services of allied nations. The United States Naval Academy has some of the highest paid graduates in the country according to starting salary; the academic program grants a bachelor of science degree with a curriculum that grades midshipmen's performance upon a broad academic program, military leadership performance, mandatory participation in competitive athletics. Midshipmen are required to adhere to the academy's Honor Concept; the United States Naval Academy's campus is located in unincorporated Anne Arundel County, adjacent to Annapolis, at the confluence of the Severn River and the Chesapeake Bay. In its 2016 edition, U. S. News & World Report ranked the U. S. Naval Academy as the No. 1 public liberal arts college and tied for the 12th best overall liberal arts college in the U.
S. In the category of High School Counselor Rankings of National Liberal Arts Colleges, the Naval Academy is tied for No. 1 with the U. S. Military Academy and the U. S. Air Force Academy, is tied for the No. 5 spot for Best Undergraduate Engineering program at schools where doctorates not offered. In 2016, Forbes ranked the U. S. Naval Academy as No. 24 overall in its report "America's Top Colleges". Prospective candidates must either be nominated by certain public officials—or be the child of a Medal of Honor recipient, which entitles a qualified candidate to automatic admission without nomination. Nominations may be made by members of and delegates to Congress, the President or Vice-President, the Secretary of the Navy or certain other sources. Candidates must pass a physical fitness test and a thorough medical exam as part of the application process; the class of 2020 had 1,355 offers of appointment made to 17,043 applicants. In the 21st century, there have been about 1,200 students in each new class of plebes.
The U. S. government pays for tuition and board. Midshipmen receive monthly pay of $1,017.00, as of 2015. From this amount, pay is automatically deducted for the cost of uniforms, supplies and other miscellaneous expenses. Midshipmen only receive a portion of their total pay in cash while the rest is released during "firstie" year. Midshipmen fourth-class to midshipmen second-class receive monthly stipends of $100, $200, $300, respectively. Midshipmen first-class receive the difference between pay and outstanding expenses. Students at the naval academy are addressed as an official military rank and paygrade; as midshipmen are in the United States Navy, starting from the moment that they raise their hands and affirm the oath of office at the swearing-in ceremony, they are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, of which USNA regulations are a part, as well as to all executive policies and orders formulated by the Department of the Navy. The same term covers both females. Upon graduation, most naval academy midshipmen are commissioned as ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps and serve a minimum of five years after their commissioning.
If they are selected to serve as a pilot, they will serve 8–11 years minimum from their date of winging, if they are selected to serve as a naval flight officer they will serve 6–8 years. Foreign midshipmen are commissioned into the armed forces of their native countries; the most recent graduating class, that of 2017, inducted 1,200 midshipmen in 2013 and graduated 1,053 in 2017. 768 were commissioned as 259 as Marine 2nd Lieutenants. This graduating class was composed of 242 women and 811 men Since 1959, midshipmen have been eligible for an interservice commission in the Air Force or Army, provided they meet that service's eligibility standards. Starting in 2004, midshipmen became eligible to seek Coast Guard commissions; every year, a small number of graduates do this -- four. In 2017, two members of the class were commissioned as Air Force 2nd Lieutenants. A small number of foreign students are admitted each year. In 2017, 17 foreign midshipmen were graduated. At the beginning of their second-class year, midshipmen make their commitment known as signing their "2-for-7."
This represents a commitment to f
Fleet Week
Fleet Week is a United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard tradition in which active military ships deployed in overseas operations dock in a variety of major cities for one week. Once the ships dock, the crews can visit its tourist attractions. At certain hours, the public can take a guided tour of the ships. Fleet Week is accompanied by military demonstrations and air shows such as those provided by the Blue Angels; the first Fleet Week was celebrated in San Diego, during the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition. The years between World War I and World War II saw an increasing military build-up in both Japan and Germany, while the communist Soviet Union was given over to the wave of Stalinist nationalism. Most United States citizens experienced little sense of urgency about foreign developments because of isolationism and concerns with the ongoing economic Great Depression. However, then-U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a former Assistant Secretary of the Navy, was intent on expanding the U.
S. Navy in response to world political trends. A major aircraft company was moving to Lindbergh Field. In this atmosphere, Fleet Week was born. At 11 a.m. on May 29, 1935, a color guard of the U. S. Marine Corps led a parade across Cabrillo Bridge to Plaza del Pacifico, where the U. S. flag was raised to open the Exposition officially. At 8 p.m. Roosevelt spoke by telephone and designated two selected orphans to press the buttons turning on the lights which bathed the grounds in color. In his remarks, heard over the loudspeaker system, Roosevelt said: "The decision of the people of San Diego thus to dedicate the California Pacific International Exposition is, I believe, worthy of the courage and confidence with which our people now look to the future. No one can deny. No one can fail to feel the inspiration of your high purpose. I wish you great success." During Fleet Week in June 1935, 114 warships and 400 military planes arrived under command of U. S. Navy Admiral Joseph M. Reeves, Commander-in-Chief of the U.
S. Fleet, it was described as the mightiest fleet assembled under the U. S. flag. It included forty-eight battleships and aircraft carriers, with more than 3,000 commissioned officers and 55,000 enlisted men; the U. S. Navy men visited the Exposition and, in turn, thousands of San Diegans and other fairgoers were guests on the various ships. For years it was common for several U. S. Navy ships to dock in San Francisco, California for a similar series of events. One or more fleet ships were docked as a "visit ship" for tourists to board, the local community took in sailors for home visits; the highlight of the San Francisco Fleet Week is the Air Show on San Francisco Bay with the Blue Angels as the center of attention. The Air Show features stunt planes and parachute team and coast guard demonstrations. Another highlight of the Fleet Week SF is a parade of ships under the Golden Gate Bridge; the revived name of Fleet Week was applied to an expanded and more publicized fleet visit in 1981, in conjunction with Columbus Day Weekend celebrations during the second week of October.
Since the event has been held each year during the Columbus Day Weekend without a break and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2005. The event is estimated to attract over one million people who watch the air show along the San Francisco Bay waterfront stretching from the Ferry Building to the Golden Gate Bridge; the event was canceled for 2013, due to federal budgetary issues. But was revived in 2014, continues to be an annual event; the official website: Fleet Week SF Ships included: USS Bonhomme Richard USS Dewey USS Manchester USCGC Forrest Rednour HMCS Vancouver MV Cape Horn MV John D. Dillard For more than 20 years, Fleet Week Port Everglades has been produced as a signature event for South Florida each spring by Broward Navy Days, a non-profit 501. FW PEV provides an annual opportunity for residents to honor and celebrate our Sailors and Coast Guardsmen for their service to our country as well as witness first-hand the latest capabilities of today's modern navy. With the support of sponsors and assistance of hundreds of volunteers representing veterans and service organizations, FW PEV offers opportunities to enjoy shore leave and participate in a wide variety of recreational and community service activities.
Popular events include: All Hands on Deck Welcoming Party, Damage Control Olympics, Community Relations Projects, Ship Tours, Celebrity Chef Luncheon, Ship Honorary Dinners, Submariners Reception, Take a Hero Fishing Tournament, Golf Tournament, Culinary Competitions, Sailor of the Year Recognition and Dignitary Reception. The Air & Sea Show was an annual air show in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in which military and civilian performances took place on the four mile stretch of beach from Oakland Park to Las Olas Boulevard; the show existed from 1995 until 2007. For more information on Broward Navy Days see *Fleet Week Port Everglades Website Visiting ships included: USS Kearsarge USS Detroit USCGC Confidence USCGC Robert Yered USCGC Willow US Naval vessels had visited New York City in a celebratory manner dating back to the aftermath of the Spanish–American War in 1898, when Commodore George Dewey was celebrated as the hero of the battle of Manila Bay. However, the first official Fleet Week began in New York City in 1982.
Fleet Week in New York City is timed to coincide with the Memorial Day holiday weekend. During the New York City Fleet Week, ships ar
Defense Distinguished Service Medal
The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a United States military award, presented for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the national security or defense of the United States. The medal was created on July 9, 1970, by President Richard Nixon in Executive Order 11545; the Defense Distinguished Service Medal is the United States's highest non-combat related military award and it is the highest joint service decoration. The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is awarded; such responsibilities deserving of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal are held by the most senior officers such as the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chiefs and Vice Chiefs of the Services, Commanders and Deputy Commanders of the Combatant Commands, the Director of the Joint Staff etc. whose duties bring them into direct contact with the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, other senior government officials. In addition, the medal may be awarded to other service members whose direct and individual contributions to national security or national defense are recognized as being so exceptional in scope and value as to be equivalent to contributions associated with positions encompassing broader responsibilities.
This decoration takes precedence over the Distinguished Service Medals of the separate services and is not to be awarded to any individual for a period of service for which an Army, Air Force or Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal is awarded. The medal is gold in color and on the obverse it features a medium blue enameled pentagon. Superimposed on this is an American bald eagle with wings outspread facing left grasping three crossed arrows in its talons and on its breast is a shield of the United States; the pentagon and eagle are enclosed within a gold pieced circle consisting, in the upper half of 13 five-pointed stars and in the lower half, a wreath of laurel on the left and olive on the right. At the top is a suspender of five graduated gold rays; the reverse of the medal has the inscription "For Distinguished Service" at the top in raised letters, within the pentagon the inscription "From The Secretary of Defense To," all in raised letters. Additional awards of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal are denoted by oak leaf clusters
USS Hunley (AS-31)
USS Hunley was a submarine tender of the United States Navy launched on 28 September 1961 and commissioned 16 June 1962. The Hunley was designed to tend most of the long-term requirements of the Polaris Class of submarines; the ship achieved several milestones in its service. The Hunley was decommissioned from the regular navy, in 1995 transferred to the US Maritime Commission, in 2007 sold as scrap to a metal recycling company in Louisiana. In September 2008, during Hurricane Gustav, the decommissioned ship broke free of its moorings in the New Orleans Inner Harbor, but caused little or no damage while adrift. Hunley had the distinction of being the first ship designed and built from the keel up to service and maintain the U. S. Navy's nuclear-powered Ballistic Missile Submarine Fleet, she had complete facilities for servicing the complex Polaris Weapons Systems and for accomplishing any submarine repair other than a major shipyard overhaul. The hull was laid down in by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Newport News and sponsored by Mrs. J. Palmer Gaillard, wife of the Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina.
The ship was named in honor of Horace Lawson Hunley, the designer of the first submarine to sink an enemy vessel in naval history, the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley. With Captain Douglas N. Syverson in command, Hunley sailed 25 July 1962 for shakedown training off Cuba until 6 September 1962, she visited several Gulf and Atlantic ports and returned to Norfolk 28 September for post-shakedown alterations until 8 December 1962. After which the Hunley paid a 3-day visit to New York City to host the Naval Reserve Officers Seminar "New Ships for the Modern Navy", she departed from the Norfolk Operating Base 29 December 1962 for Holy Loch, arriving 9 January 1963. She began taking the load off USS Proteus, whom she relieved 15 March 1963 as tender to Submarine Squadron 14 at Holy Loch; this duty continued until 12 April 1964 when Hunley sailed for conversion that provided capability of handling the new A3 Polaris Missile. She resumed her duties at Holy Loch on 15 June 1964. A Polaris milestone was reached in December 1965 when USS Thomas A.
Edison came alongside to commence the 100th refit of a nuclear ballistic submarine by the Hunley. This signified that one hundred SSBN submarines had gone out on time from Hunley and not one of them had to make an early return from patrol; this represented some 200 months of Polaris on station or 16½ years of submerged strategic deterrent since Hunley's arrival in Holy Loch 9 January 1963. Hunley's motto was "We Serve to Preserve Peace". Hunley returned to the United States late in 1966 and in 1967 operated out of Charleston, South Carolina. Hunley put out for Guam on the day after Christmas, 1967, to relieve Proteus at Polaris Point from January to June 1968 while Proteus underwent a self-overhaul, with Hunley returning to Charleston in July 1968. In 1971 Hunley relieved Proteus in Guam again in order for Proteus to go to shipyard, it was while Hunley was in Guam that the Machinery Repair Division received the Meritorious Unit Commendation, having expended 4500 hours of repair labor on various units of the U.
S. Pacific Fleet. In 1973 Hunley returned to Bremerton Shipyard for conversion overhaul. After completion Hunley returned to South Carolina, to again service the Atlantic Fleet. Hunley was decommissioned on 30 September 1994 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 3 May 1995 and turned over to the Maritime Commission on 1 May 1999. Hunley was subsequently sold to the Southern Scrap Materials Company on 5 January 2007 for scrapping. Among jobs carried out by Hunley was welding on SSBN pressure hulls or reactor plant fluid systems. Once unheard of in submarine tending, these jobs were only a few of many carried out by Hunley's crew; these and many other alterations were carried out as a matter of routine to keep SSBN's on the line with the newest possible technical improvements and safety devices. For example, an auxiliary "Sub-Safe" package was accomplished on the USS Theodore Roosevelt in which over 40 fittings and more than 100 feet of new piping in a major system were installed. A battery replacement for the USS Ethan Allen was completed in only 11 days.
Hunley met demands from making water-borne propeller replacements to encapsulation of AC induction motors. In 1976 from June through September an Extended Refit was performed on an SSBN assigned to Hunley and a tiger team made up from the Hunley the SSBN and the Charleston shipyard completed an in drydock overhaul of many systems as well as hull and propeller; the Hunley team leaders were Lt. Charles Emery, Engine Chief Petty Officer G. A. Page and a second class Petty Officer George Campbell. After the ERP and the paperwork was completed the SSBN returned to her duties in the Atlantic. After a 1973 port call in Sydney, en route to Pearl Harbor, two teenage girls from New Zealand were found hiding out in one of the Hunley's missile crane control cabs, when a sailor was spotted carrying food up the ladder to the crane. Hunley was diverted to Brisbane to offload the stowaways, the "helpful" sailors were disciplined; this article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
The entry can be found here. This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U. S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here. USS HUNLEY Reunion Info MARAD PMARS DATA SHEET images and tour at Southern Scrap USS Hunley at Flickr
New York Mercantile Exchange
The New York Mercantile Exchange is a commodity futures exchange owned and operated by CME Group of Chicago. NYMEX is located at One North End Avenue in Brookfield Place in the Battery Park City section of Manhattan, New York City. Additional offices are located in Boston, Atlanta, San Francisco, Dubai and Tokyo; the company's two principal divisions are the New York Mercantile Exchange and Commodity Exchange, once separately owned exchanges. NYMEX Holdings, Inc. the former parent company of the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX, became listed on the New York Stock Exchange on November 17, 2006, under the ticker symbol NMX. On March 17, 2008, Chicago based CME Group signed a definitive agreement to acquire NYMEX Holdings, Inc. for $11.2 billion in cash and stock and the takeover was completed in August 2008. Both NYMEX and COMEX now operate as designated contract markets of the CME Group; the other two designated contract markets in the CME Group are the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade.
The New York Mercantile Exchange handles billions of dollars' worth of energy carriers and other commodities being bought and sold on the trading floor and the overnight electronic trading computer systems for future delivery. The prices quoted for transactions on the exchange are the basis for prices that people pay for various commodities throughout the world; the floor of the NYMEX is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an independent agency of the United States government. Each individual company that trades on the exchange must send its own independent brokers. Therefore, a few employees on the floor of the exchange represent a big corporation and the exchange employees only record the transactions and have nothing to do with the actual trade. Although electronic since 2006, the NYMEX maintained a small venue, or "pit", that still practiced the open outcry trading system, in which traders employed shouting and complex hand gestures on the physical trading floor. A project to preserve the hand signals used at NYMEX has been published.
NYMEX closed the pit permanently at the end of trading Friday, December 30, 2016, because of shrinking volume. Commodity exchanges began in the middle of the 19th century, when businessmen began organizing market forums to make buying and selling of commodities easier; these marketplaces provided a place for buyers and sellers to set the quality and establish rules of business. By the late 19th century there were about 1,600 marketplaces at ports and railroad stations. In 1872, a group of Manhattan dairy merchants got together and created the Butter and Cheese Exchange of New York, they were trying to bring order and standardization to the chaotic conditions that existed in their industry. Soon, egg trade became part of the business conducted on the exchange and the name was modified to the Butter and Egg Exchange. In 1882, the name changed to the New York Mercantile Exchange when opening trade to dried fruits, canned goods, poultry; as centralized warehouses were built into principal market centers such as New York and Chicago in the early 20th century, exchanges in smaller cities began to disappear giving more business to the exchanges such as the NYMEX in bigger cities.
In 1933, the COMEX was established through the merger of four smaller exchanges. Through the 1970s, 80's and 90's COMEX, NYMEX, other exchanges shared a single trading floor in 4 World Trade Center. For years, the NYMEX traders had done a large business trading futures of Maine's potato crop. According to Leah McGrath Goodman's 2011 book The Asylum, manipulation in this market was commonplace, performed by various parties including potato inspectors and NYMEX traders; the worst incident was the 1970s potato bust, when Idaho potato magnate J. R. Simplot went short in huge numbers, leaving a large amount of contracts unsettled at the expiration date, resulting in a large number of defaulted delivery contracts. A public outcry followed, the newly created Commodity Futures Trading Commission held hearings. NYMEX was barred from trading not only potatoes futures, but from entering new areas it hadn't traded in before. NYMEX's reputation was damaged, because, as future chairman Michel Marks told Goodman in his book, "The essence of an exchange is the sanctity of its contract."When the potato ban came into effect, NYMEX's platinum and heating oil markets were not affected.
However, NYMEX's reputation suffered in Washington, D. C. with the regulations in the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the President of the Exchange, Richard Leone brought in John Elting Treat, White House energy adviser to Presidents Carter and Reagan to help restore the credibility of NYMEX and to help the Exchange explore the possibility of entering the petroleum market recognizing the great potential for moving well beyond the limited size of the New York Heating Oil market. When Leone left NYMEX in 1981 as a result of a strong disagreement with the NYMEX Board, John Elting Treat was asked to replace him as President; the launching of the WTI crude oil contract was championed by Treat, with difficulty, convinced the Board and the two Marks family members and respected floor trader Francis Marks and his son, who had just become Chairman of the Board, to take a chance on trading crude oil. Arnold Safir was one of the members of an advisory committee formed by Treat to help design the new contract.
Treat, with Board Chairman Marks and the support of the rest of the NYMEX Board chose West Texas Intermediate as the traded product and Cushi
USS Tortuga (LSD-46)
USS Tortuga is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship to be named for the Dry Tortugas, a group of desert coral islets 60 miles west of Key West, Florida. Tortuga was laid down on 23 March 1987, by Louisiana; the threat of Hurricane Gilbert in the Gulf of Mexico forced an early launching of the ship, as a precautionary measure, on 15 September 1988. On 19 November 1988, Mrs. Rosemary Parker Schoultz, the ship's sponsor, presided over the christening ceremony, breaking the traditional bottle of champagne over the bow of the ship. Tortuga was commissioned on 17 November 1990. In 1997, Tortuga was commanded by CDR Kenneth M. Rome, made a Mediterranean deployment from 1 July 1998 until 8 December 1998. In 1999, CDR J. M. Burdon assumed command and commanded the ship until his retirement in late 2000, he was succeeded by CDR James P. Driscoll, in October 2000, the ship was ordered on an emergency deployment to support UNITAS 2000 in the South Pacific after USS La Moure County had run aground on an underwater mountain off the coast of Valparaiso, Chile suffering catastrophic damage.
After finishing the UNITAS deployment, Tortuga returned to Little Creek. In January 2001, Tortuga was assigned as flagship to the Standing Naval Forces Atlantic a NATO peacekeeping/quick reaction force. In August 2002, USS Tortuga departed North Carolina with Marines and sailors from BLT 2/2. During this time she was the home to Echo Company, CAAT Red and a section of CAAT Green, as well as LAR and AmTracks; the group was on. In September and October 2002, Tortuga was in Thessaloniki, Greece in support of BLT 2/2 operations in Kosovo. In November Tortuga transited the Suez Canal with the rest of her ARG, they were assigned to the U. S. Fifth Fleet. In mid-November, Tortuga put Marines from BLT 2/2 ashore in Djibouti, she proceeded south of the equator to the Seychelle Islands. In March 2003, Tortuga proceeded to the Persian Gulf to deploy her Marines and sailors in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; the Marines and sailors returned to Tortuga in April and returned to the United States on 27 May 2003 after a 9-month deployment.
In 2005, Tortuga was commanded by CDR Mark H. Scovill, homeported at NAB Little Creek and assigned to Amphibious Group 2 of the Atlantic Fleet. On 25 August 2005 Tortuga and her crew were pulled from a training exercise and sent to New Orleans to become part of Joint Task Force Katrina, she was the first Navy ship to sail up the Mississippi River following the hurricane and berthed on the West Bank of New Orleans Naval Station. The ship became a major rally point for the scattered military and civilian forces across New Orleans. Tortuga's crew conducted rescue missions in the flooded Ninth Ward and assisted local officials from St. Bernard Parish. Crew members employed combat rubber raiding craft which allowed them to search flooded areas with many underwater obstacles; as the crew rescued people from neighborhoods they were brought back to Tortuga with 7 and 11 meter RHIBs. Evacuees were processed, received medical attention, were forwarded to their next destination at the earliest possible time.
As water receded in New Orleans and the CRRCs became useless, the ship served as the headquarters for the 618th ESC "Nasty", the 307th Eng Bn, 82nd Airborne Division U. S. Army camped out on the Naval Station, while they worked in conjunction with U. S. Navy units to clean up missions. On 14 October 2005, the U. S. Navy announced that Tortuga would be forward-deployed to Japan to replace Fort McHenry. Tortuga arrived in Sasebo 31 March 2006 for turnover and assignment as part of the U. S. Navy’s Forward Deployed Naval Forces. On 12 April the crews of the two ships completed an exchange-of-command process. Conducted in 12 days, the hull swap between Fort McHenry and Tortuga was the quickest in the history of the U. S. Navy. Tortuga's former crew departed Sasebo 13 April 2006 to return to Little Creek on board Fort McHenry. On 15 May, Tortuga departed for a three-month deployment; the deployment was centered around an annual exercise called Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training 2006. Tortuga joined a newly established task group reporting directly to Commander, Logistics Group WESTPAC out of Singapore.
The group consisted of five ships, Tortuga, USS Hopper, USS Crommelin, USNS Salvor, USCGC Sherman. The group visited and operated with the navies of Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines. USS Tortuga visited the island of Iwo Jima in March 2008 and March 2010 to celebrate the anniversary of the World War II battle fought there. In 2011, USS Tortuga participated in disaster relief after tsunami; as part of Operation Tomodachi, the ship transported Japanese Self-Defense Force servicemen and equipment from Hokkaido to Honshu island. Divers from the ship helped map and clear debris from the ports of Hachinohe and Miyako, facilitating both ports to reopen to ship traffic. In April 5, 2013 to April 7, 2013, USS Tortuga participated in a joint annual military exercises together with the Armed Forces of the Philippines to enhance regional cooperation and effectiveness in the region. More than 8,000 personnel will be conducted the Balikatan exercises. In August 2013, USS Tortuga completed a hull swap with USS Ashland and returned to her new homeport of Little Creek, Virginia.
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U. S. government publication, is in the public domain. USS Tortuga at navsource.org USS Tortuga at nvr.navy
United States Naval Forces Europe - Naval Forces Africa
United States Naval Forces Europe - Naval Forces Africa is the United States Navy component command of the United States European Command and United States Africa Command. NAVEUR-NAVAF provides overall command, operational control, coordination of U. S. Naval Forces in the European and African Command area of responsibility; as the Navy component in Europe, COMUSNAVEUR, plans and supports naval operations in the European theater during peacetime, contingencies, in general war and as tasked by Commander, U. S. European Command; as the component command in Africa, NAVAF aims for cooperative solutions to security challenges in Africa and its surrounding waters by working with its Europe and South American partners to disrupt terrorist networks, deter illicit trafficking, defeat piracy and maritime crime. With its headquarters now at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy, NAVEUR-NAVAF directs all its naval operations through Commander, United States Sixth Fleet co-located in Naples and support activities ashore through Commander, Navy Region Europe and Southwest Asia headquartered in Naples, Italy.
Naval Forces Europe - Naval Forces Africa is commanded by Admiral James G. Foggo III, who serves as NATO's Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples; the deputy commander is Vice Admiral Lisa Franchetti, who concurrently serves as the Sixth Fleet commander. The earliest presence of U. S. Navy forces in Europe was the Mediterranean Squadron, the European Squadron following the American Civil War, the forces were combined as part of the North Atlantic Fleet in 1906. In 1917, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters developed as a command under the leadership Admiral William S. Sims to overses the European aspects of United States Navy operations during World War I, his principal subordinates were Rear Admirals Henry B. Wilson in France and Albert P. Niblack at Gibraltar. Following the cessation of hostilities and the Allied occupation of Turkey, Rear Admiral Mark L. Bristol was sent to Istanbul as Senior Naval Officer Turkey, commanding the U. S. Naval Detachment in Turkish Waters.
Bristol arrived in Istanbul on 28 January 1919, raised his flag on USS Scorpion. In August 1919 Bristol received the diplomatic appointment of U. S. High Commissioner, responsible to the State Department for diplomatic matters in Turkey. In his naval capacity Bristol was responsible to Commander, U. S. Naval Forces, European Waters. In May 1920, USS Pittsburgh, flagship of Vice Admiral Harry S. Knapp, Commander, U. S. Naval Forces, European Waters, accompanied by USS Cole, evacuated a number of American naval and relief personnel from the Caucasus. In September 1920, the flagship Pittsburg ran aground in the Baltic sea off Libau and returned to the United States for repairs. From January 1921 until April 1922, Vice Admiral Albert P. Niblack served as Commander, U. S. Naval Forces, European Waters. In October 1922, Pittsburgh returned to the Mediterranean and became flagship for two of Niblack's successors as Commander-in-Chief, U. S. Naval Forces European Waters, Admiral Philip Andrews in 1924-1925 and Vice-Admiral Roger Welles in 1925-1926.
At some point after 1926, Naval Forces, European Waters, went into abeyance. In March 1942, the duties of the existing Special Naval Observer London were expanded to command naval forces. Commander, Naval Forces, Europe was established to maintain Navy bases in the United Kingdom and to report intelligence and research data being provided by Allied intelligence organizations. Numerous liaison channels were opened with governments in exile; the command assisted in the planning and preparation of the invasions of North Africa and France. By 1944 the headquarters had been established at 20 Grosvenor Square, in central London; the building was only vacated by the Navy when the headquarters moved to Italy in 2009. When Admiral Harold R. Stark became COMNAVEUR in April 1942, he was given the additional duties as Commander, United States Twelfth Fleet; the fleet, which operated in European waters, consisted of one battleship, two cruisers, an aircraft carrier and six destroyers. By autumn of 1945, the chief function of the U.
S. Navy in the occupied countries was completed; as operational emphasis changed and the geographical area expanded, the command’s title was changed to more define the Navy’s role. In November 1946, COMNAVEUR became COMNELM and six months in April 1947, the title was changed, this time to Commander in Chief, U. S. Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. A Northern European Force of five to six ships were active from 1946 to 1956. Missouri visited Turkey amid the Turkish Straits crisis of 1946-48. Admiral Robert B. Carney became CINCNELM in December 1950. In June 1951, he assumed additional duty as Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe, the CINCNELM Headquarters was moved from London to Naples. In June 1952, the two commands were separated: CINCNELM Headquarters returned to London and Admiral Jerauld Wright became CINCNELM and Admiral Carney remained in Naples as CINCSOUTH. Wright became the Commander-in-Chief effective 14 June 1952. CINCELM was organized into the following subordinate commands: Northern European Force — Rear Admiral Robert B.
Pirie, Chief of Staff to CINCNELM Fleet Air, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean — Rear Admiral E. A. Cruise Military Sea Transport Service, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean — Rear Admiral C. F. Chillingsworth U. S. Naval
United States
United States Navy
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Rear admiral (lower half)
Rear admiral
Vice admiral
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This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Navy document "Vice Admiral Michelle Howard".
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