New post (USS Thach Decommissioned) has been published on http://www.navyandmarinenews.jcandmei.com/

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USS Thach Decommissioned

The Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate USS Thach (FFG 43) was decommissioned after more than 29 years of naval service during a ceremony on board Naval Base San Diego, Nov. 1.

The ship was named for Naval aviator Adm. John S. Thatch, the developer of the “Thach Weave” dogfighting tactic in World War II and former Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe from 1965-1967. He died in 1981 and the ship was commissioned into service March 17, 1984.
Several of the ship’s plankowners and dozens of former crew members, as well as many members of the Thach family, attended the ceremony alongside current crew members.
“Congratulations to all the of current crew and the wardroom for the fine work and Thach’s success; I understand you just got back from deployment,” said retired Navy Capt. Dale H. Moore, Thach’s first commanding officer who served as guest speaker for the ceremony. “I must say, lookingto my memory and the pictures I have from 30 years ago, the ship today looks as sparkly and new as it did then.”
Moore honored the plankowners that took part in the commissioning ceremony more than 29 years ago by having them stand and be recognized during the decommissioning ceremony. He also spoke about the technology aboard Thach nearly 30 years ago, including the limited number and use of computers at the time.
“To all of you, fair winds and following seas,” said Moore. “To Thach, wherever you may be, may you also have fair winds and following seas.”
During Thach’s final deployment earlier this year, the crew of 220 Sailors and Coast Guardsmen performed counter-illicit trafficking operations off the coasts of South and Central America. The ship disrupted shipments of more than 379 kilograms of cocaine and more than 1,100 pounds of marijuana totaling in excess of $10 million.
“From conducting counter-narcotics operations to maintaining freedom on the high seas, the ship has been through a lot in its 29 years of extraordinary service to our country’s Navy,” said Cmdr. Hans E. Lynch, Thach’s commanding officer.
Lynch said his tour as commanding officer has been very rewarding, especially during the ship’s final deployment conducting counter-narcotics operations in the U.S. 4th Fleet Area of Responsibility.
“I am grateful for the crew’s dedication to the mission,” said Lynch. “It is an honor to be the decommissioning commanding officer of a wonderful ship.”
Thach participated in a number of maritime security exercises and operations both independently and as part of carrier strike groups in U.S. 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th Fleet areas of responsibility during nearly three decades of service.
Thach is the seventh U.S. Navy frigate to be decommissioned in CY-2013 following USS Underwood (FFG 36), USS Curts (FFG 38), USS Carr (FFG 52), USS Klakring (FFG 42), USS Reuben James (FFG 57) and USS Ford (FFG 54).

Press Release, November 04, 2013; Image: US Navy

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MarineLink.comMonday, November 04, 2013, 12:15 PM
 File Photo: Arie van Dijk
Photo: Arie van Dijk
The latest rescue vessel commissioned by the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (KoninklijkeNederlandse Redding Maatschappij, KNRM) has passed an important trial at Damen Shipyards Group in Gorinchem before being entrusted to its crew. The capsize trials had to show that this youngest generation of rescue vessel is actually capable of righting itself. In four different tests, the rescue vessel righted itself to its normal position within a few seconds of capsizing – a life-saving feature in extreme conditions.

The KNRM’s rescue vessels, which have to be deployable in all weather conditions, are being designed to the most rigorous standards. Seakeepingand stability is the most crucial factors in safety. For the crew, however, comfort and user-friendliness are also key features. 

This NH1816 19-meter-long rescue vessel combines all of the technical, ergonomic and operational features the KNRM wanted in a remarkable new design.

Capsizing, then sailing on
The rescue vessel’s self-righting capability was created by the vessel’s low point of gravity and the air bubble in the wheelhouse, which enable the capsized ship to right itself quickly like a self-righting bath toy. The engines and equipment on board are designed to continue operating even after the vessel has capsized.

In its nearly 200-year history, the KNRM has lost 69 rescuers to drowning. Most of those drownings occurred when rescue rowboats capsized in the first 100 years. The advent of motorized, self-righting rescue vessels not only increased safety, but deplorability as well. Nowadays, rescue missions under weather conditions that would have forced rowboats to abandon their mission can simply continue. This means that risks have increased as well. 

Since 1990, at least twelve rescue vessels have capsized. Two of them, from Terschelling and Ameland, were examples of the largest category of rescue vessels and were able to handle extremely poor weather conditions. Thanks to their unique features, the rescue vessels were able to continue sailing and bring their crews of volunteers safely back to shore. 

The KNRM expressed its need for a completely new type of rescue vessel in 2008. Thanks to a donation to the KNRM from Dutch insurance company ‘Noordhollandsche 1816’ (NH1816), the design phase could begin in collaboration with Damen, the Maritime Technology faculty at Delft University and De Vries Lentsch Naval Architects.

Deployment
After completion the KNRM will deploy the SAR NH1816 from IJmuiden, with a permanent captain and an on-call crew. Sailors along the entire coast will carry out trials and familiarize themselves with the vessel. The rescue vessel is intended to be the future replacement for the current Arie Visser-class vessels. These ten 19-metre-long rescue vessels began being built in 1999 and they continue to deliver outstanding performance. Over the next 20 years, in order to keep the KNRM in line with the latest global developments in rescue work, these vessels will gradually make way for the new generation of rescue vessel.

damen.com

knrm.com
 

2 Navy Live by chikaonyekanne  /  8h  //  keep unread  //  trash  //  preview
Your Navy Operating Forward – Mediterranean Sea, Singapore, Strait of Malacca
Right now your Navy is 100 percent on watch around the globe helping to preserve the American way of life. Whether it be operating and training off the coast of California or forward deployed to the Mediterranean Sea, the flexibility and presence provided by our U.S. naval forces provides national leaders with great options for protecting and maintaining our national security and interests around the world. The imagery below highlights the Navy’s ability to provide those options by operating forward.

MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopters assigned to the Indians of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6 perform flight operations off the coast of Naples, Italy.
MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopters assigned to the Indians of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6 perform flight operations off the coast of Naples, Italy.

Sailors from the littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) conduct 11-meter rigid-hull inflatable boat operations in Changi Naval Base Harbor in Singapore. 
Sailors from the littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) conduct 11-meter rigid-hull inflatable boat operations in Changi Naval Base Harbor in Singapore.

Naval Aircrewman (Tactical Helicopter) 2nd Class Nathan James and Fire Controlman 3rd Class Douglas O’Neil are hoisted from the water by an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter from the Swamp Foxes of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 74 during a search and rescue exercise with the guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87). 
Naval Aircrewman (Tactical Helicopter) 2nd Class Nathan James and Fire Controlman 3rd Class Douglas O’Neil are hoisted from the water by an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter from the Swamp Foxes of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 74 during a search and rescue exercise with the guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87).

Quartermaster Seaman Ryan Defillipo takes a bearing of a contact as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG 85) enters the Strait of Malacca.
Quartermaster Seaman Ryan Defillipo takes a bearing of a contact as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG 85) enters the Strait of Malacca.

Seaman Jonathan Keene, left, and Boatswain's Mate Seaman Apprentice Jordan Selig clear the flight deck of the guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61) after attaching chocks and chains to an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter.
Seaman Jonathan Keene, left, and Boatswain’s Mate Seaman Apprentice Jordan Selig clear the flight deck of the guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61) after attaching chocks and chains to an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter.

Ensign Timothy McDaniel, right, prepares to enter the water from a rigid-hull inflatable boat during a search and rescue exercise with the guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87) and the Swamp Foxes of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 74.
Ensign Timothy McDaniel, right, prepares to enter the water from a rigid-hull inflatable boat during a search and rescue exercise with the guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87) and the Swamp Foxes of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 74.

 

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