1854 - Commodore Matthew Perry negotiates the Treaty of Kanagawa, opening trade between the United States and Japan.
1971 - The Poseidon (C-3) missile becomes operational when USS James Madison (SSBN 627) begins her third patrol, carrying 16 tactical Poseidon missiles.
1992 - USS Missouri (BB 63), the last active American battleship, is decommissioned.

By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer Pauline Jelinek, Associated Press Writer – 54 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy says one of its aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf region and one of four crew members is still missing.

A statement from the Navy command in the region is calling the crash a "mishap" and says the Hawkeye aircraft was operating Wednesday afternoon in the North Arabian Sea when it happened.

The E-2C Hawkeye was stationed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and is used for command and control functions for the carrier group as well as surveillance.

The Navy says three of the four crew members have been recovered and search and rescue efforts for the fourth crew member are currently under way.

1944 - Torpedo squadrons from carriers are used for the first time to drop aerial mines - Palau Harbor in the South Pacific.
1972 - The Easter Offensive began in Vietnam.
1942 - The Pacific theater is divided into two zones to clarify command relations. Adm. Chester W. Nimitz commands the Pacific Ocean Area and Gen. Douglas MacArthur is over the Southwest Pacific Area.

Greg

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 9:50 AM
Subject: RE: HMCS Website

Mr. Ciesielski,

Thank you for your interest in the Canadian Naval Centennial. As soon as our the web support person returns, we will add your link to our site,

Regards,

Wendy Goulet

Wendy Goulet
Lieutenant(Navy) Lieutenant de vaisseau
Public Affairs | Affaires Publiques
Canadian Naval Centennial | Centennaire de la marine canadienne
Chief of the Maritime Staff | Chef d'état-major de la Force maritime
National Defence | Défense nationale
Ottawa, Canada K1A 0K2
Wendy.Goulet@forces.gc.ca
Telephone | Téléphone 819-997-0706
Facsimile | Télécopieur 819-997-0664"

BZ, Greg!

LB - You are not aging - you are maturing.

1954 - Carrier aircraft began reconnaissance near Dien Bien Phu, Indochina.
1960 - The first fully-integrated fleet ballistic missile is launched from USS Observation Island (AGM 23).
1973 - Naval Advisory Group and Naval Forces, Vietnam, disestablished, and the last U.S. prisoners of war leave Vietnam.
1975 - The Evacuation of Danang began by sea.

A 35th Commissioning Anniversary (5-3-10) FPO special postmark has been sent to the USS NIMITZ.

Remember to keep your email addresses current with the USCS Secretary.

1942 - Adm. Ernest King becomes both Chief of Naval Operations and Commander, U.S. Fleet.
1943 - The Battle of Komandorski Islands prevents Japanese reinforcements from reaching Attu.
1966 - Operation Jackstay is the Navy's first amphibious assault in Vietnam's inland waters.
1968 - Operation Bold Dragon III begins in the Mekong Delta.

From the Navy News Service March 27th

1794 - Congress authorizes the construction of six frigates, including Constitution.
1799 - USS Constitution recaptures American sloop Neutrality from France.
1880 - USS Constellation departs New York with food for famine victims in Ireland.

From the Navy News Service March 28th

1800 - Essex becomes the first U.S. Navy vessel to pass the Cape of Good Hope.
1814 - HMS Phoebe and Cherub capture USS Essex off Valparaiso, Chile. Before capture, Essex had captured 24 British prizes during the War of 1812.
1848 - USS Supply reaches the Bay of Acre, anchoring under Mount Carmel near the village of Haifa, during its expedition to explore the Dead Sea and the River Jordan.

For more information about naval history, visit the Naval Historical Center Web site at www.history.navy.mil.

By Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Mar 25, 2010 15:30:41 EDT

The fourth Joint High Speed Vessel will be named “Fall River,” in honor of the Massachusetts town that is home to the state’s eponymous retired battleship, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced Thursday.

In a first for a ship-name announcement, Mabus broke the news in posts on his Twitter and Facebook pages, as well as though an official Defense Department press release.

Tweeted Mabus: “Just named Navy’s 4th JHSV USNS Fall River in honor of the thousands of sailors and Marines from its patriotic namesake in Mass.”

Mabus also announced the name in person in a visit to Fall River, Mass., in a park overlooking the battleship Massachusetts and other historic Navy ships at the Battleship Cove museum, said his spokeswoman, Capt. Beci Brenton.

Although Fall River will be the fourth JHSV overall, it’s the Navy’s second ship: The first, Fortitude, and third, Spearhead, will belong to the Army. The first Navy JHSV will be the second built, named Vigilant.

Although the JHSV Fall River will be operated by Military Sealift Command — which is why it takes the “USNS” prefix — it will be the second naval ship to bear the name. The first was a Baltimore-class cruiser that served in World War II, commissioned in 1944 and decommissioned only three years later.

“Fall River” makes JHSV the latest U.S. ship class to break with its initial naming convention: Last week, the Coast Guard announced it was ditching names such as “Sentinel” for its new class of fast response cutters, in favor of historic Coast Guard heroes. Other changes have come in the littoral combat ship program, which began with names intended to capture both inspirational notions and specific places: “Freedom” and “Independence” are supposed to honor those concepts as well as every town in America so named, the Navy said, but the subsequent ships were named “Fort Worth” and “Coronado,” specifically for the cities in Texas and California.

If both classes’ “town” convention continues, the Navy apparently will have JHSVs and LCS ships drawing from a similar pool of names.

Mabus’ predecessor, Donald Winter, last year broke with the most recent convention of naming Virginia-class attack submarines for states when he decided the 12th boat, SSN-785, would be named for retired Virginia Sen. John Warner.

By TERRENCE PETTY, Associated Press Writer Terrence Petty, Associated Press Writer – Thu Mar 25, 10:12 pm ET

PORTLAND, Ore. – Loggers working near the Oregon coast discovered the wreckage of a World War II-era warplane in woods not far from a naval air station decommissioned in 1948, military and police officials said Thursday.

Investigators said human remains may be in the aircraft.

The origins of the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, a U.S. Navy dive bomber, are a mystery. The crash site is not far from two naval air stations that were active during World War II.

"There are so many different air stations they could have been flying from," said Christian Gurling, curator at the Tillamook Air Museum, site of the now-defunct Naval Air Station Tillamook.

A U.S. Navy team worked at the scene along with the Oregon State Police and the Tillamook County Sheriff's Office. Also involved in the investigation is the Joint Prisoner of War/Missing In Action Accounting Command, a Hawaii-based military joint command that tries to account for Americans missing in action.

State police bomb technicians checked the site Wednesday afternoon and found no sign of unexploded ordnance.

A logging company discovered the wreckage on March 18 in a heavily wooded area and notified law enforcement officials, who then notified the U.S. Navy.

Officials have found a wing, a tail section, landing gear and other debris spread out over about 200 yards, state police said.

Gurling said the Tillamook station was originally an airfield for blimps guarding the Pacific Coast, but airplanes were also there in later years.

The SB2C Helldiver, which operated off aircraft carriers, replaced the Douglas SPD Dauntless. Gurling said it carried two crew members — the pilot and a radio operator, who was also the gunner.

The Helldiver, also known as "the Beast," was a formidable warplane, but Gurling said it was also "plagued by problems."

"In the earlier planes, the pilots were told to not dive for fear the planes would fall apart," said Gurling. "Which wasn't good for a dive bomber."

1813 - USS Essex takes the Peruvian corsair ship Nereyda, marking the first capture by the Navy in the Pacific.
1898 - Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt proposes the Navy investigates the military application of Samuel Langley's flying machine, beginning naval aviation.
1915 - F-4 (SS 23) becomes the first American submarine casualty, sinking off the coast of Honolulu.

Mothballed ships polluting Suisun Bay soon could be towed and scrapped at a South Pacific island once notorious for its sweatshops and inexpensive labor, according to a business plan filed there.

A company in the Northern Mariana Islands has announced plans to bid on ship disposal contracts and, if successful, tow the aged vessels to the islands' biggest city, Saipan, for scrapping. For years, Suisun ships have been scrapped almost exclusively at yards in Brownsville, Texas.

The islands' Ports Authority agreed earlier this month to lease dock space and a warehouse to a company pursuing ship-scrapping contracts that would include the Suisun Bay vessels. The lease allows Worldwide Salvage Saipan to now seek Maritime Administration certification as a recycler, potentially opening the work to inexpensive Asian labor markets.

Because the tiny 14-island archipelago east of the Philippines is a U.S. commonwealth, company officials asserted in lease documents that doing the work there will not violate federal law restricting the disposal of U.S. ships to domestic scrapping yards — nor will it violate an international ban on the exporting of toxic vessels, the company wrote.

A member of an environmental group said he was not so sure.

"If this company gets a contract, we are going to have a fleet of lawyers looking into the law," said Colby Self of the BASEL Action Network, a Seattle-based nonprofit that monitors global trade
Advertisement
in toxic materials.

Some of the older Suisun ships "are in horrible condition," he said, and the voyage of more than 4,000 nautical miles through the open Pacific makes "the likelihood of sinking a definite possibility."

More than 50 ships scheduled for disposal are anchored in the Suisun fleet near Benicia.

Towing the ships to Texas through the Panama Canal allows tow crews to stay relatively near land — and seek a harbor if the weather turns bad.

Years of disputes with California regulators has created a logjam of ships awaiting disposal.

In January, a federal judge ruled in favor of environmental groups that sued the Maritime Administration, saying tons of toxic paint peeling from the ship violated federal and state clean water laws.

The judge is scheduled to conduct a hearing in May on how best to resolve the pollution. The Mariana Islands company appears to be trying to step into the dispute by offering another location in addition to Brownsville where the ships could be cut up.

"We will be towing from several ports in the United States to Saipan obsolete merchant ships marine vessels owned by the federal government," the president of Worldwide Salvage Saipan wrote in a Jan. 25 letter to commonwealth's legislature. "The ships will be dismantled and sold as scrap in mainland China."

Another member of company expressed confidence that its plans will go forward.

"We will be towing ships hopefully from the (Suisun fleet) first," David Sablan, an officer in the company, wrote in an e-mail to Bay Area News Group.

Repeated requests to the Maritime Administration's media office for information on the issue went unanswered.

The Northern Mariana Islands were once home to garment factories where workers from Asian countries were lured into little more than indentured servitude with promises of jobs in the United States. Activists eventually pressured retailers such as the Gap and Old Navy to stop making products there.

In its letters to the commonwealth's legislature, company officials wrote that the work would done under "all environmental laws" and that workers would be paid "more than the minimum wage."

"Major progress" has been made in work conditions in the commonwealth, said Daniel Weiss, chief of staff to Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, who was involved in forcing reforms.

But that does not mean that it is the right location to scrap Suisun ships, Weiss said.

"I wouldn't get all excited about Saipan," he said. "Even if Saipan got a couple of ships, there are still 50 out there."

Weiss said that Miller continues to favor the startup of a recycling operation at the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, where a company has been trying for years to use dry-docks there for ship scraping. A partner in that company, Allied Defense Recycling, said he doesn't think a Saipan operation would affect his plans.

"I don't think they can pull it off," said Gary Whitney, a retired naval officer.

The remaining obstacle, he said, is dredging of the Mare Island channel so ships can be towed to the dry docks. Dredge spoils would likely prove to contain toxic materials, complicating matters.

Previous efforts in past decades to scrap ships in obsolete U.S. Territories and Commonwealths — including Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands — with traditionally low-paid work forces have failed, Whitney said.

There are also no hazardous waste disposal facilities there, he said, meaning those materials would have to be shipped elsewhere.

"The best thing to do is recycle the ships here," he said.

Weiss said Miller would support that even if Saipan provided to be a cheaper alternative, citing environmental issues and the potential creation of jobs.

1783 - At the conclusion of the American Revolution, Congress orders all Continental naval vessels and privateers home.
1903 - George Dewey is commissioned Admiral of the Navy with the date of rank, March 2, 1899. He was the only person to hold this rank.
1918 - The battleship Idaho (BB 41) is commissioned.
1988 - William L. Ball III becomes the 67th secretary of the Navy.
2010 - Roger Wentworth receives nice email from USS LINCOLN for his letter of commendation to their Post Office.

Can you tell me if there is a Stamp Show in the Reno area in mid April??

1820 - Commodore Stephen Decatur dies after a duel with Capt. James Barron.
1915 - "Naval aviator" replaces "Navy air pilot" for officers qualified as aviators.
1929 - Navy ships protect Americans and their property during a Mexican revolution.
1946 - USS Missouri (BB 63) departs the United States to return the body of a deceased Turkish ambassador to Turkey for burial. Missouri arrived in Istanbul April 5.

SENTINAL Cutter
Originally uploaded by uscgpress
Guardians,

It is with great pleasure that I announced today the name of the first Fast Response Cutter in the Sentinel Class will be the BERNARD C. WEBBER. Named for Petty Officer First Class Bernie Webber who executed one of the most famous rescues in U.S. Coast Guard history. He piloted Motor Lifeboat CG-36500 from Station Chatham, MA to the freighter Pendleton which had split in half during a massive storm in 1952. Webber and his three crewmembers rescued 32 sailors from certain death. Later the Coast Guard crewmen were awarded the Gold Life Saving Medal for their courage and heroism. CWO BOSN (retired) Bernie Webber passed away last year and was interned at Wellfleet, MA on Cape Cod in May.

With great pride I also announce that all of the 58 Sentinel Class cutters will be named after enlisted heroes. In the words of Alexander Hamilton, "a few armed vessels judiciously stationed at the entrance to our ports, might be useful sentinels of the law." Our cutters will be named after our enlisted "sentinels" ... not only of the law, but safety of life at sea as well. A formal keel laying ceremony will take place for the first FRC on April 9th in Lockport, LA at the Bollinger Shipyard. Here's the link to the ALCOAST.pdf I shared with the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Not sure if the Penn ANG still is there. I've been to Willow Grove two weekends in a row. First weekend was a big rain, probably no flight operations. And yesterday I didn't see any usmc helos, P3s if they're still there. Not sure if the A10s were away or not flying or they've moved. My guess is the aNg is staying after usn leaves next year. Best Larry

A great day at the Davis Monthan AFB Air Show. Ned harris and I noted a great solo aerobatic display by a USN F18 Super Hornet. Was the pilot showing off because he was at a USAF Base. Was it because the Thunderbirds were also on the schedule? Whatever the case it was a terrific display.

Here is the membership high for:

1976: 1635
1986: 1546
1996: 1511
2006: 1373
Currently: 1093

As Larry says, we need the help of all members to recruit and retain members.

1898 - USS Oregon departs San Francisco for a 14,000-mile trip around South America to join the U.S. Squadron off Cuba.
1917 - The Navy Department authorizes enrollment of women in the Naval Reserve with ratings of yeoman, radio electrician or other essential ratings.
1942 - The Secretary of the Navy gives the Civil Engineering Corps command of the Seabees.

From the Navy News Service March 20th

1833 - Capt. David Geisinger of the sloop Peacock negotiates the first commercial treaty with the King of Siam.
1922 - USS Jupiter is recommissioned as Langley (CV 1), the Navy's first aircraft carrier.
1939 - The Naval Research Lab recommends financing a research program to learn to obtain power from uranium.

From the Navy News Service March 21st

1917 - Loretta Walsh becomes the first woman Navy petty officer when she is sworn in as a chief yeoman.
1919 - The Navy installs and tests a Sperry gyrocompass, in the first test of an aircraft gyrocompass.
1945 - The Bureau of Aeronautics initiates rocket-powered surface-to-air guided-missile development by awarding a contract to Fairchild.

For more information about naval history, visit the Naval Historical Center Web site at www.history.navy.mil.

1781 - Continental sloop ship Saratoga goes down will all hands in a sudden gale, three days after sailing from Cap Francais, Haiti.
1945 - Carriers begin a three-month Okinawa campaign by destroying aircraft on Kyushu, Japan.
1974 - The Navy is sent to sweep mines from the Suez Canal.

"This confirms my suspicions that some LS's are not collector friendly and might explain why we don't get some of our covers ..."

Is there anything that pleases you. Bi+ch+ng and moaning doesn't help and turns off the friendly LS/PCs. We are appreciative of our helpful friends. Turning a good event into an unpleasant one isn't necessary every time. Ships differentiate between collectors who send two covers for themselves and friends and commercial dealers. That's the harsh reality. Who knows why the prior pc didn't help but he didn't bilge your covers. Send a thank you to the ship's CO for the help you received and praise the current LS and send a copy to BMCM for the Log. This sailor needs to be recognized. You need to do positive things to get positive results. Larry

Tampa Bay Navy Week
Airfest: March 13-21

Phoenix Navy Week
Baseball Spring Training:
March 22-29

Charleston Navy Week
April 12-18

San Antonio Navy Week
Fiesta San Antonio: April 15-25

Des Moines Navy Week
Drake Relays: April 19-24

Kansas City Navy Week
Sound of Speed Air Show:
April 24 - 2 May

Birmingham Navy Week
Tuscaloosa Airshow:
May 2-9

Spokane Navy Week
Lilac Festival: May 10-16

Little Rock Navy Week
Riverfest: May 24-30

Milwaukee Navy Week
Milwaukee
Air & Water Show:
June 7-13

Boston Navy Week
Harbor Fest:
June 30 - 7 July

Twin Cities Navy Week
Aquatennial: July 17-25

Chicago Navy Week
52nd Annual
Air & Water Show:
August 7-15

Boise Navy Week
Western Idaho Fair:
August 20-29

Baltimore Navy Week
Maryland State Fair:
August 28 - 6 September

Cleveland Navy Week
Cleveland National Airshow:
August 30 - 6 September

St.Louis Navy Week
St. Louis Airshow:
September 6-12

Salt Lake City Navy Week
Utah State Fair:
September 9-19

Atlanta Navy Week
Wings over Marietta Airshow:
October 11-17

Dallas-Ft. Worth Navy Week
Ft. Worth Alliance Airshow:
October 25-31

Any pictorials planned?

Covers can be sent to:

Postmaster
Attn: Customer Services
50th Anniv Launch FBM-A1X Sta
Cape Canaveral FL 32920-9998

Interesting that I found a cover from EAG 154 for the launch date, canceled on the ship 29 March 1960! Cover will be uploaded to the Naval Cover Museum, unknown cachetmaker.

You can send for cancels to:

Postmaster
Attn: Customer Services
Christening Station
Camden NJ 08101-9998

Postmaster
Customer Services
Philatelic Postmark Request
USS Wayne E Meyer Adoption Sta.
3190 S. 70th Street Room 509
Philadelphia PA 19153-9611

If you are visiting Philly you can go to the "B. Free Franklin" Station at 4th and Market to get the cancel in person on March 25th. This is a replica post office of what Benjamin Franklins post office may have been like and all the USPS employees are dressed in Colonial garb. The station uses a Colonial style cancel on outgoing mail, which features the signautre of Franklin.

1911 - The hulk of battleship USS Maine is sunk at sea with full military honors.
1945 - The island of Iwo Jima is declared secure.
1966 - Gemini 8 is launched. Former naval aviator Neil Armstrong flew on this mission, which completed seven orbits in 10 hours, 41 minutes at an altitude of 161.3 nautical miles. Recovery was by USS Leonard F. Mason (DD 852).

For more information about naval history, visit the Naval Historical Center Web site at www.history.navy.mil.

Funny thing happened today. It stopped raining and the sun came out.

More coversd next weekend.

Why are you guiys up so late. I know Larry is on the train.

LB - what do yuou think NJT might charge for sleeping car service?

Trains here run mainly at night. The only passenger service is AMTRAK 3 nights a week. Union Pacific keeps AMTRAK off schedule to the point that AMTRAK is taking them to court.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=0&oq=%242+dollar+bills+with+red&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4SUNA_enUS242US255&q=2+dollar+bills+with+red+ink

In middlesex county there is a county wide water alert. Boil all water. Hope the dog likes Poland spring. Most neighbors are blacked out. Literally, the other side of the street is in blackness. The second street down from me is clossed with a large old tree across the street. The metuchen Inn, an old structure, had a fire and is borded up. Fire was Saturday Am. In the bar. Two story 19th century bldg. Nice resturant and bar. Maybe another cause. Yestersay my train line had the 3pm train stuck between stops for 5 hours. Ground is saturated. Heavy winds and short roots are a problem. Schools may be delayed.

Got too windy. All the oak trees are shedding leaves. Next big project.

Thanks for the live link to your six NJ carrier series.

Once aboard ship in 1961, I could get the whites heavy starched inside out and hard as a board to fit into the lockers. We had canvas bottomed racks with 4-inch foam rubber mattress a fartsack cover. We didn't have the coffin-locker combo racks. No civies allowed on the ship back then. You had to store civies in a locker club on the strip outside the gates or a friends' house off base.

The good ol' days!

That last few days before payday you were lucky to have enough change left for a vending machine 10-cent coke and a 30-cent grilled cheese at the exchange snack bar.

Fleet Week 2010 is scheduled for Monday April 26 thru Sunday May 1.

Ships are participating:

• USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) – US Amphibious
• USS Halyburton (FFG-40) – US Frigate
• USS Porter (DDG-78) – US Destroyer
• USCG (to be assigned) – US Coast Guard
• US submarine (to be announced)
• FGS Hessen (F-221) – German Frigate
• HSMC Montreal (FFH-336) – Canadian Frigate

Above from the Broward Navy Days website.

According to USCS member Allan Fisher, there will be a pictorial postmark for the event this year. Fisher had been prodding them for four years to have one and this year his suggestion was followed up by the group. The event is held in Port Everglades, but I have no further information on the date or mailing address for the pictorial cancel.

I have half of May issue formatted already. April issue was sent to the printer the night of 9 March.

2 beautifully cancelled and cacheted covers rec'd from USS DEWEY for the FDC.

This coming Monday evening and for the next 3 Mondays thereafdter I will be posting on eBay diesel sub launch covers. USCS will get 20% of the sale price. I sell as cva58.

Bill. My guess is Apprentice Seaman. Now E2 SA Seaman Apprentice.

John. Pay went down into wwii. When my father went to Newport they had raised pay for recruits from $12.00 or $12.50 per month to $33.00. I made a demonic $666.00 per month as an Ensign. Today it proably is $3k.

Larry

SEAMAN, Second Class $20.90
Fireman, 2nd Class $33.00
Musicians, 2nd class $33.00
Hospital Apprentices $20.90
Ship's Cook, 4th Class $27.50

SEAMAN, THIRD CLASS
Apprentice Seaman $17.60
Fireman, 3rd Class $24.20
Landsmen $17.60

Covers back today from USS Asheville, "First Day New Cachet" from USCS cover service. Applied a label return address from the baot with "Dept of the Navy" "Official Business" as part of the label. Mailed from Guam 969 dated 8 March 2010. Not bad for a trip of approx. 8,241 miles! You Go, USPS!

Have to find time for articles. Hectic at work. So many good stories. Articles are fun work. Buay weekend going to willoq grove for final conference and dinner before closing. Maybe lunch ar villanova.

Coast Guard News: COMDT Allen was aboard USCGC
POLAR STAR yesterday, as "Building No. 10" was
placed back into Coast Guard service. Her mailing
address: FPO AP 96698-3920

The ships, of which two are now in service, are initially being based at San Diego.

Roughead said the LCS vessels are seen as a replacement at Mayport for the frigates.

http://www.mybaseguide.com/navy/everett/operations.aspx

"During deployments, USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN is the nucleus of a carrier strike group of five to nine ships, including guided missile cruisers, destroyers, frigates, replenishment ships and submarines. The ship can be reached on the quarterdeck number at (425) 304-5154/5097 or DSN: 727-5154/5097. "

In my opinion a stamp is just a stamp. A cover tells the story of where it was used, when it was used and where it went. Actually a very interesting part of history.

That is probably why we collect covers. We appear to be more historians than just collectors.

1798 - The first U.S. Navy surgeon, George Balfour, is appointed.
1847 - Commodore David Connor leads a successful amphibious assault near Vera Cruz, Mexico.
1862 - The first battle between ironclads - USS Monitor and CSS Virginia - takes place.

CHARLES DREW christening covers arrived today. Very nice job by Midway Philatelic.

Las Cruces Sun-News, March 8, 2010
LAS CRUCES - The USS New Mexico, the nation's newest nuclear submarine, will be commissioned later this month.
The March 27 ceremony, to be held in Norfolk, Va., marks vessel formally joining the U.S. Navy's feet.
The $2.7 billion fast-attack vessel is the nation's sixth Virginia-class submarine. It is 377 feet long, can dive to a depth of about 800 feet and weighs 7,800 tons.
A retired chief warrant officer who served aboard battleship New Mexico (BB-40) in 1939 and 1940 has a special role in the ceremony: He has the honor of passing the long-glass to the Officer of the Watch, symbolically marking the last watch of the "old" New Mexico and the first watch of the "new" New Mexico, according to a news release. The color guard will feature ROTC members from the University of New Mexico.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, a Navy band will play John Philip Sousa's "New Mexico March."

From Hervey...USS TOLEDO & Distinguished Sailors.

and USS JOHN McCAIN is an example. Among the non-responders to my request for postmarks was one to USS JOHN McCAIN. I equate the providing of a nice clear impression of a ship's postmark as an expression of pride in the navy and an expression of dedication to doing the best job possible, no matter how menial. In my navy service during World War II and the Korean War the leadership on my ships and stations not only demonstrated, but insisted on commitments to do the best job possible, and during most of my collecting experience the postmarks I received demonstrated this. A response for a postmark request that provides a collectible cover is evidence of proper leadership and pride of service. I say BRAVO ZULU to the many (more than half of the postal clerks) who continue to do their best, and I hope that they set an example to the others.

BATH — Maine's Bath Iron Works and Alabama's Austal USA are ending their partnership, allowing Austal to compete on its own for the next contract to build fast and agile warships for the Navy.

Austal plans to bid as prime contractor for the first two ships in an anticipated 10-ship buy by the Navy. Overall, the contract for littoral combat ships could be worth nearly $5 billion to the winner. In 2012, the Navy plans to award another five-ship contract that must go to a different builder.

By breaking up their team, Bath Iron Works would be able to bid on the second contract.

Currently there are two competing versions of the ship. With its new contracts, the Navy wants to build 55 of one version of the ship.

Navy's sea sick move

Close call for ships in 'race'

By ANDY SOLTIS

Last Updated: 6:39 AM, March 4, 2010

Posted: 3:55 AM, March 4, 2010

Comments: 12

A Navy captain turned the Pacific into the world's strangest drag strip -- ordering two warships to stage a bizarre race that one sailor said nearly ended in tragedy, a high-ranking military official told The Post yesterday.

"Multiple witnesses interviewed by the [inspector general] and the commanding officers of both ships all stated that the ships were racing," said Pacific Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Jeff Davis .

Capt. Holly Graf of the 10,000-ton guided missile cruiser Cowpens, the senior officer at the scene, was forced to walk the plank after her high-seas hot-rodding. She was relieved of command after the incident, one of the strangest in naval history.

One sailor who was aboard the Cowpens on Feb. 12, 2009, told the Web site militarycorruption.com, which first reported the incident, that both the cruiser and the 8,200-ton destroyer John McCain were plowing through the waves at "full throttle."

The McCain is named for Sen. John McCain's father and grandfather, both admirals.

"At one point we nearly hit the McCain's fantail when the ships came within 300 feet," the shaken sailor, whose name was withheld, told the Web site.

"I held my breath and prayed to God we wouldn't collide because many sailors could have been killed and at least one Navy warship sunk at sea."

The sailor said the Cowpens' bridge crew was about to sound a collision alarm at one point, but Graf ordered them not to.

It was not clear how fast the ships had been going, but both have maximum speeds of more than 30 knots -- about 35 mph.

The race was investigated late last year, along with allegations that Graf bullied her crew.

"What is unsubstantiated is the allegation that [the race] constituted . . . improperly hazarding a vessel," Davis said.

But Graf, the first woman ever to command a guided-missile cruiser, was separately found guilty of "cruelty and maltreatment" of her crew and conduct unbecoming an officer.

She was issued a "punitive letter of reprimand" on Jan. 13 by Rear Adm. Kevin Donegan, commander of Carrier Strike Group Five.

Graf was due for a normal transfer within the month, but Donegan ordered her to be replaced immediately.

Ed, Spring training is full of optimism. The snows are ending, heavy clothes are going to be packed away and the girls are beginning to display summer form. But, don't foget they are going to raise a 27th World Series Pennant in the Bronx. I was born in the 5th year of the five consecutive world series and finished law school in 1977. The AL East is competative and the Red Sox have improved. The Yankees have a few outfield holes and a few old players who could just break down. Don't want to be here if Posada or Rivera or even Pettite know how old they really are. But I underestimated last year's team and Girardi. This year I am going to give them a break and pick them to repeat. Hope the Red Sox have a great year but not too great. Larry

1911 - The first Naval Appropriations Act that included funds for naval aviation is approved by Congress.
1925 - Congress authorizes restoration of USS Constitution.
1947 - Operation Highjump, air operations in Antarctica, ends.
1963 - A Navy Hercules aircraft completes a 12-day rescue operation of a critically-ill Danish seaman from a Danish freighter off the coast of Antarctica.

Phillies 3, Yankies 2 today in grapefruit league opener.

CG Nominee Wants to Cut Terror Mission
February 25, 2010
Associated Press via Military.com

WASHINGTON --- President Obama's pick to lead the Coast Guard wants to make major cuts to the agency's counterterrorism mission over the next five years.
An internal memo from Vice Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr., Obama's nominee to become Coast Guard commandant, says that starting in 2012, he would slash funding for programs in the agency's homeland security plan, including patrols and training exercises.
The memo, marked "sensitive --- for internal Coast Guard use only," was obtained by The Associated Press.
Papp's outline is significant because it could mean major changes for the more than 200-year-old agency that took on substantial homeland security duties after Sept. 11, 2001. Obama's 2011 proposed budget cuts for the Coast Guard have already caused outrage from some lawmakers.
According to Papp's memo, he would scale back the Coast Guard's counterterrorism priorities in favor of running traditional search-and-rescue operations that save people in imminent danger on the water and maintaining the maritime transportation system.
In the memo, Papp said he wants to eliminate teams that are trained to respond to and prevent terror attacks. These teams also train other Coast Guard forces on counterterrorism operations.
Papp said the strike teams were created after Sept. 11 "to fill a perceived void in national counterterrorism response capability." He says in the memo that other federal agencies are better at this type of mission.
He also calls for cuts to the Coast Guard's largest homeland security operation, which patrols critical infrastructure and other sensitive security structures on or near waterways. And he would decrease the number of specialized units stationed in key coastal areas where an attack could be devastating.
Obama has already proposed closing five of the 12 specialized units in 2011.
"In view of the fiscal horizon, we must make bold and systematic strategic decisions," Papp wrote in the memo, dated Nov. 10, 2009. Obama announced his intention to nominate Papp on Dec. 22.
Papp also wants to cut back on the number of ships doing daily counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean. Currently, about six ships carry out that mission daily, according to Papp's memo.
He wants to trim the number back to an average of 4 1/2 ships a day, while keeping the Coast Guard cutters that perform anti-narcotics operations in transit zones to respond to specific intelligence about drug trafficking.
"What I offered above is just a fraction of what is needed, and I'm prepared to go further," Papp wrote in the memo.

My thoughts: This is a little more drastic then cutting one mail delivery a day!

1776 - The first amphibious landing operation takes place. A Continental naval squadron, under Commodore Esek Hopkins, lands Sailors and Marines, commanded by Capt. Samuel Nicholas, on New Providence Island in the Bahamas. They capture urgently-needed ordnance and gunpowder.
1871 - The Navy Medical Corps is established.
1883 - Congress authorizes four modern ships of steel, "A, B, C, D Ships"; three cruisers, Atlanta, Boston and Chicago, and dispatch boat Dolphin.
1915 - The Office of Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) is established.
1915 - Congress creates the Federal Naval Reserve. Under it, the Naval Reserve Force is built up.
1960 - USS Sargo (SSN 583) returns to Hawaii from an Arctic cruise of 11,000 miles - 6,003 miles under the polar ice.

"Tough technology and market conditions are creating new challenges for our business," Potter writes for Sunday's Post Outlook feature "Five Myths." "Misconceptions about the future of our enterprise abound; dispelling these myths will show that we can continue to deliver the mail."

Potter's five myths:

1. The Postal Service wastes taxpayer dollars.

2. The Postal Service is inefficient.

3. Mail is not reliable.

4. The USPS is not environmentally friendly.

5. The USPS can't compete with the private sector.

Regarding the fifth myth, Potter notes that UPS and FedEx are two of the Postal Service's biggest customers.

"Our competition pays us to deliver more than 400 million of their ground packages every year in residential areas and on Saturdays," Potter writes. "In turn, the USPS contracts with UPS and FedEx for air transportation to take advantage of their comprehensive air networks."

Good morning Phil, see you tonight, and John Lyding. A bright blue sky but snow is in the forecast to the south and off shore. Let's hope we are missed this time. John hope you are skipped too. It has been a tough winter. Larry

IWO TO, Japan – Hundreds of U.S. Marines landed on the remote island of Iwo Jima on Tuesday to prepare for the 65th anniversary of one of World War II's bloodiest and most iconic battles.

The Marines flew in trucks, water and food from Washington to support Wednesday's commemorations of the 1945 battle that was a turning point in the Pacific theater. It claimed 6,821 American and 21,570 Japanese lives in 36 days of intense fighting. A drill team also arrived on the island.

The commemoration was to be attended by about 1,000 people, including Marine Corps commandant Gen. James Conway, members of Japan's parliament and representatives of the Iwo Jima survivors' association.

Only about two dozen American veterans of the battle are expected to attend the "reunion of honor" ceremony because few of the survivors — now in their 80s and 90s — are able to make the trip.

It was not known if any of the fewer than 1,000 Japanese who survived the battle would be able to attend.

Inhabited only by about 300 Japanese troops, Iwo Jima, a tiny island the size of Manhattan, is a maze of tunnels, caves and dense, scraggly underbrush. It is believed to be covered with too much unexploded ordnance left over from the battle to be developed, and has been largely untouched since the war.

It is, instead, an open tomb.

Though dozens of remains are recovered every year, about 12,000 Japanese are still classified as missing in action and presumed killed on the island, along with 218 Americans.

The island formally reverted to its old name of "Iwo To" in 2006. Both "to" and "jima" mean island, but the name of "Iwo Jima" carries the stigma of the treacherous battle and subsequent two decades of occupation.

The Marines who arrived Tuesday from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force on the island of Okinawa, many of whom have been to battle either in Iraq or Afghanistan, said they were visiting hallowed ground.

"I can't imagine fighting in this kind of terrain," said Cpl. Daniel Flynn, 24, of Mount Airy, North Carolina. "I fought in Afghanistan, but that was in open desert. I probably would not have had the same experience here had I not been to Afghanistan."

Joined by Japanese troops and U.S. Navy sailors, many of the Marines trekked down to the beach where the invasion of the island began on Feb. 19, 1945, and filled bottles with its famous black volcanic sand. Others jogged to the top of Mount Suribachi, where the U.S. flag was raised on Feb. 23 — an image captured by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal that became one of the most enduring ever taken of war.

Iwo Jima was declared secured on March 26, 1945. Japan surrendered in August of that year.

"It's like going back in time," said Staff Sgt. Daneil Dumas, 28, of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

I need the scans for the Plunger/TR article ASAP.

Thanks

U.S. Navy frigate to visit Eastport
The Associated Press

EASTPORT — The U.S. Navy will send the USS De Wert to far eastern Maine this summer.

Sen. Olympia Snowe says the ship will be in Eastport for the city's Old Home Week over the Fourth of July.

The 453-foot vessel is one of the Oliver Hazard Perry class guided missile frigates and the first ship in the U.S. to bear the name.

The De Wert was built at Bath Iron Works and commissioned in 1983. Its home port is now in Florida.

John see you tomorrow night.

Best, Larry