Posts Tagged ‘ north ’

Al-Qaida’s offshoot in North Africa said Friday it released a Spanish woman it had held captive for 100 days in Mauritania because she voluntarily converted to Islam.

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Woman Converts to Islam After Captivity

Sachsen, sending SM-2 (click to view full) Greek deal adds submarine construction capabilities. (March 1/10) ThyseenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) recently announced a “close strategic partnership” and Memorandum of Understanding with the Abu Dhabi MAR group in the United Arab Emirates, but the move is much closer to a sale of key assets. The MoU stipulates a 50/50 joint venture to build naval surface ships, with TKMS retaining a lead role and know-how in all projects with the German Navy and NATO partners. Similarly, Abu Dhabi MAR Group will be responsible for the Middle East and North Africa. At the same time, however, Abu Dhabi MAR is acquiring 80% of TKMS’ key surface ship firms: Blohm + Voss Shipyards, Blohm + Voss Repair, and Blohm + Voss Industries. The proposed sale follows other recent purchases in Germany by Abu Dhabi MAR, and other recent shipyard sales by TKMS. The net effect is a restructuring of Germany’s naval shipbuilding industry… (more…)

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U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command are “inextricably linked” and share an “indispensible partnership” that calls for a single leader, the commander of both commands said.

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Northcom, NORAD, ‘Inextricably Linked,’ Commander Says

SAN DIEGO — Three weeks after a carrier-based chief petty officer suffered a fatal electric shock, the commander of the Navy’s surface fleet ordered all ships to review training and reinforce safety measures for all shipboard electrical systems. In his safety advisory issued Monday, Vice Adm. D.C. Curtis warned the fleet to follow safety procedures and safe practices and not take dangerous shortcuts that can risk injury. “Given the recent number of electrical related incidents, we must exponentially raise our awareness forcewide to the hazards associated with what has incorrectly become considered routine or everyday work,” Curtis, Naval Surface Forces commander in Coronado, Calif., said in the message. “Adhering to electrical safety standards is not routine and should not be considered everyday work.” Curtis ordered that all ships do a thorough review of all electrical safety-related documents and manuals and ensure compliance of those procedures; hold all-hands training on electrical safety and tag-out procedures; and ensure that sufficient electrical safety personal protective equipment and materials, such as insulated tools, test equipment and rubber gloves, are on hand. Ships must complete their reviews and report to their class squadrons by March 26. The electrical safety advisory came a week after San Diego-based 3rd Fleet directed a wider electrical safety stand-down for all ships and shore commands and safety reviews completed by March 26. The directive by Vice Adm. Richard Hunt came on the heels of two fatal accidents in recent months. Chief Electrician’s Mate (SS/DV) John G. Conyers, 36, died Feb. 19 after he was electrocuted while working in an auxiliaries space aboard the carrier Ronald Reagan, which is undergoing a maintenance availability at North Island Naval Air Station in Coronado. On Nov. 28, Engineman 3rd Class David Mudge, 22, died aboard the frigate Rentz after he was shocked while working in an auxiliary machinery space while the ship was berthed in Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates. Officials have not yet provided details about what happened in each case. Both incidents are being investigated. After the Rentz incident, Naval Sea Systems Command issued several advisories about shock hazards that reiterated existing shipboard safety and electrical procedures and advised the fleet to inspect all shipboard electrical enclosures for rust and corrosion, especially high-humidity areas that have higher risk of corrosion. The recent incident involved the installation of a breaker into a 450-volt load center during the maintenance availability, but, according to a NavSea safety advisory, power sources were not secured, and the load center wasn’t de-energized and tagged. NavSea’s commander, Vice Adm. Kevin McCoy, in the March 1 safety advisory, urged “strict adherence” of safety procedures for shipboard electrical systems. McCoy also sought to dispel misconceptions about safety measures, and he warned against complacency. “The misconception that exists in some parts of the fleet that racking in or out a breaker in energized switchgear is routine and low risk must be eradicated,” he wrote. “Beyond electrical shock, such work poses a significant risk of arc flash if technical manual guidance in not strictly followed.” “Every job must be approached with a focus on what could go wrong and careful consideration of the worst case risk inherent in what is being planned,” he added. “No electrical work, no matter how frequently performed, should be considered routine; steps should always be taken to remove dangers and keep people safe.”

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SurFor stresses electrical safety after deaths

Sen. Carl Levin is asking the Pentagon to carefully consider whether it wants to do more business with Blackwater, the controversial military contractor firm out of North Carolina that is reportedly bidding on a $1 billion Afghan police training contract.

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Levin Takes Aim at Blackwater Contracts

Army Staff Sgt. Tracy Dice was a 12-year law-enforcement veteran when she decided to become an explosive ordnance disposal technician in the North Carolina National Guard.

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Face of Defense: EOD Experience Benefits Guard Soldier

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Logistical support to Antarctic science efforts wraps up

Naval Air Forces announced the squadrons that won Battle Efficiency Awards for 2009 in an internal message dated Feb. 10. Winning squadrons, by aircraft: • F/A-18 Hornet: Strike Fighter Squadron 83, Rampagers, Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.; VFA-192, Golden Dragons, NAS Lemoore, Calif. • F/A-18 Super Hornet: VFA-31, Tomcatters from NAS Oceana; VFA-102, Diamondbacks, Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. • EA-6B Prowler: Electronic Attack Squadron 140, Patriots, NAS Whidbey Island, Wash. (Atlantic deployment); VAQ-136, Gauntlets, NAF Atsugi.; VAQ-133, Wizards, NAS Whidbey Island. • E-2C Hawkeye: Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 124, Bullseye Hummers, NAS Norfolk, Va.; VAW-113, Black Eagles, NAS Point Mugu, Calif. • H-60 Seahawk: Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 15, Red Lions, NAS Jacksonville, Fla.; HS-8, Eightballers, NAS North Island, Calif.; Helicopter Anti-Submarine Light 46, Grandmasters, Naval Station Mayport, Fla.; HSL-51, Warlords, NAF Atsugi; Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26, Chargers, NS Norfolk; HSC-25, Island Knights, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam; Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 71, Raptors, NAS North Island. • P-3 Orion/EP-3 Aries: Patrol Squadron 10, Red Lancers, NAS Jacksonville; VP-40, Fighting Marlins, NAS Whidbey Island; Special Projects Patrol Squadron 2, Wizards, Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1, World Watchers, NAS Whidbey Island. • H-53 Sea Dragon: Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15, Blackhawks, NS Norfolk. • E-6B Mercury: Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 3, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. • C-2A Greyhound: Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 40, Rawhides, NS Norfolk. The winning carriers and warships ran in the Feb. 22 and March 1 issues, respectively.

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Battle ‘E’ squadrons named

Video: B-52s at Cope North

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Video: Cope North overwiew

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