Monthly Archives: September 2008

Faina Watch

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INDIAN OCEAN (Sept. 30, 2008) The commanding officer of a U.S. Navy guided-missile cruiser monitors the pirated motor vessel (M/V) Faina off the coast of Somalia while one of his helicopters provides aerial surveillance.

The Belize-flagged cargo ship is owned and operated by Kaalbye Shipping, Ukraine and is carrying a cargo of Ukrainian T-72 tanks and related equipment.

The ship was attacked on Sept. 25 and forced to proceed to an anchorage off the Somali Coast.

(U.S. Navy photo by Mass communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky/Released)

Brass Hunt

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U.S. Marines from the 9th Provisional Security Company search for spent brass after a morning of firing at a weapons range at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, on Sept. 24, 2008.

The company is part of Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa.

DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Samuel Rogers, U.S. Air Force. (Released)

Going Up

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A U.S. Sailor signals the area around an aircraft elevator is clear as the elevator takes a tour group from the hangar bay to the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) after the ship pulled into its new operating base at Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, Sept. 25, 2008.

George Washington’s arrival from its former homeport of Norfolk, Va., marks the beginning of its role as the Navy’s only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier and as centerpiece of U.S. 7th Fleet’s Carrier Strike Group 5.

(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Daniel Viramontes/Released)

Side By Side

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09/24/2008 – U.S. service members from the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) walk side-by-side with Haitian citizens to a school in Gros Morne, Haiti, Sept. 24, 2008, to provide medical care.

Kearsarge is providing medical treatment and transporting food and supplies to flooded areas of Haiti where damaged roads have made access difficult.

(DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class David Danals, U.S. Navy/Released)

Helmand Hornet

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An F/A-18C Hornet refuels with a British Royal Air Force L-1011 aircraft in southern Afghanistan after conducting operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Sept. 27, 2008.

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and Carrier Air Wing 14 are providing support to coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan.

U.S. Navy photo by Cmdr. Erik Etz

Village Visit

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A Humvee crosses a river in Afghanistan Sept. 16.

A few of the dismounted Airmen temporarily ride on top of the Humvee to keep their boots dry.

The American Airmen brought the supplies for the village children.

(U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Morse)

Follow The Leader

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U.S. Army Spc. Steve Stewart leads an entourage of festive children down a road as his unit conducts Operation Boar Bobcats, a cordon and search mission in Muhallah 762 in Oubaidy, eastern Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 28, 2008.

The soldiers are assigned to Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.

U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brian D. Lehnhardt

Hawr Rajab Hope

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Members of the Hawr Rajab Village of Hope vocational school stand together for a group photo after the fourth and final graduation ceremony on Patrol Base Stone, Iraq, Sept. 25, 2008.

The coalition-led civil service corps program took members of Sons of Iraq, a citizen security group, from checkpoints and taught them trades to use in the workplace.

U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. Christopher McKenna

Muscle Hustle

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U.S. Army Staff Sgt Allan Triplett tests his muscles during an arm wrestling competition while bonding with local Iraqis outside an eatery in Ula Market in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 24, 2008.

Triplett is assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment.

U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Cohen A. Young

Canine Handler Vertical Insertion

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SAN DIEGO — Petty Officer 1st Class Anthony Ross, a K-9 handler, and Chiquita, an explosives sniffing dog, from Marine Safety and Security Team San Francisco are lowered from an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter in San Diego bay Sept. 24, 2008 as part of vertical insertion training.

(U.S. Coast Guard photo/PA3 Henry G. Dunphy)

New I-35 Bridge

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Minneapolis, Minnesota

A reserve crew from Sector Upper Mississippi River patrols underneath the new I-35 bridge in Minneapolis, just over one year after the existing bridge collapsed on August 1, 2007 during rush hour traffic, killing 13 and injuring 145 people.

Boat crew: PSC Mark Mirsch, MK1 Eric Gadbois, BM2 Brandon Kuske (Coxswain), BM2 Mike Arney (Coxswain), BM3 Ryan Beecher, BM3 Pat Olmstead, FA Mike Kelleher – several were on the initial crew that responded to the collapse a year earlier.

The new bridge was built in just a little over one year, over two months ahead of schedule.

September 27, 2008

U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Petty Officer Kevin Rofidal

Traffic Backlog

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Posted by OneEighteen here.

This is a photo of the radar screen on a ship I sailed out of Houston after Ike. It shows a 12 mile radius around the seabuoy off Galveston. The buoys of the channel leading in are about 5 o’clock on the screen. The tip of Galveston Island is the long yellow shape around 4-5 o’clock. Each of the bright spots is a ship waiting for a berth in Houston or Galveston. Two days earlier there had been as many as 150 ships. I think by this time we were down to 80 or so. And they keep showing up.

Taken on September 23, 2008

H/T: EagleSpeak

Suez Transit

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SUEZ CANAL, Egypt (Sept. 23, 2008)

The amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) transits through the Suez Canal.

San Antonio is deployed as part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group supporting maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky (Released)

Haiti Relief Supplies

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GONAIVES, Haiti (Sept. 26, 2008) Haitian civilians unload relief supplies from a landing craft utility assigned to Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 2 embarked aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3).

Kearsarge completed her humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission in Haiti Sept. 26, delivering more than 3.3 million pounds of food, water and other supplies.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Joshua Adam Nuzzo (Released)