Navy To Christen USNS Wally Schirra

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy will launch and christen dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Wally Schirra March 8 during a morning ceremony at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego.

Continuing the Lewis and Clark-class (T-AKE) tradition of honoring legendary pioneers and explorers, the Navy's newest underway replenishment ship recognizes Walter "Wally" Schirra Jr., a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former Navy test pilot who served in both World War II and the Korean War. On Oct. 3, 1962, Schirra became the fifth American in space and is honored as one of the original seven Mercury astronauts. He holds the distinction of being the only astronaut to fly in each of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs. Schirra officially retired from the Navy and NASA in 1969.

NASA astronaut and Navy Capt. Lee M. E. Morin will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Serving as ship's sponsor, Josephine Schirra will christen the ship in honor of her late husband. The launching ceremony will include the time-honored Navy tradition of the sponsor breaking a bottle of champagne across the bow to formally christen the ship.

USNS Wally Schirra is the eighth ship of the T-AKE class, a program of up to 14 ships, the first 11 of which will serve as combat logistics force ships and the last three of which are expected to be part of the maritime prepositioning force (future). As a combat logistics force ship, USNS Wally Schirra will help the Navy maintain a worldwide forward presence by delivering ammunition, food, fuel and other dry cargo to U.S. and allied ships at sea.

As part of Military Sealift Command's Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force, Wally Schirra is designated as a United States Naval Ship and will be crewed by 124 civil service mariners and 11 Navy Sailors. The ship is designed to operate independently for extended periods at sea and can carry two helicopters and additional military personnel to conduct vertical replenishment. The ship is 689 feet in length, has an overall beam of 106 feet, a navigational draft of 30 feet, displaces approximately 42,000 tons, and is capable of reaching a speed of 20 knots using a single-shaft, diesel-electric propulsion system.

US Navy vs Iranian Fast Boats - Again

SS Westward Venture (Photo courtesy of Tote)

Fox News is reporting that the SS Westward Venture (a US Navy contract vessel) fired on Iranian Fast Boats yesterday (4/24). The boats were within 100 yards of the vessel and not responding to radio communications. Navy secruity detachment personnel used M16s. It is believed that the potential Iranian attackers were Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

You can check out the complete story on the Fox website at
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352579,00.html

Navy-Chartered Ship Loads Mine Resistant Vehicles in Africa

DURBAN, South Africa (NNS) -- Military Sealift Command-chartered ship ITB Thunder/Lightning here loaded heavily armored mine-resistant vehicles destined for use by U.S. troops operating in Iraq Dec. 3-4.

The vehicles loaded in South Africa were RG-31s -- armored personnel carriers designed for use in urban combat environments with several of the same protection characteristics as mine resistant ambush-protected, or MRAP, vehicles.

This load is significant because it is one of the first sealift shipments of this type of blast-resistant vehicle to the Middle East. Previously, U.S. Central Command has relied solely on airlift assets to deliver such vehicles to warfighters on the ground.

ITB Thunder/Lightning is a U.S.-flagged integrated tug/barge chartered by MSC to carry out the strategic sealift mission of delivering 55 RG-31s and other combat equipment to U.S. forces in the Middle East. Thunder/Lightning is a unique ship with tug and barge components designed to operate independently of each other and together as a single vessel.

"Both Thunder, a tug, and Lightning, a barge, can operate alone. However to carry out big cargo missions, the bow of Thunder locks into the stern of the barge, so the two can operate as one ship," said Chief Operations Specialist Pawel Oscik, Sealift Logistics Command Europe (SEALOGEUR).

SEALOGEUR is the European arm of MSC and manages strategic sealift in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations.

"For this operation, the tug and the barge components will be connected and working together to deliver this important cargo," said Oscik.

"These types of vehicles have proven one of the most effective protections against IEDs and other explosive devices," said SEALOGEUR commander Capt. Nicholas H. Holman. "These vehicles are saving lives. At MSC, we take great pride in ensuring that this vital equipment is delivered in the quickest most efficient manner possible. Our ultimate mission is always to support the troops, and we take that very seriously."

MSC operates more than 110 non-combatant, civilian-crewed ships that deliver combat equipment to troops, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world, resupply Navy ships at sea, and perform a variety of other missions for the Department of Defense.