Former crash crew Sailor returns after 46 years

As Rough As It May Seem,It's Still Steady As You Go...


Let’s journey back to 1961. Disney’s “101 Dalmatians” and Elvis Presley’s “Blue Hawaii” hit the movie theaters. On the radio, The Shirelles have a hit with “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” and Ricky Nelson is the teenage heartthrob. TV viewers turn the channel to watch “The Twilight Zone.”

At NAS Whidbey Island, Dennis Sandall is on the job with the Operations Crash and Rescue Crew as an apprentice Sailor.

He had arrived on station in December 1960 for a nine-month stint, where A3D Skywarriors and P2V Neptunes ruled the runways.

“The experience here was the best I had in my entire four years in the Navy,” said Sandall of Manteca, Calif. The last time he saw the air station was in August 1961, when he left to serve the remainder of his enlistment as an engineman aboard Navy ships.

Now at 65, coincidentally, the same age of NAS Whidbey Island is today, he recently returned to see how the base has changed.

He made the side trip here en route to Alaska, where he and his wife were vacationing. Before catching an Anacortes ferry to Canada, Sandall was determined to see the base again.

NAS Public Affairs arranged for a windshield tour and a few surprises, including a visit to NAS Whidbey’s Fire Station No. 71 on the flight line.

Sandall had brought pictures of his active duty days with the Crash Crew which was then housed in the basement of building 385.

Fire Inspector Alan Sprouse and firefighter driver operator Thomas Becker of Navy Region Northwest Fire & Emergency Services showed Sandall the recently completed multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art crash crew facility. Sandall also got a ride in the Oshkosh T1500 fire truck for a comparison of the old MBY crash and rescue truck that he drove here in 1961.

While watching an EA-6B and F/A-18 Hornet take off from Runway 14/32 in the front seat of the T1500, Sandall shared a few of the accidents he responded to. Among them was an A3D that had missed the arresting gear and veered off the runway into the dirt with no injuries to the aircrew.

But one in particular was tragic. “I remember an A3D that crashed off the runway after losing an engine on takeoff,” said Sandall. “It crashed into the woods. There was no time to find the keys for the gates, so we drove the crash truck up over the fence and over small trees. Two died, but two survived.” According to the base newspaper “Prop Wash,” that A3D accident occurred in March 1961.

In another mishap, Sandall said his crew had to foam the runway when a P2V landed wheels up at night.

“Hearing these planes again really turns me on,” Sandall says with a smile. He is now retired from 38 years as a civilian heavy duty truck mechanic.

As NAS Whidbey Island celebrates its 65th anniversary of operations, it’s the memories such as Sandall’s that keep veterans coming back to remember the people they worked with and the mission they supported. It’s no wonder that the air station is often called the jewel among military installations.

USS Ford Back Home After 5 Months

As Rough As It May Seem,It's Still Steady As You Go...


EVERETT — The U.S. Navy band played "When the Saints Go Marching In" and a throng of spectators squealed in delight while waving tiny American flags.

Aided by a tugboat, the USS Ford eased up to the Naval Station Everett pier.

Men in white uniforms stood at the warship's rails, occasionally waving when glimpsing a loved one awaiting the arrival of the ship Thursday after a nearly five-month deployment in Southeast Asia.

Fireman Nick Shoemaker was the luckiest of the 220 sailors aboard the Ford. The Mariner High School graduate won a ship lottery to get off the vessel first and kiss his longtime girlfriend, Danielle McClory.

McClory, 19, also a 2006 Mariner graduate, didn't care so much about the first kiss. She's just glad Shoemaker is home.

"I haven't seen him in a long time," she said.

Shoemaker's father, Randy Shoemaker, was able to join his son in Hawaii and travel across the Pacific on the Ford with his son. Family members frequently make the trip from Hawaii to the Northwest aboard naval ships at the end of deployments.

That was a bonus, said the sailor's mother, Pennie Shoemaker.

Randy Shoemaker comes from a family with a proud tradition of military service, Pennie Shoemaker said. Her husband wasn't able to sign up for the Navy because of a health issue, she said.

"Now his son gets a taste of something he never had," Pennie Shoemaker said.

The Ford, a guided-missile frigate, is one of three of the Oliver Hazard Perry class warships assigned to the naval station. By chance, it was picked to go on a cruise to Southeast Asia, commanding officer Cmdr. Michael Taylor said.

The ship had only six weeks' notice that it would deploy on what the Navy calls a Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training trip in Southeast Asia, Taylor said. Another Everett ship had been scheduled to go, but encountered problems with its rudder, and the Ford went in its stead.

Taylor was anxious to go, even though the ship had returned from a long cruise off South and Central America in July 2006.

"It's considered to be one of the best deployments on the books these days," Taylor said.

The ship worked with navy personnel from a dozen nations in Southeast Asia, drilling on ship, land and sea. It conducted a series of exercises, often with crew members exchanging positions on other nation's ships.

The exercises are designed to foster strong international relations with those nations, and to bolster the forces in the area, Taylor said.

Some of those navies have older ships, but Taylor said he learned that the sailors there are professional.

"They are good," he said. "We learned a lot."

The ship visited such places as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Jakarta and Saipan, traveling more than 21,000 miles.

Meanwhile, four new fathers also got off the ship early to greet babies born during the deployment.

One of those was Petty Officer 3rd Class Mark McKee, who got to hold 2-month-old son Quinn. His wife, K'Lee McKee, said she hates deployments but has a lot of help from family and friends in Tacoma.

The couple's other children, Homer, 1, and Kyra, 3, were dressed in sailor outfits for the homecoming.

Also on the pier, Kylie Farthing, 2, let out ear-piercing screams as she got a look at her dad still aboard the ship. Her mother, Karrie Farthing, just moved to Everett from Ohio and was looking forward to greeting her husband, Petty Officer 3rd Class Alan Farthing.

"She's her daddy's daughter," Karrie Farthing said of Kylie. She talks about her ship-bound husband a lot at home. Kylie and her older sister respond to her talk.

"That's all they talk about," she said.

The separations are tough, but "easier to handle when I have my kids. So it's OK," Karrie Farthing said.

Mesa Verde (LPD 19) undergoes Sea Trials for US Navy

As Rough As It May Seem,It's Still Steady As You Go...


PASCAGOULA, Miss.: The Northrop Grumman-built amphibious transport dock ship Mesa Verde (LPD 19) successfully maneuvered the Gulf of Mexico waters last week, demonstrating her unique capabilities to the U.S. Navy.

"The ship performed well and the trial results demonstrate the progress we are making with this ship class,'' said Philip Teel, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman's Ship Systems sector. "Make no mistake, LPD 19 will provide our sailors and Marines with a reliable and capable platform to perform their mission of defending freedom.''

"The completion of acceptance trials is a major step towards bringing LPD 19 into the fleet, and we look forward to ship delivery later this month,'' said Rear Adm. Chuck Goddard, the Navy's program executive officer for ships. "Mesa Verde performed very well on trials, and its condition and performance is a testament to the craftsmanship of the shipbuilders. I expect this trend to continue as the company completes the rest of this incredibly capable class.''

Mesa Verde's mission is to embark, transport and land elements of a landing force in a variety of expeditionary and special operations missions. She will be commissioned in Panama City, Fla. on Dec. 15, 2007.


Northrop Grumman's third amphibious transport dock ship Mesa Verde (LPD 19) just completed successful acceptance trials for the U.S. Navy. The ship will be delivered later this month and will be commissioned in Panama City, Fla., on Dec. 15, 2007.

"I am well pleased with Mesa Verde's performance on acceptance trials,'' said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Shawn Lobree, LPD 19's prospective commanding officer. "This highly capable ship passed all major testing events and is ready to be delivered to the Navy. As I have often said, it takes teamwork to build such a sound ship, and this is a testament to years of hard work by the Northrop Grumman/Navy team.''

Mesa Verde is an LPD 17-class ship. The ship is 208.4 meters (684 feet) long, 31.9 meters (105 feet) wide, and will replace the functions of the LPD 4, LSD 36, LKA 113, and LST 1179 classes of amphibious ships. This new ship class affords the Navy's Expeditionary Strike Group with the technology and flexibility to launch and recover amphibious landing craft such as the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), operate an array of rotary-wing aircraft, and carry and launch the U.S. Marine Corps' Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $30 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.

US to help Mozambique protect coastline

As Rough As It May Seem,It's Still Steady As You Go...


The commanding officer of the first American war ship to dock in Maputo for 30 years pledged on Wednesday that the United States navy stood ready to help Mozambique protect its coastline.

"We are in Mozambique to discuss with the local military authorities the possibility of establishing a partnership with a view to assisting the national navy to protect its territorial waters and coasts," Commander Dean Vesely told AFP.

Under the partnership, the US navy will coordinate with the Mozambican authorities to combat drug trafficking, illegal fishing and any hostile military activity.

"Two years ago, we signed similar agreements with certain countries on the Atlantic coast and we would like to do the same thing with countries on the east of southern Africa," he said.




The frigate, USS Forrest Sherman, docked on Monday in Mozambique with 315 officers and 277 seamen on board for a one-week visit.

It is expected to leave Mozambique for South Africa.

Ceremony For USS Wahoo WWII Sub

As Rough As It May Seem,It's Still Steady As You Go...


Lost at sea for more than 63 years, the USS Wahoo (SS-238) and her crew are coming home to Vallejo - at least in spirit.

On Oct. 11, St. Peter's Chapel will host a memorial service to honor the men lost at sea on the Wahoo, built at Mare Island and launched on Feb. 14, 1942.

In addition to honoring the Wahoo crew, the service also will honor all submariners who have served in the U.S. Navy and especially those who have been lost in submarines, said event coordinator Myrna Hayes of Vallejo.

The final resting place of the legendary World War II submarine remained a mystery until last year. That's when the U.S. Navy confirmed as the Wahoo a wreck located in the Soya (La Perouse) Strait between the Japanese island of Hokkaido and the Russian island of Sakhalin.

The Wahoo completed seven war patrols and is credited with sinking 27 ships. The submarine was lost at sea on Oct. 11, 1943 with her crew of 80 men.

A Japanese aerial bomb likely sank the Wahoo, said Charles R. Hinman, USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park director of education & outreach. He added the submarine was seen leaving waters around Japan on the surface, making it vulnerable to attack.

The St. Peter's ceremony falls on the same day a much larger
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service, called "On Eternal Patrol," takes place at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park at Pearl Harbor on Hawaii.

The St. Peter's memorial service will feature a historical slide show, music, and an opportunity for those attending to share memories and recollections.

Events will begin with a 1 p.m. flag-raising event at Morton Field, followed by the St. Peter's Chapel ceremony from 2 to 4 p.m. After a reception, Hayes would like to conduct a wreath-laying ceremony at 5:30 p.m. in the Mare Island Strait.

Mare Island's legacy of building and servicing submarines is a source of pride for Vallejo residents, Hayes said.

"There's tremendous pride they took in producing ships for the war and tremendous pain and loss they felt when an entire vessel and her crew were lost at sea," she said.

At the time the Wahoo was launched, Mare Island workers were building and launching ships and submarines at record pace, said Jim Kern, director of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum. Some 50 submarines were built at Mare Island, including the nuclear-powered vessels, he said.

The discovery of the sunken Wahoo has launched a revival of interest in them and a submarine veterans group has begun meeting at the museum, he added.

Traces of the Wahoo around Vallejo are evident. Morton Field on the former Naval base is named after the submarine's commanding officer Dudley "Mush" Morton, Kern said. This summer also marks Morton's 100th birthday.

The memorial service is free. Seating in the Chapel is limited, so confirmation of attendance is suggested. For more details call Hayes at 557-9816 or 649-9464.

More information about Mare Island's ties to the Wahoo and the memorial service will be posted at www.mareisland.org after Sept. 24th.

For more details on the Pearl Harbor Oct. 11 service go to www.oneternalpatrol.com.

The USS Wahoo Mare Island Memorial is hosted by Arc Ecology, a San Francisco based non-profit organization.

WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn., Sept. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Hamilton Sundstrand, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX), has selected Distributed Energy Systems' (Nasdaq: DESC) hydrogen generation business to develop and supply electrolysis cell stacks that produce breathable oxygen within nuclear submarines. As a first step in this relationship, the parties have entered into a contract for cooperative development of a cell stack suitable for the next generation U.S. and British Navy submarines. The contract, which extends through fall of 2008, involves development work valued in excess of $1 million.

Distributed Energy Systems' cell stacks will enable the water electrolysis-based oxygen generation systems to split water into its hydrogen and oxygen elements. Once these new cell stacks are successfully developed, Hamilton Sundstrand anticipates Distributed Energy Systems will supply production versions to Hamilton Sundstrand for use in new nuclear submarine programs for which Hamilton Sundstrand oxygen generating systems may be selected.

Hamilton Sundstrand Space, Land & Sea, a business unit of Hamilton Sundstrand, designs and manufactures oxygen generating systems, atmosphere monitoring instruments, and propulsion systems for the U.S. Navy and international navies. This undersea expertise complements its extensive space heritage in space suits, life support, power management and distribution, actuation, and thermal management systems provided to NASA and their international partners for human and launch systems since the Apollo era.

"We selected Distributed Energy Systems as our supplier for this key military equipment as a result of their advanced technical capability in electrolysis, their manufacturing expertise and the proven reliability of their equipment," said Larry McNamara, director of Strategy and Development for Hamilton Sundstrand Space, Land & Sea. "We believe this relationship will provide a long term benefit for Hamilton Sundstrand's advanced life support systems and technologies for our Navy customers."

Distributed Energy Systems has an 11-year track record of developing, producing and marketing electrolysis systems for the on-site production of hydrogen in commercial, industrial and research applications. Capabilities include high and low pressure oxygen and hydrogen, with the elements produced by the cell stacks usable either in a process, in the gaseous form, or as a source of energy.

"Continuing to work with Hamilton Sundstrand on this important defense industry project is a vote of confidence in our technology and the people who have developed and continue to refine it," said Robert Friedland, senior vice president of Distributed Energy Systems and head of its hydrogen business. "Moving forward with this program, we expect to achieve long-term benefits for our nation's defense, as well as for our company and Hamilton Sundstrand."

With 2006 revenues of $5 billion, Hamilton Sundstrand employs approximately 18,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Windsor Locks, Conn., Among the world's largest suppliers of technologically advanced aerospace and industrial products, the company designs, manufactures and services aerospace systems and provides integrated system solutions for commercial, regional, corporate and military aircraft. It also is a major supplier for international space programs. United Technologies provides a broad range of high-technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.

Distributed Energy Systems Corp. designs, develops, and manufactures proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrochemical products that meet a variety of market needs for hydrogen generation and advanced energy storage applications. Distributed Energy Systems' HOGEN(R) hydrogen generators produce hydrogen from electricity and water in a clean and efficient process using its proprietary PEM technology. Markets served by this technology include industrial hydrogen, vehicle fueling, backup power, military and aerospace, and renewable energy storage. For more information, visit http://www.distributed-energy.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements contained herein concerning anticipated product developments and future business opportunities may be deemed to be forward-looking information. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors. Factors that could cause results to differ materially from those contained in these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, failure to perform contracts for customers profitably, or complete development of products, failure of products to achieve commercial acceptance, inability to expand production facilities, manufacture products at commercially acceptable costs or establish distribution relationships, the impact of competitive products, and other factors detailed in the reports on Form 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K that United Technologies Corporation or Distributed Energy Systems may file with or submit from time to time to the SEC.

Contact: Dan Coulom

860-654-3469


SOURCE Hamilton Sundstrand

Navy raising CANES in system migration

The Navy is moving to a new information technology environment called the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services, or CANES.

CANES is inspired by the service-oriented architectures being implemented by the military and private industry. But the Navy intends to accept a greater level of risk while migrating to its new environment, Rear Adm. Kenneth Deutsch, director of warfare integration at the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, told government and industry representatives in Washington last month.

SOAs deploy loosely coupled, reusable application components to create new IT capabilities. This replaces traditional integration architectures, which require point-to-point interfaces between networks and systems.

CANES seeks to solve the same problem, Deutsch said. “If I showed you a complete interface diagram, it would be a total black screen.”

The migration to CANES will differ from the typical SOA deployment in that the Navy will be relying less on its older capabilities while making the transition. Instead, it will seek to rapidly insert new capabilities while it is implementing its new architecture.

“What we are proposing increases risk in the near term,” Deutsch said. “We are willing to accept that risk if it means providing more capability to the fleet. We are not necessarily risk-averse in this case.”

He added that the current way the Navy procures and installs systems is unaffordable. “Over a 14-year period, we would have to pay out $2.6 billion just to maintain current capabilities,” he said. “This is a function of how we procure, acquire and test systems. That is a shipwreck.”

“CANES is very much moving forward,” said Stacy Cummings, director of strategic planning at the Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence. “We are proceeding using existing programs of record and funding sources.”

She added that the main problems are not technical issues but “on the acquisition and business side.”

Deutsch agreed that governance is the main challenge. “How do I do it quickly, and how do I afford to do it if I have a flat-line budget?”

The new program seeks to consolidate onboard networks to no more than two or three, Deutsch said. “We want the minimum required to host applications and to conduct our business, which is war.”

Rapid capabilities insertion lies outside the normal acquisition process, Deutsch said, “but it is authorized by DOD Acquisition Directive 5000. Without it we could not keep up with threats.”

Deutsch expects full support for CANES from the Office of the Secretary of Defense and in Congress. “They always like new business practices that drive out waste on the Hill,” he said.

Deutsch said he expected to see rapid progress beginning in 2010 and a full-blown common-computing environment in place by 2011.

Naval group urges refit for Canadian subs to patrol Arctic

Naval group urges refit for Victoria-class subs to patrol Arctic 16 hours ago

OTTAWA (CP) — The Navy League of Canada says the federal government should refit the country's often maligned Victoria-class submarines for limited under-ice operations if it is serious about defending the Arctic.

The defence group's national deputy director, Jerod Riley, says the biggest military threat faced in the North comes from foreign submarines.

The ability to track them and neutralize them should be a key plank in any defence strategy, he said.

The navy conceded last week that the country's new Arctic patrol ships, announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper with much political fanfare in July, won't be designed with sonar - or have the ability to hunt submarines.

Capt. Ron Lloyd, in an interview with The Canadian Press, said the navy would have to rely on other means to keep track of underwater intruders.

Riley said the Victoria-class submarines, which have had a controversial, glitch-filled history, could be refitted with an air-independent propulsion system.

As it stands, only nuclear-powered submarines are capable of remaining submerged under Arctic ice for long periods of time. But conventional subs, like the diesel-powered Canadian boats, can be designed from the outset - or refurbished - in order to allow for limited Arctic operations.

When the former Liberal government bought the four second-hand boats from the British in 1998 the stated intention was to outfit them with an independent propulsion system powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The technology, however, has not panned out and the idea was quietly dropped.

The navy has struggled to put the submarines, mothballed by the Royal Navy in the early 1990s, into active service. The biggest blow to the program happened in October 2004 when the last of the boats, HMCS Chicoutimi, caught fire on its maiden voyage to Canada, killing one crewman. Other submarines have had hull rust and leaking problems.

All of the bad press is one of the reasons the navy is reluctant to upgrade the propulsion system, Riley said.

"There's also simply not enough money in the system to make it happen," he said. "The mission in Afghanistan is draining the Defence Department's budget."

German shipyards are the leaders in refitting submarines with an air-independent propulsion systems, delivering 122 boats to 16 different countries over the last 30 years.

Over the last few years Sweden refurbished three of its older boats on its own with a hybrid liquid oxygen-diesel engine that allows the submarines to operate underwater for 14 days at a stretch without surfacing to recharge batteries.

The head of the Senate Security and Defence committee dismissed the notion of upgrading the Victoria-class.

The navy's program to bring HMCS Victoria, HMCS Windsor and HMCS Corner Brook up to Canadian standards, as well as repair the fire damage on Chicoutimi, is behind schedule and would be set back further, said Liberal Senator Colin Kenny.

He also questioned whether Canada wants to be hunting submarines in the Arctic, given that many of the so-called intruders would be allies, such as the United States and possibly Britain.

Riley said the real concern would be submarines belonging to rogue nations, not allies.

Kenny said he's not convinced the Conservative government's heavy military emphasis in the Arctic is necessary, given that the waters surrounding the archipelago will ice-free for perhaps three months a year.

Harper announced in July the purchase of six to eight armed, medium icebreakers, a deepwater port and an Arctic training centre for the army.

"It's one of the screwiest ideas to come out of this government," said Kenny.

Establishing a Canadian presence in the North has more to do with economic development and getting companies up there to explore for resources than with building bases and ships, he said.

He said the new Arctic ships will be more important for patrolling the Atlantic and Pacific coasts than they will be in the Arctic

Boston Ship Repair setting up a Phila. operation

Boston Ship Repair Inc., which has worked on some of the world's largest cruise ships and other vessels during the last decade, is setting up a second operation in Philadelphia.

The new yard, to be called PennShip Service L.L.C., is expected to employ a core group of 200 workers, more at the peak of big projects, and to strengthen the region's maritime supplier and service companies. Final lease documents were being reviewed and signed yesterday.

PennShip is leasing the site next to the Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, which has delivered six new cargo ships since it began operations in 2000. Aker Philadelphia is now building three ships a year and has a backlog of new orders.

The sites are part of the old Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, which closed in 1996.

Boston Ship Repair has been owned for two years by Dimeling, Schreiber & Park L.P., a private-investment partnership based in Center City. Joseph E. Driscoll, a partner in the firm, declined to discuss plans. "There's very little to talk about until we get some business going. It's purely a start-up operation," he said.

But he said his partners were excited about the opportunity. He called the success of the adjacent shipyard "a wonderful story. Many thought we would never see a ship built here again. The hope is that we benefit each other."

For 10 years, ending last year, Metro Machine Corp., of Norfolk, Va., repaired Navy ships at the site PennShip will develop.

City and state officials had been actively seeking to replace Metro with a shipbuilding or ship-repair firm that would make the Aker shipyard a stronger magnet to attract maritime service and supply firms to the region.

PennShip has leased Drydock 3 and Pier 6 along with adjacent land, said John Grady, senior vice president of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., which manages the site for the city.

He declined to disclose terms of the lease, saying that information would help competitors in bidding situations.

Even before the lease was signed, maritime industry executives said PennShip was actively seeking ship-repair and overhaul work from commercial and government ship owners.

The drydock it is leasing is 984 feet long and 114 feet wide. It was built by the Navy before World War II and is one of the largest in the northeastern United States. Large ships are floated, massive gates are closed and then water is pumped out, allowing workers access to a dry hull, propulsion gear and rudder for repair, painting and overhaul.

The PIDC is looking for another maritime firm to develop the smaller Drydock 2 area, once part of the Metro Machine operation.

The PennShip deal is part of "our continued commitment to develop the industrial and maritime industrial assets that we acquired from the Navy," Grady said.

The Navy base and shipyard, on the Delaware River at the foot of South Broad Street, employed 11,000 shortly before the Pentagon announced in 1991 that it would close. The PIDC has in the last decade attracted about 75 companies to the site, a mix of industrial, office, distribution and research-and-development enterprises.

About 7,000 people now work at the old base, including 2,500 in Navy groups that remained active here - a large engineering complex, propeller shop, foundry and inactive-fleet maintenance unit.

News From Philadelphia Inquirer

Navy General Library Program Offers Digital Library Access Anytime, Anywhere

CLEVELAND, OH -- (Market Wire - Sep 19, 2007) -- Navy Knowledge Online has enhanced its digital library with hundreds of educational and entertaining eBooks for Sailors, Marines, and their families to download. After announcing the addition of download video in August, the Navy's digital library has been so popular that they're expanding to include high quality content in all digital formats: audio books, music, video, and now eBooks. The Navy's digital library collection can be viewed at http://navy.lib.overdrive.com, but registered users must checkout and download through https://wwwa.nko.navy.mil.

Thousands of Navy personnel have checked out titles from the digital library, which is accessible worldwide. It allows users to download a wide variety of titles for listening and viewing on a PC or laptop, and then transfer to portable devices, such as Pocket PCs, Smartphones, and dozens of compatible MP3 players. The titles automatically expire at the end of the 10-day loan period and are returned to the Navy's digital library.

The new collection of eBooks offers nearly 400 titles, with heavy emphasis on foreign language and graphic novels. Foreign language learning audio books are consistently one of the highest circulating subjects in the Navy's collection, and the addition of eBooks in more than 10 languages was highly anticipated. Popular graphic novels, such as "The Time Machine" from Stone Arch books, and best-selling "Dummies" books for investing, grant writing, and small business, are also available to download.

"Our foreign language eBooks are the perfect enhancement to our foreign language learning audio collection which has been extremely popular with our users," commented Nellie Moffitt, Navy General Library Program Manager. "We were also looking for something entertaining, and what better than digital comic books, graphic novels, and juvenile fiction for all to enjoy?"

The Navy launched their digital library in 2005. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard personnel and their families have global access to download audio books, eBooks, music, and video from one system, provided by OverDrive, the leading provider of digital media services for libraries.

Questions regarding this service should be directed to Sfly_nglp@navy.mil

Canterbury in weekend exercises

As Rough As It May Seem,It's Still Steady As You Go...


The Navy has been carrying out exercises on the country's newest military ship in Wellington this weekend.

HMNZS Canterbury is due to leave the capital this morning after almost a week berthed in Wellington Harbour.

Chief Officer Tony Miller says the crew have been using their time in Wellington to carry out exercises with the Army, including loading vehicles onto the ship ready for transportation.

Tony Miller says the ship is now heading to Napier to carry out the next phase of exercises.



The Multi-Role Vessel CANTERBURY is the first of seven new ships built for the Royal New Zealand Navy under Project Protector. She is affiliated to the Canterbury Region. She was built at the Merwede Shipyard in the Netherlands, under contract to Tenix. CANTERBURY’s design is based on a commercial RO-RO ship, Ben-My-Chree in operation in the Irish Sea.

CANTERBURY will have diesel-electric propulsion and a maximum speed of just over 19 knots. She will provide a sealift capability for the transport and deployment of equipment, vehicles and personnel, and capable of transferring cargo and personnel ashore in benign conditions (up to sea state 3) when port facilities are not available. CANTERBURY has two 59 tonne Landing Craft Medium (LCM) capable of carrying 50 tonnes at 9 knots with a range of 250 nm.

Particulars of CANTERBURY
Displacement: 9000 tonnes
Length overall: 131 metres
Beam: 23.4 metres
Speed: 19 knots

Complement: Core ship's company: 53
Flight personnel: 10
Government agencies: 4
Army ship's staff: 7
Trainees: 35
Troops: 250
Total: 360

Propulsion: Diesel engines
Flight deck: Space for two helicopters

Armament: 25mm and two .50 calibre machine guns

Helicopter capability

The NH90 Helicopter has been selected as the NZDF’s preferred medium Utility Helicopter to replace RNZAF’S Iroquois. Up to four NH90’s can be carried onboard the MRV for deployment ashore in support of Army operations and disaster relief activities. The MRV is also capable of operating the SH-2G Seasprite and the helicopter deck is able to handle a Chinook-size helicopter.

Navy will have to learn to fight terrorists and pirates: admiral

As Rough As It May Seem,It's Still Steady As You Go...

OTTAWA (CP) - The Canadian navy needs to learn how to fight terrorists and pirates, says the top commander.

As the army has been forced to fight a brutal counter-insurgency war in Afghanistan, Vice-Admiral Drew Robertson says the navy must prepare itself for conflicts where "threats are whatever your imagination can conceive."

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Robertson said an attack on an Israeli warship last year was the wake-up call.

Most of the 80 crew members of the Israeli corvette Ahi-Hanit were having dinner below deck on a sweltering, sleepy Friday evening 14 months ago when - seemingly out of nowhere - a Chinese-designed sea-hugging missile slammed into the warship's helicopter deck.

The explosion and fire killed four sailors, but the shock waves of the surprise attack by Hezbollah could be felt well beyond the waters of Lebanon.

It was the nightmare scenario that had kept commanders in established navies all over the world awake at nights.

"Here we have a group that's not a nation, armed with mach-(speed), sea-skimming missiles," said Robertson.

"A year ago, no one had foreseen the idea that weapons of that kind could have proliferated to a non-state actor."

Sophisticated armaments in the hands of violent militias and even terrorist organizations represent the biggest emerging threat not only to 21st century navies, but to merchant shipping as well, say experts in maritime warfare.

Hezbollah fired three radar-guided shore-to-sea C-802 missiles that day. One exploded just after takeoff, the second struck the Ahi-Hanit and the third exploded and sank a Cambodian-flagged cargo ship. The high-tech weapons, with a range of 120 kilometres, were apparently supplied by Iran.

In case anyone believed the July 14, 2006, missile strike was a fluke, or even a lucky shot in the dark, U.S. intelligence agencies recently reported that the Shiite militia in Lebanon was boasting openly that it had tripled its store of Iranian-built C-802 missiles.

The threat of seaborne terrorism came brutally into focus in October 2000 with the al-Qaida attack on the USS Cole as it sat in berth in the port of Aden, Yemen.

The suicide bombing killed 17 American sailors, but it was carried out with a relatively unsophisticated speed boat packed with explosives.

Rob Huebert, a defence analyst, says Hezbollah's landmark attack heralded a new and more dangerous age of maritime warfare.

"Most of the anti-missile capability our frigates and destroyers have is predicated on shots being taken at them by enemies who are over the horizon. But what happens when you get small vessels within sight - or even disguised?" he said.

"I'm thinking of a scenario where you've got all of these little Iranian speedboats and all of a sudden everyone on cue stands up and lets loose with small, cheap missiles. Can you overwhelm the system with numbers?"

Huebert said defence planners will have to pay more attention to so-called close-in weapons systems.

"It's going to be challenging to meet that kind of threat," said Huebert, a University of Calgary conflict studies professor.

Robertson said that from a planning point of view the navy can do that by setting to sea with the "right mixture of surface ships and submarines."

Beyond the hardware, said Dan Middlemiss of Nova Scotia's Dalhousie University, improvements in naval intelligence will be needed.

"You work with your allies to know where this stuff is and where it's going."

There is already a strong network to track weapons of mass destruction, but Middlemiss said NATO and other Western allies may need to extend those intelligence-gathering efforts to "lesser weapons."

In the Ahi-Hanit incident, Israeli commanders blamed the crew for not being vigilant. But there were also lingering questions about why the country's extensive and high-tech intelligence network didn't pick up the existence of the missiles beforehand.

Just as pressing a concern is a perceived increase in high-seas piracy, especially in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

A series of well-timed precise attacks on container ships in crowded shipping lanes could lead to economic chaos in countries, such as Canada, that depend on maritime trade.

A month ago pirates seized a vessel chartered by the United Nations World Food Program in waters off eastern Africa.

"Piracy is enabled by the current state of the government in Somalia," said Robertson. "You've got pirates operating in a relatively unsophisticated manner in those calm waters of the tropics (and) they've been able to have quite an effect."

He said NATO recognized the menace a few years ago and recently dispatched a multinational task force to cruise the waters off the Horn of Africa, the first time the ships of the North Atlantic alliance have ventured there as a group.

Halifax-based HMCS Toronto is part of that fleet.

Royal Canadian Navy Dieppe

As Rough As It May Seem,It's Still Steady As You Go...

Prior to 1910, the Canadian Government showed very little interest in naval affairs. However, with major conflict brewing in Europe, the Canadian Parliament was determined to organize a naval service. On 4 May 1910, under the authority of the Naval Services Act, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was born, adopting the structure and organization of the British Royal Navy.

In the beginning, the RCN consisted of only two second-hand British cruisers and a handful of volunteers. However, during the First World War, the RCN reached a strength of 9,000 officers and men.

During the years following the Great War, the RCN was drastically reduced in numbers, so when Canada declared war on Germany, September 1939, they immediately embarked on a rapid expansion program. One of their methods of expansion was to reactivate the Canadian shipbuilding industry. The RCN, at the beginning of the Second World War, was in the same shape as the rest of the Canadian Military, having been a low priority for the government for quite some time. However, by the end of the Second World war, the RCN was the third largest Allied Navy.

During the Second World War, the Royal Canadian Navy saw its share of battles, including the 19 August 1942, Dieppe Raid. During the Raid on Dieppe, the RCN showed a tremendous amount of courage, for as they approached the beach on that ill-fated day they were faced with immense German fire. They continued, however, to make their way to the beach, fearlessly coming to the aid of their fellow Canadians who were wounded and pinned on the beach by enemy fire. When the Raid was over, the RCN had amazingly suffered only one fatal casualty.

After the Second World War, the RCN experienced a rapid decline in size, but was rebuilt again in the early 1950s at the outbreak of the Korean War and achieved an enviable reputation as submarine hunters.