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Comment by NavyDads Co-Admin, Gary on September 26, 2013 at 3:54pm

OKINAWA, Japan (Sept. 25, 2013) A landing craft air cushion (LCAC) assigned to Naval Beach Unit (NBU) 7 departs the well deck of amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) during the offload of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). Bonhomme Richard is the flagship of the Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group and, with the embarked 31st MEU, is currently conducting routine joint-force operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet Area of Responsibility. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Joshua Hammond/Released)

Comment by NavyDads Co-Admin, Gary on September 26, 2013 at 8:56am

Sean Welcome to the Amphibs Families Group!

Comment by NavyDads Co-Admin, Gary on September 18, 2013 at 6:53pm

NASA Visits USS San Diego in Preparation for Space Capsule Recovery...

Story Number: NNS130916-17Release Date: 9/16/2013 1:32:00 PM
By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Corey T. Jones, Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Senior project managers from NASA managing the Orion spacecraft's Exploration Flight Test (EFT-1) visited San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS San Diego (LPD 22), Sept. 12 in preparation for a test to retrieve the Orion space capsule in January off the coast of Southern California.

NASA representatives met with Rear Adm. Frank Ponds, commander Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 3 and Capt. William R. Grotewold, the ship's commanding officer to discuss plans for the upcoming recovery mission.

"We had a chance to display the ship's capability, show the crew's enthusiasm and demonstrate that our amphibious capability is multi-dimensional - just one more thing that our Navy can do," said Ponds. "The LPD 17-class ships have one of the most robust command and control communications systems in our Navy inventory."

The uncrewed EFT-1 flight will take Orion to an altitude of approximately 3,600 miles above the Earth's surface,, After the test flight, Orion will reenter the atmosphere at a speed of more than 20,000 miles per hour, returning to Earth faster than any current human spacecraft. Orion will land in the Pacific, where the U.S. Navy will locate and recover the craft into the ship's well-deck. The test flight is intended to test the capsule's avionics, heat shield and parachutes.

"It's all about relationships, to make sure our priorities are the same and clearly everyone is on the same page and we're excited about it," said Mark Geyer, NASA Orion program manager. "This ship that is going to support our mission possesses an incredible capability."

NASA and the Navy have a long history of working together, notably with the recent stationary recovery of Orion in the well-deck of the USS Arlington (LPD 24) while berthed at Naval Station Norfolk's Pier 12 Aug. 15.

"NASA did a trade study whether they wanted Orion to land on the ground or in the water," said Andy Quiett, Detachment 3 deputy operations lead for the Orion program and DoD liaison for NASA, "and because of the size, weight and the deep space requirements of the vehicle, they determined it needed to land in water."

Orion's unique life support, propulsion, thermal protection and avionics systems enable extended duration for deep space missions with the goal to eventually land on Mars.

"We are working hard to go to Mars and EFT-1 is our first step in that direction," said Dan Dumbacher, deputy associate administrator for NASA's exploration systems. "EFT-1 will be the furthest we've sent a human spacecraft since our moon travels in 1972, so we need to get the design experience, we need to get the test experience and we need to get the operations experience such as the recovery operations that we're looking at here."

EFT-1 is to be the first of many such future recovery missions.

"It's important to participate in an event that's bigger than us," said Grotewold. "This is going to go on for the entire life of this ship and to be able to get in on the ground floor for something like this in an awesome opportunity for all of us."

ESG 3 and USS San Diego operate within Third Fleet's area of responsibility.

Joint, interagency and international relationships strengthen U.S. 3rd Fleet's ability to respond to crises and protect the collective maritime interests of the U.S. and its allies and partners.

Comment by NavyDads Co-Admin, Gary on September 16, 2013 at 4:21pm

USS New Orleans Passes Inspection with Flying Colors...

Story Number: NNS130915-02Release Date: 9/15/2013 11:53:00 AM
From Boxer Amphibious Ready Group Public Affairs

USS NEW ORLEANS, At Sea (NNS) -- The amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans, (LPD 18), passed its Maintenance and Material Management (3M) 1.4 assessment Aug. 28 while transiting for a Western Pacific deployment.

The ship earned a total cumulative score of 91.68 percent after completing a rigorous 28 week pre-deployment training cycle in only nine weeks.

"New Orleans overachieved during every facet of this training cycle, from the light off assessment all the way through to this last certification," said New Orleans' Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Mike Ray. "3M in particular has been a challenge since last August, and I could not be prouder of the hard work and dedication they've all shown in not just certifying, but scoring above 90 percent overall and 95 percent in spot checks. As usual, they've come through in crunch time."

The inspection, conducted by Afloat Training Group (ATG) ran Aug. 23-28.

Fifty work centers received assessments in their administrative functions, Planned Maintenance System (PMS) completion rates, and their ability to perform maintenance safely and correctly.

The ship performed seven to eight training events per week during its basic phase cycle compared to the normally scheduled one to two events. The basic phase cycle is one of five phases that New Orleans prepared for in accordance with the Fleet Response Training Plan. The warship demonstrated its proficiency through a series of exercises proving battle readiness should they need to execute operational taskings.

"I knew we would make it because every time it seemed like we were struggling it was actually just good training that helped us come out on top," said Ship's Serviceman 2nd Class Heather Kolp. "I just knew we would get the job done."

From the deckplates to the leadership, the ship's commitment to excellence was noticeable and above par.

Senior Chief Cryptologic Technician (Maintenance) Steve Rose, one of two command 3M coordinator's aboard New Orleans, attributed the success of the inspection to the crew's persistent training and rapid work center assessments for each division.

"New Orleans' success is a demonstration of our teamwork and commitment," said Rose. "We've completed every certification put before us and we wanted this victory as well."

New Orleans is currently deployed in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts as part of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group.

Comment by NavyDads Co-Admin, Gary on September 10, 2013 at 1:02pm

Bonhomme Richard Chiefs, Officers Offer Fast Paced Mentoring...

Story Number: NNS130907-01Release Date: 9/7/2013 10:00:00 AM
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Matthew M. Bradley

TIMOR SEA (NNS) -- Chief petty officers and officers from the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) provided career and personal guidance to first class petty officers during a "CPO 365" Speed Mentoring event, Sept. 5, 2013.

Modeled after speed dating, first classes met up one-on-one with BHR chiefs and officers for quick two-minute chats where they discussed who they were and what they were looking for in their career and personal lives.

"Sailors had the opportunity to sit down across from someone they may have never had the chance to talk to," said Master-at-Arms 1st Class Nicholas Fessler, a BHR mentorship coordinator. "It's easy to find ourselves confined to our workspaces unable to receive and provide mentorship. This event allowed for us all to come together, in one location, to discuss effective means for personal and professional growth."

By bringing the chief's mess, wardroom, and first class petty officers together all in one place, Bonhomme Richard was able to greatly strengthen professional ties around the ship, said Bonhomme Richard's Command Master Chief Scott McCreery.

"It was a huge success, I think everyone got a lot out of it," said McCreery. "One of the primary goals of 'CPO 365' is mentorship, and I believe we were able to not only provide a unique opportunity for first classes to interact with chiefs and officers whom they may not see very often, but also, hopefully, be able to strike up more long term mentorship relationships."

Sailors were able to seek advice from role models who have achieved some of the same goals they may have set for themselves.

"One of our jobs as leaders is to train our replacements," said Capt. Daniel Dusek, Bonhomme Richard's commanding officer. "Whatever goals our first class petty officers have for their career, be it wearing anchors, or joining the officer ranks, someone has been where they are now, and can provide valuable advice on achieving those goals."

McCreery said he would like to see more speed mentoring events in the future.

"While, it's not technically part of the 'CPO 365' program, I would like to see us involving our second class petty officers in an event similar to this," said McCreery.

Comment by NavyDads Co-Admin, Gary on September 9, 2013 at 3:52pm

September 2

Good morning all! Would like to take a moment to remind everyone to adhere to our OPSEC policy. Please do not discuss ship or Marine movement on any ship facebook page. Please keep your comments and support to very general terms. The Kearsarge ARG/26th MEU team is doing great things out here and we appreciate your continued support!

- Amphibious Squadron Four

Comment by NavyDads Co-Admin, Gary on August 19, 2013 at 6:55pm

Multimedia Release -- Ingalls-built Somerset Returns From Successfu...

Comment by NavyDads Co-Admin, Gary on August 8, 2013 at 5:19pm

Bill Welcome to the Amphibs Families Group!

Comment by NavyDads Co-Admin, Gary on August 1, 2013 at 12:36pm

3-star: Navy amphibs can expect stops in Australia...

Comment by NavyDads Co-Admin, Gary on July 30, 2013 at 11:40am

Chris Welcome to the Amphibs Families Group!

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