NORFOLK, Va. — The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort arrived in New York City on March 30 in support of the nation’s COVID-19 response efforts, the U.S. 2nd Fleet announced. 

While in New York, the ship will serve as a hospital for non-COVID-19 patients admitted to shore-based hospitals and will provide medical care to include general surgeries, critical care and ward care for adults, allowing local health professionals to focus on treating COVID-19 patients and for hospitals there to use their intensive care units and ventilators for those patients. 

Comfort is a seagoing medical treatment facility that has more than 1,200 personnel embarked for the New York mission, including U.S. Navy medical and support staff assembled from 22 commands as well as over 70 civil mariners. 

“The USNS Comfort arrives in New York City this morning with more than 1,100 medical personnel who are ready to provide safe, high-quality health care to non-COVID patients,” said Capt. Patrick Amersbach, commanding officer of the USNS Comfort Military Treatment Facility (MTF). “We are ready and grateful to serve the needs of our nation.” 

Comfort’s primary mission is to provide an afloat, mobile, acute surgical medical facility to the U.S. military that is flexible, capable and uniquely adaptable to support expeditionary warfare. Comfort’s secondary mission is to provide hospital services to support U.S. disaster relief and humanitarian operations worldwide. 

“Like her sister ship, USNS Mercy, which recently moored in Los Angeles, this great ship will support civil authorities by increasing medical capacity and collaboration for medical assistance,” said Rear Adm. John Mustin, vice commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command. “Not treating COVID-19 patients … but by acting as a relief valve for other urgent needs, freeing New York’s hospitals and medical professionals to focus on the pandemic.” 

“This USNS Comfort team of Sailors, Marines and civilian mariners came together during the transit to New York City and our medical professionals are ready to begin receiving patients from local hospitals tomorrow,” said Capt. Joseph O’Brien, mission commander of Task Force New York City. “Our personnel are our strength — the men and women of our military services accomplish incredible things every day, and I am confident in their abilities as we start the next phase of this mission.” 

The ship expects to begin receiving patients 24 hours after arriving in New York. All patient transfers will be coordinated with local hospitals, thus ensuring a consistent handoff of care between medical providers. Patients will not be accepted on a walk-on basis and should not come to the pier expecting to receive care. 

“The last time that this great hospital ship was here was in the wake of 9/11, where she served as respite and comfort for our first responders working around the clock,” Mustin said. “Our message to New Yorkers — now your Navy has returned, and we are with you, committed in this fight.”

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — The USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) was successfully launched at the Huntington Ingalls Industries Ingalls Division shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on March 28. Fort Lauderdale is the Navy’s 12th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship. 

On March 7, 2020, the ship was transferred from the land-level facility to the dry dock in preparation for floating off. During the launch, the dry dock was slowly flooded until the ship floated off the blocks. 

“I am thrilled to get Fort Lauderdale in the water, so we can begin final outfitting and eventually take the ship out to sea for trials,” said Capt. Scot Searles, LPD 17-class program manager for PEO-Ships. “The San Antonio class has proven essential to expeditionary warfighters, and we are eager to deliver another ship to the fleet.” 

San Antonio-class ships support embarking, transporting and landing elements of 650 Marines by landing craft or air cushion vehicles. The ships’ capabilities are further enhanced by their flight decks and hangars, which can operate V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. Because of the ships’ inherent capabilities, they can support a variety of amphibious assault, special operations and expeditionary warfare missions, operating independently or as part of Amphibious Readiness Groups, Expeditionary Strike Groups or Joint Task Forces. 

Ingalls Shipbuilding also is in production on the USS Richard M. McCool (LPD 29) and Harrisburg (LPD 30). LPD 28 and 29 will serve as transition ships to LPD 30, the first LPD 17 Flight II ship.

SEATTLE — The 150-member crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star returned March 25 to their homeport of Seattle following a 123-day deployment to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said. 

This mission marks the Polar Star’s 23rd journey to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, an annual joint military service mission to resupply U.S. Antarctic stations, in support of the National Science Foundation, the lead agency for the Antarctic program. This year also marks the 63rd iteration of the operation. 

The Polar Star crew departed Seattle on Nov. 27 for their sixth deployment in as many years and traveled more than 26,350 miles through the North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian and Southern Oceans. 

In the Southern Ocean, the crew travelled through nearly 500 miles of pack ice and broke through 23 miles of fast ice in order to create a nearly 18-square-mile navigable channel to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Because of the efforts of the Polar Star crew, two resupply vessels and one tanker travelled to McMurdo Station unescorted in order to refuel and resupply U.S. Antarctic stations. 

This year’s operation required the construction of a temporary, modular mobile causeway to replace an ice pier, which disintegrated during Operation Deep Freeze 2018-2019. The modular pier required a three-day construction period prior to the offload of supplies, followed by a three-day deconstruction period at the conclusion of the mission. 

Three resupply ships required 23 days to offload 19.6 million pounds of cargo and 7.6 million gallons of fuel during this year’s operation, more than doubling the operation duration and capacity as previous years. Together, the three ships delivered enough fuel and critical supplies to sustain NSF operations throughout the year until Polar Star returns in 2021. 

Among the cargo offloaded were construction materials for a five-year, $460 million Antarctica Infrastructure Modernization for Science (AIMS) project to recapitalize McMurdo Station, South Pole Station and other American outposts on the continent.  

Additionally, the Polar Star crew also supported a team of U.S. government officials from the State Department, National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Coast Guard who conducted a five-day inspection of foreign research stations, installations and equipment in Antarctica. 

The team inspected three stations: Mario Zucchelli (Italy), Jang Bogo (South Korea) and Inexpressible Island (China). This was the 15th inspection of foreign research stations by the United States in Antarctica and the first since 2012. 

Inspections emphasize all of Antarctica is accessible to interested countries despite territorial claims and reinforce the importance of compliance with the Antarctic Treaty’s arms control provisions. The U.S. will present its report on the inspection at the next Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Helsinki, Finland, in May 2020. 

“I am very proud of the tenacity of this Polar Star crew,” said Coast Guard Capt. Greg Stanclik, commanding officer of the Polar Star. “158 crew members earned the Antarctic Service Medal during Operation Deep Freeze 2020.” 

ATLANTIC OCEAN — “Man all flight quarters stations!” These words were heard across every space on the USS Gerald R. Ford as the carrier prepared to launch and recover aircraft from Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) to complete flight deck certification (FDC) and carrier air traffic control center (CATCC) certification on March 20. 

Conducting flight operations is the key role of every carrier. To certify Ford’s flight deck and air traffic control center, the ship was required to complete a precision approach landing systems (PALS) certification and finish two straight days of flight operations with 50 day traps on the first day followed by 70 day traps and 40 night traps on the second. The crews of Ford and CVW-8 exceeded those minimums. 

Over a two-day period, F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets from four squadrons assigned to CVW-8 conducted 123 daytime and 42 night cats and traps aboard the Ford to reach this milestone in the ship’s operational readiness. 

“Our Sailors performed at a level that was on par with a forward-deployed aircraft carrier, and this was a direct result of the hard-core training and deployment ready mentality we have pushed every day for the past year,” said Capt. J. J. Cummings, the Ford’s commanding officer. “Our team put their game faces on, stepped into the batter’s box and smashed line drives out of the park. It was fun to watch.” 

Prior to FDC and CATCC certification, Ford received its PALS Mode IA and Mode II certification from Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. PALS, through the assistance of air traffic controllers in CATCC, aids pilots as they execute night or bad-weather landings, guiding pilots to a good starting position for approaches, and is a requirement for ships to conduct flight operations.  

“PALS cert was a critical step to achieving our flight deck certification,” said Cmdr. Phil Brown, the Ford’s air operations officer. “Our system performed really well during our approaches and provided a solid level of confidence to NAWCAD in our ability to recover jets.” 

The Ford CATCC team was not only essential to FDC but was also required to complete a certification in concert with the flight deck certification. 

Ford’s CATCC certification was the culmination of a three-phase process that began in October 2019 at the Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC) in Pensacola, Florida. Since then, NATTC instructors have been alongside Ford Sailors for every phase, testing their practical knowledge, reviewing their checklists and observing their recovery operations. 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast awarded a $191.9 million fixed-price award-fee contract March 20 to Alberici-Mortenson, Joint Venture out of St. Louis, Missouri, the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast Public Affairs said in a March 23 release. The first phase of the design-bid-build contract is for the recapitalization of the dry dock at Naval Submarine Base (NSB) Kings Bay, Georgia. 

“The overhaul and restoration of the Kings Bay Dry Dock is the most important strategic deterrence enterprise modernization effort outside of the construction of the new Columbia-class SSBN, a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine,” said Trident Refit Facility Commanding Officer Capt. Paul Dinius. 

The Navy’s submarines serve as the nation’s sea-based deterrent strategies. The Dry Dock Recapitalization Project at NSB Kings Bay is in direct support of the future of submarine warfare. The new Columbia-class submarine is replacing the Ohio-class submarine. 

“There have been several dedicated teams brought to bear for this effort,’ said NAVFAC Southeast Deputy Construction Management Officer Travis Baker. “So many have worked tirelessly to ensure the project would be ready for award and of high quality.” 

Dinius explained, “This will be the hardest single effort executed in this region since the construction of the dry dock more than 30 years ago, but I’m confident that Team Kings Bay is ready for the challenge.” 

The work to be performed includes concrete and steel repairs, overhaul and repair of the steel caisson and upgrades to power distribution, chilled water and fire detection and alarm systems. The entire superstructure will be re-coated, along with replacement of the roof, wall panels, and other plumbing and piping. The control system, electronic components and the auxiliary seawater system will also be upgraded. 

All existing training and maintenance facilities will be retrofitted and some new facilities will be constructed to support the next generation of submarines. 

“The window of opportunity to perform the majority of the work is limited,” said Baker. “The sheer magnitude of the work to be accomplished combined with the limited time to accomplish everything is almost overwhelming.” 

In order to meet this tight deadline, NAVFAC Southeast has established a Construction Management Office on site at NSB Kings Bay with dedicated resources capable of supporting 24-hour-a-day activities. 

“We have been successful in pulling several dedicated teams together to prepare for this effort,” said Baker. “Our team has worked tirelessly to ensure the project would be ready for award and be of high quality.” 

Baker explained that this is the most significant project he has ever seen in his career both in terms of importance and scale. “The amount of senior-level leadership and supported command focus and support has been unparalleled.” 

The contract also contains unexercised options, which if exercised, would increase the cumulative contract value to $592.3 million. The work is expected to be complete by July 2023. 

CHICAGO — Boeing has temporarily suspended production operations at its Puget Sound-area facilities in light of the state of emergency in Washington state and the company’s continuous assessment of the accelerating spread of the coronavirus in the region, the company said in a release. 

These actions are being taken to ensure the well-being of employees, their families and the local community and will include an orderly shutdown consistent with the requirements of its customers, the Boeing release said. 

Boeing planned to begin reducing production activity on March 23 and projects the suspension of such operations to begin on March 25 at sites across the Puget Sound area. The suspension of production operations is set to last 14 days, during which Boeing will continue to monitor government guidance and actions on COVID-19 and its associated impacts on all company operations. During this time, Boeing will deep-clean at impacted sites and establish rigorous criteria for return to work. 

“This necessary step protects our employees and the communities where they work and live,” Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun said. 

“We continue to work closely with public health officials, and we’re in contact with our customers, suppliers and other stakeholders who are affected by this temporary suspension. We regret the difficulty this will cause them, as well as our employees, but it’s vital to maintain health and safety for all those who support our products and services and to assist in the national effort to combat the spread of COVID-19.” 

Puget Sound area-based employees who can work from home will continue to do so. Those who can’t work remotely will receive paid leave for the initial 10 working days of the suspension — double the company policy — which will provide coverage for the 14-calendar-day suspension period. 

When the suspension is lifted, Boeing will take an orderly approach to restarting production with a focus on safety, quality and meeting customer commitments. This will be a key step to enabling the aerospace sector to bridge to recovery. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Defense Department successfully tested a hypersonic glide body in a flight experiment conducted from the Pacific Missile Range at Kauai, Hawaii, on March 19, the Pentagon said in a release. 

The U.S. Navy and U.S. Army jointly executed the launch of a common hypersonic glide body (C-HGB), which flew at hypersonic speed to a designated impact point. 

Concurrently, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) monitored and gathered tracking data from the flight experiment that will inform its ongoing development of systems designed to defend against adversary hypersonic weapons. 

Information gathered from this and future experiments will further inform the Pentagon’s hypersonic technology development, and this event is a major milestone towards the department’s goal of fielding hypersonic warfighting capabilities in the early- to mid-2020s. 

“This test builds on the success we had with Flight Experiment 1 in October 2017, in which our C-HGB achieved sustained hypersonic glide at our target distances,” said Vice Adm. Johnny R. Wolfe, director of the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs, which is the lead designer for the C-HGB. 

“In this test we put additional stresses on the system and it was able to handle them all, due to the phenomenal expertise of our top-notch team of individuals from across government, industry and academia. Today, we validated our design and are now ready to move to the next phase towards fielding a hypersonic strike capability.” 

Hypersonic weapons, capable of flying at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5), are highly maneuverable and operate at varying altitudes. This provides the warfighter with an ability to strike targets hundreds and even thousands of miles away, in a matter of minutes, to defeat a wide range of high-value targets. Delivering hypersonic weapons is one of the department’s highest technical research and engineering priorities. 

“This test was a critical step in rapidly delivering operational hypersonic capabilities to our warfighters in support of the National Defense Strategy,” said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. L. Neil Thurgood, director of hypersonics, directed energy, space and rapid acquisition, whose office is leading the Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon program and joint C-HGB production. 

“We successfully executed a mission consistent with how we can apply this capability in the future. The joint team did a tremendous job in executing this test, and we will continue to move aggressively to get prototypes to the field.” 

The C-HGB — when fully fielded — will comprise the weapon’s conventional warhead, guidance system, cabling and thermal protection shield. The Navy and Army are working with industry to develop the C-HGB with Navy as the lead designer and Army as the lead for production. Each service will use the C-HGB, while developing individual weapon systems and launchers tailored for launch from sea or land. 

“Hypersonic systems deliver transformational warfighting capability,” said Mike White, assistant director of hypersonics, OUSD research and engineering (modernization). “The glide body tested today is now ready for transition to Army and Navy weapon system development efforts and is one of several applications of hypersonic technology underway across the [Defense Department]. These capabilities help ensure that our warfighters will maintain the battlefield dominance necessary to deter, and if necessary, defeat any future adversary.” 

Additionally, MDA is working with Army and Navy in sharing data that will inform their development of enhanced capabilities for a layered hypersonic defense to support warfighter need and outpace the adversary threat. 

WILMINGTON, N.C. — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Diligence and crew returned to Wilmington on March 13 following a 39-day patrol in the North Atlantic that included living marine resources enforcement and a three-week training and evaluation period, the Coast Guard 5th District said in a release. 

The Diligence, a 210-foot medium-endurance cutter, will change homeports to Pensacola, Florida, this summer.  

This patrol began in Mayport, Florida, where the crew took part in the biennial operational readiness and training assessment called Tailored Ship’s Training Availability. The crew conducted a total of 109 drills and exercises. The training focused on evaluating the crew’s ability to repair shipboard casualties, respond to medical emergencies and proficiency in navigation and seamanship. 

They shifted roles from training to enforcement of offshore fishery and vessel safety regulations aboard commercial fishing vessels off the coast of the Carolinas. In this role, the Diligence crew ensured compliance with fisheries management measures, promoted a level playing field for commercial fishermen, helped preserve seafood stock sustainability for future generations and protected the safety of life at sea. 

While patrolling off Little River Inlet on the North Carolina coast, Diligence encountered two Northern Atlantic right whales. Right whales are endangered, and there are estimated to be less than 400 remaining. Because of their endangered status, right whale conservation zones with speed restrictions have been established along the eastern seaboard, and all mariners are required to maintain a distance of at least 500 feet from any such whale. 

“It was a great honor to witness such a majestic creature in its natural habitat, especially considering its status as an endangered species,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Smith, a boatswain’s mate aboard the cutter. “It was also an excellent training opportunity for the crew, as we are always on the lookout for this species. However, few have had the opportunity to see one in person.” 

“Diligence performed exceptionally during our biennial operational readiness assessment, which was a testament to the crew’s outstanding preparations, steadfast commitment, and exceptional proficiency,” said Cmdr. Luke Slivinski, the cutter’s commanding officer. 

“We closed out our deployment by patrolling off the Coast of North Carolina, following in the footsteps of our namesake, Revenue Cutter Diligence, that patrolled the same waters back in the early to mid-1790s. This patrol marked a fitting end to Diligence’s last patrol while homeported in Wilmington, North Carolina, as we depart later this summer for our new homeport of Pensacola, Florida.” 

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released the first annual report on the progress made in mapping U.S. ocean, coastal and Great Lakes waters, the agency said in a release.  

Knowledge of the depth, shape and composition of the seafloor is foundational data necessary to explore, sustainably develop, understand, conserve and manage our coastal and offshore natural resources. The 2019 Presidential Memorandum on Ocean Mapping of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone and the Shoreline and Nearshore of Alaska and the global Seabed 2030 initiative make comprehensive ocean mapping a priority for the coming decade. The Unmapped U.S. Waters report tracks progress toward these important goals. 

“The progress made in mapping U.S. waters through 2019 represents the cumulative work of federal and state agencies, nongovernmental organizations, private contracting partners and crowdsourced contributions,” said Rear Adm. Shepard Smith, director of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey. “Partnerships and advances in technology are key to making significant progress toward our common goal of completely mapping U.S. waters.” 

Pulling from an analysis of publicly available bathymetry, the report presents the percentage of unmapped U.S. waters by region and shows our progress towards filling these basic bathymetry data gaps with each passing year. At the end of 2019, the latest analysis yielded the following results: 

Percent of U.S. waters that remain unmapped in 2019: 

• U.S. total — 54% of 3,592,000 square nautical miles (snm) 
• Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico — 43% of 472,200 snm 
• Great Lakes — 95% of 46,600 snm 
• Caribbean — 42% of 61,600 snm 
• Alaska — 72% of 1,080,200 snm 
• Pacific (California, Oregon, Washington) — 24% of 239,700 snm 
• Pacific Remote Islands and Hawaii — 50% of 1,691,700 snm 

Multibeam and lidar surveys are the two primary sources of bathymetry needed to fill these gaps. In support of the integrated ocean and coastal mapping goal to “map once, use many times,” all the data collected in this effort are publicly available to benefit numerous user communities. For the latest status on these efforts and how you can contribute, click here.

ASTORIA, Ore. — The Coast Guard Cutter Alert returned home to Astoria on March 15 following a 69-day eastern Pacific Ocean counter-drug deployment, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a release. The crew patrolled international waters off the coast of Mexico to disrupt the flow of narcotics and illegal migrants. 

Alert’s crew also participated in the North American Maritime Security Initiative (NAMSI) Pacific Exercise in and around Puerto Chiapas, Mexico. 

NAMSI is a trinational effort by forces of the United States, Canada and Mexico to improve mutual capacity for operational coordination. The three-day exercise focused on enhancing information-sharing and integrating capabilities of Canadian, U.S. and Mexican maritime forces during at-sea counter-drug interdiction operations. 

“It was a great experience to participate in and be a part of such a culturally diverse operational exercise,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Cristina Hickey, a Spanish translator and Alert crewmember. “I thoroughly enjoyed conversing in Spanish with my foreign counterparts and learning more about their missions.” 

Crews from the Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, Coast Guard Cutter Benjamin Bottoms, Pacific Strike Team, Pacific Tactical Law Enforcement Team, Pacific Area/D11 command center and Joint Interagency Task Force South also participated in the exercise alongside Canadian and Mexican maritime participants. 

“I’m proud of the hard work that our crew put into our Eastern Pacific patrol,” said Cdr. Tyson Scofield, Alert’s commanding officer.

“I am especially proud of the professionalism that the crew showed during our joint exercises with the Canadian and Mexican navies.  They displayed a high level of skill while demonstrating counter narcotics interdiction techniques and during the shipboard launch and recovering of a Mexican helicopter for the first time. Most importantly, our crew created personal and professional relationships with their North American peers which will help to counter the flow of illegal narcotics into all of our countries.”