CHARLESTON,
S.C. — The U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies conducted a maritime law
enforcement operation Aug. 9 and Aug. 10 from Carteret County, North Carolina,
to Brevard County, Florida, that covered more than 500 miles of coastline, the
Coast Guard 7th District said in a release.

Coast Guard
crews conducted the operation in coordination with 104 partner agency units
from several federal, state and local agencies. The operation focused on the
education and enforcement of boating safety and maritime security throughout
the Southeast.

“We thank
each organization for the level of coordination and collaboration in planning
and executing this year’s iteration of Operation Shrimp and Grits,” said
Rear Adm. Eric Jones, commander of Coast Guard 7th District.

“The
operational contributions to our collective missions of maritime security and
marine safety, with special emphasis on enforcing compliance with passenger
charter, living marine resources and recreational boating safety laws, go a
long way toward achieving the objectives of each of our agencies. We trust the
collaborative nature of these types of interagency operations will also
contribute to our ability to respond holistically in times of crisis. Thank you
all and Semper Paratus.”

During the operation, 62 law enforcement/fire vessels, 18 auxiliary vessels, two fixed-wing law enforcement aircraft, two auxiliary fixed-wing aircraft, five helicopters, 4 Civil Support Teams, an aircraft-mounted Mobile Detection System and a Transportation Security Administration surface inspection team were used.

Over the two-day operation, 568 vessel boardings were conducted resulting in 48 U.S. Coast Guard violations, 22 Department of Natural Resources and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission violations, 35 local police department citations, and 12 vessel terminations.

Violations were issued for various reasons, to include: BUI [boating under the influence], possession of controlled substances, fisheries violations, illegal charter enforcement and recreational boating safety.

WASHINGTON —
The State Department has made a determination approving a possible foreign military
sale to South Korea of MH-60R multimission helicopters with support for an
estimated cost of $800 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)
said in an Aug. 7 release. The same day, DSCA delivered the required
certification notifying Congress of this possible sale.

South Korea
has requested to buy 12 MH-60R Seahawks, along with mission systems, sensors,
crew-served guns and 1,000 AN/SSQ-36/53/62 sonobuoys. The purchase also would
include “spare engine containers; facilities study; design and construction;
spare and repair parts; support and test equipment communications equipment;
ferry support; publications and technical documentation; personnel training and
training equipment; U.S. government and contractor engineering, technical and
logistics support services; and other related elements of logistics and program
support. The total estimated program cost is $800 million,” the release said.

“The proposed
sale will improve the Republic of Korea Navy’s capability to perform
anti-surface and antisubmarine warfare missions, along with the ability to
perform secondary missions including vertical replenishment, search and rescue,
and communications relay,” the release said. “The Republic of Korea will use
the enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen
its homeland defense. The Republic of Korea will have no difficulty absorbing
these helicopters and support into its armed forces.”

The prime
contractor will be Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Owego, New York.

ALAMEDA,
Calif. — Crews aboard the pre-commissioned Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL
757) seized more than 2,100 pounds of cocaine worth approximately $64 million
from a low-profile go-fast vessel interdicted in international waters of the
Eastern Pacific Ocean, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in an Aug. 7 release.

On July 25
a U.S. Navy MH-60R Seahawk aircrew embarked aboard the USS Michael Murphy (DDG
112) sighted a low-profile go-fast vessel. As the helicopter approached, a
hatch opened on the top of the vessel and three passengers were seen
jettisoning objects.

The
Michael Murphy remained with the suspected smuggling vessel until the Midgett
arrived on scene to conduct a law enforcement boarding. Midgett’s boarding team
seized approximately 2,100 pounds of cocaine from the interdiction and
apprehended three suspected smugglers.

“Even
though the cutter is still in a pre-commission status, this interdiction
showcases how ready our crew is and how capable the national security cutters
are,” said Capt. Alan McCabe, Midgett’s commanding officer. “It also
demonstrates the importance of our partnership with the U.S. Navy, whose
contributions are vital in stemming the flow of drugs into the United States.”

Nearly 80%
of all known illegal narcotics coming into North America are smuggled by
international cartels through the Eastern Pacific corridor.  As these cartels become more advanced in
their methods at sea, the Coast Guard is recapitalizing its fleet with modern
assets equipped to detect, interdict and disrupt the growing flow of illegal
drugs, weapons and people in the Eastern Pacific.

Midgett,
the Coast Guard’s eighth national security cutter, was accepted by the Coast Guard
in April. The cutter passed through the Panama Canal in July and is sailing to
Midgett’s future homeport in Honolulu, where it will be commissioned Aug. 24,
along with its sister-ship, the Coast Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756).

While
national security cutters like the Midgett possess advanced operational
capabilities, more than 70% of the Coast Guard’s offshore presence is the
service’s aging fleet of medium-endurance cutters, many of which are over 50
years old and approaching the end of their service life.

Replacing
the fleet with new offshore patrol cutters is one of the Coast Guard’s top
priorities.

The
offshore patrol cutter will provide a critical capability bridge between
national security cutters like the Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755), which
offloaded 39,000 pounds of cocaine last month, and fast-response cutters like
the Robert Ward, which recently seized more than 3,000 pounds of the cocaine in
the first cocaine seizure made by a fast-response cutter in the Eastern
Pacific.

LOCKPORT, La.
— Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Angela
McShan, the 35th fast-response cutter (FRC) to the U.S. Coast Guard, the
company said in an Aug 2 release. The Coast Guard took delivery on Aug. 1 in
Key West, Florida.

“We are very
pleased to announce the latest FRC delivery, the USCGC Angela McShan,” said Ben
Bordelon, Bollinger president and CEO. “Previous cutters have been stationed
around the nation including Alaska and Hawaii. The Angela McShan, the third of
three fast-response cutters to be home-ported in Cape May, New Jersey, will
join the cutters Rollin Fitch and Lawrence Lawson. The vessel’s commissioning
is scheduled for October 2019 in Cape May.

“FRCs already
in commission have protected our country by seizing multiple tons of narcotics,
interdicted thousands of illegal aliens and saved hundreds of lives,” Bordelon
said. “The FRC program is a model program for government acquisition and has
surpassed all historical quality benchmarks for vessels of this type and
complexity. The results are the delivery of truly extraordinary Coast Guard
cutters that will serve our nation for decades to come. We are extremely proud
that the delivery of the FRC-35 marks the 175th patrol boat built by Bollinger
Shipyards. This includes the USCG Island class, USCG Marine Protector class,
USN Cyclone class and USCG Sentinel Class fast-response cutters.”

The 154-foot
Sentinel-class fast-response cutter has a flank speed of 28 knots; state-of-the-art
command, control, communications and computer technology; and a stern launch
system for the vessel’s 26-foot cutter boat. The FRC has been described as an
operational “game-changer” by senior Coast Guard officials. Recently, the Coast
Guard deployed the FRC 1124 Oliver Berry from Hawaii across the Pacific to the
Republic of the Marshall Islands. The 4,400 nautical mile trip marked the
furthest deployment of an FRC to date. This trip showcases the hugely expanded
operational reach and capability that the FRC provides.

Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who distinguished him or herself in the line of duty. This vessel is named after Coast Guard hero Master Chief Petty Officer Angela McShan. MCPO McShan was a pioneer for women and African Americans. She was the first African American woman to be promoted to Master Chief Petty Officer. She served over two decades with great devotion and is remembered as an exemplary leader and professional. She inspired the many she trained, and has been described as a positive, kind and motivational person. MCPO McShan was a stellar performer, mentor teacher and inspirational leader. The Master Chief Angela M. McShan Inspirational Leadership Award was established in her memory.

The U.S. military training engagements with less-developed
militaries, such as the ongoing African Partnership Station mission in the Gulf
of Guinea, are also a learning experience for the American personnel because it
can expose them to the level of military technology they could encounter in
counter-insurgency missions, a senior Navy officer said.

“We are blessed with the resources we have. But we do
understand that a lot of these nations … are still developing those
capabilities,” Capt. Frank Okata, commander Task Force 63 in the U.S. Navy
Europe-Africa Command, said Aug. 7. “We do feel it is important that we
demonstrate and train at their level.”

“It also helps us, too. It helps our [civilian] mariners,
our Sailors, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines with greater mental agility and
flexibility when we deploy to an unanticipated place, because we’ve been
exposed, over the length of our careers, been exposed to the very high-end
machinery of warfare to the very low end,” Okata said in a telephone briefing
from Naples.

“As we see in the continuing instability in the world that gravitates
to the lower end of warfare, …

it is important that we also know how to operate at the
level of our partners,” he said.

Okata was briefing a few reporters in the Pentagon on the
current partnership engagement mission of the USNS Carson City to half a dozen
nations along the Gulf of Guinea. The expeditionary fast transport ship with a
civilian master and crew was reinforced by a military detachment of U.S. Sailors,
a Coast Guard law enforcement team, medical and religious personnel, plus
Portuguese, Spanish and Italian sailors.

“This kind of engagement is instrumental in improving
maritime security along the African coast line, territorial seas and exclusive
economic zones, so that our African partners can be successful and prosperous,
securing their waterways and maintaining surveillance,” Okata said.

Cmdr. Tyrone Bruce, commander of the military detachment on
Carson City, said the Sailors have repaired small boats, conducted routine
maintenance and “worked side by side with our partners, sharing best practices,
tactics, techniques and procedures.” And, Bruce said, “we’ve learned
ourselves.” They also had a medical detachment that provided a variety of medical
care and training, several chaplains who interacted with local religious
leaders and an eight-piece band that performed at every stop.

Asked if the partnership mission was an effort to counter the extensive activities in Africa by China, Okata said, “We are keenly aware that the People’s Republic of China is also trying to make in-roads in West Africa,” including “some significant investments in infrastructure construction that could be used for different purposes than what we are trying to do. With Carson City, we are trying to share skill sets, to help these countries so they can surveil their economic zones.”

“We’re not there to build infrastructure, not there to build an enduring presence,” he added.

KEY WEST,
Fla. — The U.S. Navy commissioned USS Billings (LCS 15), the eighth
Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, here Aug. 3. This milestone places the
ship, built by the Lockheed Martin-led team, into active service.

“Billings
was designed to operate and adapt to a rapidly changing environment,” Joe
DePietro, vice president of small combatants and ship systems at Lockheed
Martin, said in a company release. “She is equipped and ready for today’s
threats and easily modifiable to meet the threats we may not even be aware of
yet. Our team is confident Billings will be what the Navy needs when the fleet
needs it.”

The LCS is
designed to complete close-to-shore missions. The ship is capable of speeds in
excess of 40 knots. It is also standard-equipped with Rolling Airframe Missiles
(RAM) and a Mark 110 gun, capable of firing 220 rounds per minute, and 40
percent of the hull of an LCS is reconfigurable, integrating capabilities like Longbow
Hellfire Missiles, 30 mm guns and manned and unmanned vehicles.

“Having
now commanded two freedom-class LCS variants, I would like to report that these
ships are truly impressive and will fit well in the niche they have been
designed for,” said LCS 15’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Nathan Rowan. “They are
fast, maneuverable, and their weapon systems are some of the most accurate I’ve
witnessed on any platform of which I’ve previously served.”

There are
seven ships in various stages of production and test at Fincantieri Marinette
Marine in Wisconsin, where the Freedom-variant LCS is built. The next
Freedom-variant in the class is LCS 17, the future USS Indianapolis, which was
delivered in late July.

“On behalf of the proud
2,000 men and women who transform flat steel into a fast, agile surface
combatant,” said Jan Allman, chief executive officer of Fincantieri Marinette
Marine, “we are honored to support the U.S. Navy, and we congratulate the
outstanding crew of the USS Billings.”

The latest in a series of advanced naval technology exercises
(ANTX) provided a lot of new ideas on how to improve maneuverability,
communications, logistics and force protection in the highly contested
environments expected in a future fight against a peer competitor, a trio of
top Navy Department officials said Aug. 1.

But the most exciting thing about the recent ANTX was the
demonstration of how the U.S. Navy and the Marine Corps are working together to
meet the challenges of a great power confrontation, James Geurts, the assistant
Navy secretary for research, development and acquisition, said at a Pentagon
briefing. It was a way “to kind of close the distance between ideas, wherever
they came from” and, by using some of the new acquisition authorities, to get
new technologies out into the field quicker.

Geurts said they have about a 12- to 18-month window to move
technologies through the acquisition process and into the hands of Sailors and
Marines, instead of a “20-year development program.” By bringing together the
requirements and acquisition officials with the operators, “we tend to find a
bunch of new ideas that we didn’t think of when we didn’t get all those
together,” he said.

The briefing focused mainly on the ANTX held July 9-19 at
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in which Geurts said 53 new
technologies were presented by 32 organizations, from large corporations to a
company with three people, and were tested in the field. Some of those
technologies could be moved into the acquisition process, while others would be
cited for additional development.

Maj. Gen. Mark Wise, the deputy commander of Marine Corps Combat
Development Command, said: “When we start looking at what that future fight
might look like and the things we will need to enable it, this has become a
really great way to start ferreting out some of those technologies that will
enable our Sailors and Marines to do that.” Wise mentioned technologies,
including unmanned air, land, surface and undersea systems, that could help
with force protection and logistics at comparatively low cost.

Michael Stewart, the deputy director of integrated warfare,
said by using the ANTX process, “we’re trying to increase the decision speed …
trying to leap frog [the normal acquisition process] and do it fast.” It was
“all about being a smart buyer.”

Wise said he was excited about some of the concepts for allowing communications for small, distributed Marine units when the current methods are disrupted, including systems that were small enough to fit on a light off-road vehicle, and using unmanned systems to provide fuel and ammunition to expeditionary air fields.

Geurts said a key factor in the ANTX process was, “we don’t call this a test, it’s an experiment. It’s OK to fail.” That is part of the new push for rapid innovation, which requires an environment “where it’s safe to fail.”

NEWPORT NEWS,
Va. — Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division has
received a $290 million contract modification from the U.S. Navy to continue
planning for the refueling and complex overhaul of the aircraft carrier USS
John C. Stennis, the company announced Aug. 1.

The contract
funds the second and third years of planning, long-lead-time material
procurement, shop fabrication, shipboard inspections and facilities readiness
for the overhaul. As part of the planning contract, Newport News also will
perform some shipboard work, which will take place in Norfolk. The initial year
of planning was funded at a base value of $187.5 million.

“The second
and third year of planning is important to the overall success of a project of
the magnitude of [the overhaul],” said Chris Miner, Newport News’ vice
president of in-service aircraft carriers.

“This
contract allows us to continue our critical planning for each step of the
process so we’re ready to begin execution when the ship arrives in the first
quarter of 2021.”

Stennis will be the seventh Nimitz-class carrier to undergo a major life-cycle overhaul at Newport News, representing 35% of all maintenance and modernization completed during its service life.

The overhaul, a RCOH, is an extremely complex engineering and construction project that involves more than 680 suppliers from 40 states providing material and services critical to the overhaul process.

Once completed, a recapitalized carrier can support current and future warfare doctrine and continuing to operate as the centerpiece of the Navy’s fleet and national defense for another 25 years.

PACIFIC
OCEAN — The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy aided
the U.S. Coast Guard in the interdiction of a drug-smuggling craft, the U.S.
4th Fleet said in a release.

While
conducting routine operations in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations, an
MH-60R Sea Hawk, assigned to the “Easyriders” of Helicopter Maritime
Strike Squadron 37, embarked aboard the Michael Murphy, sighted a low-profile
vessel on July 25.

As the
helicopter approached the craft, a hatch opened on the top of the vessel and
three passengers were seen jettisoning objects from the boat. Assisted by
vectoring from helicopter, Michael Murphy’s interceptor boat collected the
jettisoned items and approached alongside the low-profile vessel.

Michael
Murphy was able to communicate with the vessel, informing them to remain in sight,
and remained alongside the suspicious vessel until Coast Guard Cutter Midgett arrived.

The Coast Guard boarding team determined the jettisoned material was cocaine. About 2,100 pounds of the drug — some that was jettisoned and retrieved by Michael Murphy’s crew and some found aboard by the Coast Guard — was seized. The Coast Guard took the three suspected smugglers into custody.

“From our air detachment and interceptor boat team to the men and women aboard the ship, everything came together to conduct the identification, interception and approach,” said Cmdr. Christopher Forch, commanding officer aboard USS Michael Murphy. “The handoff to USCGC Midgett was smooth and successful — a true team effort by two agencies.”

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy will commission its newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, the future USS Billings (LCS 15), during an Aug. 3 ceremony in Key West, Florida, the Navy’s information office said in a release.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, ranking member of
the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, will deliver the commissioning
ceremony’s principal address. Tester’s wife, Sharla, is the ship’s sponsor. The
ceremony will be highlighted by a time-honored Navy tradition when she gives
the first order to “man our ship and bring her to life!”

“The future USS Billings and her crew
will play an important role in the defense of our nation and maritime freedom,”
said Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer, who is also performing the duties of deputy
secretary of defense. “She stands as proof of what teamwork — from civilian to
contractor to military — can accomplish. This fast, agile platform will deliver
her motto, ‘Big Sky Over Troubled Waters’ worldwide thanks to their efforts.”

The ship is named in honor of Billings,
the largest city in Montana, as well as the people and military veterans of the
state. The future USS Billings will be the first ship of its name in naval
service.

Montana has a heritage of naval
service, with 30 ships named over the years in honor of state places and
people, including the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Helena (SSN
725) and the Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Montana (SSN 794), which
is under construction. The state of Montana also has one of the highest per
capita populations of veterans, according to the U.S. Veterans Administration.

The future USS Billings is a platform
designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean
operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats
such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft. The ship will be
homeported in Mayport, Florida.

The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom variant and the Independence variant, designed and built by two industry teams. The Freedom-variant team is led by Lockheed Martin of Marinette, Wisconsin (the odd-numbered hulls) while the Independence-variant team is led by Austal USA of Mobile, Alabama (for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls).

The ceremony, using hashtag #USSBillings, can be viewed here on the Navy live blog starting at 10 a.m. on Aug. 3.