NORFOLK, Va. — Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Mid-Atlantic awarded AECOM Technical Services Inc. a $91.5 million firm-fixed-price with award fee task order July 29 under a previously-awarded multiple-award construction contract for berth repairs at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) in Portsmouth, Virginia, the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Mid-Atlantic Public Affairs said Aug. 3. 

Repairs to Berths 40 and 41 and the accompanying Dry Dock 8 upgrades will directly support the mission of NNSY to perform maintenance on Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers and are part of the Navy’s Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP). 

The award of this contract is a crucial step to ensuring that NNSY has the infrastructure needed to service future fleet platforms and demonstrates the importance of the SIOP program for the Navy. SIOP remains committed to improving fleet operational availabilities at the nation’s four public shipyards to ensure they can effectively continue to serve the national defense. 

SIOP is a holistic investment plan that integrates infrastructure investments at the Navy’s four public shipyards to meet fleet maintenance requirements and improve Navy maintenance capabilities by expanding shipyard capacity and optimizing shipyard configuration. 

The work to be performed provides for repairs to Berths 40 and 41 structural components by replacing deteriorated pile systems, cast-in-place concrete systems, pile caps, concrete beams, and fender pile systems. 

NAVAL STATION NORFOLK — The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) departed Naval Station Norfolk Aug. 4, commencing the ship’s scheduled homeport shift to Rota, Spain, as part of the U.S. Navy’s long-range plan to gradually rotate the Rota-based destroyers, U.S. Fleet Forces Command said Aug. 4. 
 
Bulkeley will join destroyers USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51), USS Roosevelt (DDG 80), USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117) and Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 79 as Forward Deployed Naval Force-Europe (FDNF-E) assets stationed in Rota. 
 
“The Bulkeley crew has been working extremely hard the past year to prepare to join our forward deployed forces in Rota and work with our partners and allies in the region,” said Capt. Mac Harkin, commanding officer, USS Bulkeley. “We are excited to join our sister ship and aviation units already at the tip of the spear, to assure our allies, respond to threats as required and ensure support to global operations.” 
 
U.S. Navy ships assigned to FDNF-E demonstrate national resolve, strengthen alliances, dissuade potential adversaries and enhance the ability to respond quickly to contingencies. Rota offers a world-class port facility that provides an excellent location for multi-mission Aegis ships to support NATO and U.S. missions, exercises and engagements. 
 
“Bulkeley is a highly capable, multi-warfare platform that is joining a substantial force of FDNF-E assets already in place,” said Harkin. “When combined with our partners and allies, we are collectively ready to perform a myriad of tasks, including NATO ballistic missile defense, the full spectrum of maritime security operations, bi-lateral and multi-lateral training exercises, and NATO operations and deployments.” 
 
The rotation of the FDNF-E ships serves to keep these multi-mission capable ships forward deployed to better support maritime security operations in the region as well as Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) of U.S. and allied units and personnel. 
 
With Bulkeley’s arrival, along with Paul Ignatius’ arrival earlier this year, USS Ross (DDG 71) and USS Porter (DDG 78) will shift homeports from Rota to Norfolk in the coming months, marking the final scheduled homeport shifts in the long-planned FDNF-E rotation. 

PACIFIC OCEAN — Royal Australian Navy landing helicopter dock ship HMAS Canberra (L02) embarked two MV-22B Osprey military aircraft onboard and successfully moved the Osprey off the flight deck into the hangar for the first time at sea during Rim of the Pacific 2022, Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet public affairs said in a release.

The MV-22Bs operated from Canberra for the duration of RIMPAC in another first for the ship. The aircraft are onboard for the duration of the tactical phase and are one in many types of helicopters to land and take off from Canberra’s flight deck during the exercise.

A team of staff from the Aircraft Maintenance and Flight Trials Unit (AMAFTU) have embarked for RIMPAC and, in a first for Canberra, the aircraft have been moved and stowed onboard.

Australian Army Maj. David Ellson said what the unit is achieving has taken some work by AMAFTU to get to this point but is important for future capability and a great achievement to see.

“This is the first time at sea we have taken a MV-22B down from the flight deck onto the elevator lift and into the hangar,” Ellson said. “It all forms part of the trials for AMAFTU to enable coalition aircraft to routinely embark on our ships. The evolution to move and stow the MV-22B involved approximately 10 crew and provided an opportunity for AMAFTU and the MV-22B crew to observe which is what this phase of RIMPAC is about, the interchangeability between Australia and coalition nations such as the United States.”

Canberra has not only embarked the two aircraft but their pilots, ground crew and maintainers. The 25 members are living onboard and integrating into life with fellow Aussies. 

“Moving and stowing the Osprey was done at a careful slower pace with our Canberra crew working alongside the Osprey crew as it’s a big aircraft and the crews have not done this at sea, we needed to ensure the aircraft could be stowed inside the ship and achieved safely,” Ellson said.

MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII — With the theme of “Capable Adaptive Partners,” the 2022 Rim of the Pacific exercise has featured a wide range of capabilities, projecting the inherent flexibility of maritime forces and helping to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, culminating with an amphibious assault in Hawaii.

During the exercise, 26 nations, 38 surface ships, four submarines, nine national land forces, more than 30 unmanned systems, approximately 170 aircraft and more than 25,000 personnel trained together while operating in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California, June 29 to Aug. 4.

Following weeks of workups, and then intensive training together when the exercise began, RIMPAC amphibious forces conducted a simulated assault on a beach and airfield at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

RIMPAC has been led by the commander of U.S. 3rd Fleet, Vice Adm. Michael Boyle. Republic of Korea navy Rear Adm. Sangmin An served as the commander of Combined Task Force 176, RIMPAC’s amphibious task force, aboard his flagship, amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2). His deputy was  U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Michael Baze, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 3.

In the scenario, a fictional armed radical organization known as Draco has captured a beach and airfield and adjacent areas from a fictional friendly nation called Orion. The amphibious task force employed a multi-domain assault to capture it back.

By definition, an amphibious assault involves the establishment of a landing force on a hostile or potentially hostile shore. An amphibious force consists of an amphibious task force and a landing force. Both partner and partner nations and allies provide the forces that are organized equipped and trained for these specialty mission sets.

According to Col. Ricardo Miagany, assistant chief of staff for operations with Marine Forces Pacific, the ship-to-shore phase showcases multilateral interoperability approach.

“A flotilla of coalition naval vessels is supporting this amphibious assault. Each ship possesses unique capabilities that will be harnessed to dislodge the occupying forces,” he said.

In addition to Essex, the assault force included the ROKN landing helicopter platform ROKS Marado (LPH-6112); the Royal Australian Navy landing helicopter dock HMAS Canberra (L02); and the Mexican navy landing ship tank ARM Usumacinta (A412), the ex-USS Frederick (LST-1184).

“Each ship possesses unique capabilities that will be harnessed to dislodge the occupying forces. Today’s training highlights some of the capabilities of the forces of the amphibious partners in the region as we operate together for a collection of naval platforms and functioning as one joint naval task force,” said Miagany.

USMC F/A-18 Hornets and AH-1Z and UH-1 aircraft provided fire support, and USMC CH-53E Super Stallions and MV-22 Ospreys delivered troops to the landing zone, USAF A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, a USAF MQ-9 Reaper and a USAF C-17 airlifter.

The ground assault included forces from Australia, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Kingdom of Tonga and the U.S.

Miagany said the “ready-to-fight force embarked on amphibious assault vehicles, small boats and aircraft, and attacked from the sea to the shore in one of the most complex and difficult form of maneuver and amphibious operations.”

Force Modernization

“For years we have practiced amphibious operations together, and many of the participants in sporting experience have experience working with Marine Expeditionary Unites. These will remain key facets of our crisis response roles in support of our alliances and security partnerships in the years ahead,” Miagany said. “These challenges in the constant evolution of military technology are focusing the Marine Corps and many of our partners on force modernization efforts. Marine Corps investment and experimentation efforts will enhance our collective security and improve U.S. crisis response capabilities.”

Miagany said “the amphibious assault today demonstrates the flexibility and strength of integrated and interoperable amphibious forces, the synergy of network allies and partners, the enduring value of amphibious crisis response capabilities, and provides a glimpse of the U.S. Marine Corps’ emerging core mission of providing stand-in forces which defend our allies and partners.”

According to Miagany, amphibious assaults are one of the most complex of all military operations.

“Only a small collection of militaries around the world are capable of planning and executing them. This form of a maneuver warfare projects naval forces from ship to shore into contested spaces. Accomplishing this requires a tremendous amount of professionalism, partnership, compatible operating concepts and interoperable technology. When training and practicing these maneuvers throughout Hawaii in preparation for this mission, our nations are building relationships with each other and strengthening our interoperability. For years we have practiced amphibious operations together, and many of the participants this morning have experience working with Marine Expeditionary Units. These will remain key facets of our crisis response roles in support of our alliances and security partnerships in the years ahead.”

In addition to the operational demonstration, Marines from the 3d Littoral Combat Regiment displayed  their tactical systems, including sensors such as the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar and weapons such as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.

At the conclusion of the demonstration, Lt. Gen. Steven R. Rudder, commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific and commanding general of Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, congratulated the forces that had been training on the ground for the past month and a half, and referred to the assault as the “RIMPAC graduation exercise.” 

“The blue water ops that have been  that have been transpiring has been shaping this environment so that we can conduct this amphibious assault today,” Rudder said. “It’s the first time we’ve done an amphibious assault with nine countries during the RIMPAC exercise. Although bilateral is such a key part of all of our nation’s military exercising in the Indo-Pacific,  the biggest operations are by nature joint, and are by nature multilateral.”

BALTIC SEA — The Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group, with embarked 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, returned to the Baltic Sea, Aug. 2, to strengthen interoperability with key NATO allies and partners, the group’s public affairs said Aug. 3. 

Elements of the ARG-MEU include flagship Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24), and Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44), along with accompanying Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51). 

While in the Baltic Sea, approximately 4,000 Sailors and Marines of the combined ARG-MEU team will train and operate alongside allied and partner nations to preserve maritime security and stability in the region. Operating alongside allies and partners in the Baltic Sea again demonstrates the U.S. commitment to the region and to improving capability and capacity across like-minded nations. 

“Our experience in the Baltics earlier in the year was extremely positive and we’re looking to build upon the relationships that we established as well as establish some new ones,” said Col. Paul Merida, commanding officer of the 22nd MEU. “We are ready to train and operate alongside our allies and partners and, of course, we are always ready to respond to crisis if required.” 

This marks a return to the Baltic Sea for elements of the ARG-MEU team, including Gunston Hall and Kearsarge, as both ships participated in the Estonian-led exercise Siil 22 in May and the annual joint, multinational exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS), the premier maritime-focused exercise in the Baltic region, in June. Arlington will be operating in the Baltic for the first time, re-aggregated with the Kearsarge ARG-MEU team following operations in the Mediterranean Sea since April 2022. 

Prior to returning to the Baltic Sea, the ships of the ARG concluded their mid-deployment voyage repair and maintenance periods in Brest, France; Rijeka, Croatia; and Copenhagen and Kalundborg, Denmark. Maintenance availability periods, termed MDVRs, allow U.S. Navy ships to accomplish necessary and preventative repairs to continue their missions in the region while simultaneously strengthening relationships with host nations. 

“Following a successful mid-deployment voyage repair, the Kearsarge ARG and 22nd MEU remains committed to our allies and partners,” said Capt. Aaron Kelley, commander of the Kearsarge ARG and Amphibious Squadron 6. “As our ships frequently operate in the region, the ARG-MEU team remains ready and returns to strengthen relationships with new and familiar Baltic allies and partners while ensuring maritime security throughout the region.”

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The Navy opened a new facility at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on July 27 that is dedicated to training Sailors who will operate the service’s Family of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (FoSUAS), the Naval Air Systems Command said Aug. 2. 

The facility, known as Training and Logistics Support Activity (TALSA) East, is the first dedicated Navy facility for unmanned aircraft operators to complete SUAS training. 

Previously, Naval SUAS operators received training directly from the original equipment manufacturer, through contractor-lead training, or at one of the four Marine Corps TALSAs when seats were available. 

“Navy UAS training takes a leap forward today with the opening of this first-of-its-kind facility,” said Marine Corps Col. Victor Argobright, PMA-263 program manager whose team will manage training at TALSA East. “Our FoSUAS team has been working diligently for nearly two years to provide high-quality training and certifications to our Navy personnel.” 

The TALSA is a central location for scheduling and formal entry-level SUAS courses that provide initial qualification training for systems currently in use by the operating forces. It also supports centralized storage of unit systems, supply, and maintenance services. 

Scheduling at Navy TALSA East is flexible and tailored to student requirements. The first official course in the new facility will begin Aug. 8 for SkyRaider R80D. 

“Being the first of its kind SUAS facility dedicated to  training and logistics is a force multiplier for our Navy and Marine Corps,” said Navy Capt. Michael Witherspoon, JEB Little Creek-Fort Story commanding officer. “This could not have been possible without the close coordination and collaboration of PMA-263, JEB Little Creek-Fort Story Public Works, the renovation team and the trainers here onboard the installation.  

Navy TALSA East currently supports training for The Vertical Take-Off and Landing SkyRaider R80D, Skydio X2D and PD-100 Black Hornet 3. The Naval Expeditionary Combat Command will join the Naval Special Warfare community in fiscal year 2023 to also use the training and logistics support that the TALSA provides. 

SAN PEDRO, Calif. — The National Museum of the Surface Navy at the Battleship Iowa, the museum for America’s Surface Navy located aboard the historic Battleship USS Iowa Museum, announced Aug. 1 the selection of Applied Minds LLC as designer for the first phase of the innovative museum.

Scheduled to open in 2025, the National Museum of the Surface Navy will be designed to raise awareness of the America’s Surface Navy and its past, present, and future roles in maintaining freedom of the seas. 

Led by Bran Ferren, formerly of Disney Imagineering, the team from Applied Minds will incorporate the historic Battleship USS Iowa as the platform for a unique, immersive experience. The team will be responsible for designing exhibits and experiences that educate visitors of the Surface Navy’s role in maintaining safe and open sea lanes to ensure that our nation remains strong economically. 

“The activation of the Iowa as the nation’s first and only national museum dedicated to the men and women of the Surface Navy poses challenges from the standpoints of both creativity and technology,” said retired Navy Rear Adm. Mike Shatynski, chairman of the board of the National Museum of the Surface Navy. “Retaining Applied Minds gives us a highly experienced team of creative and innovative professionals that is uniquely qualified and credentialed to design the world-class experience that our visitors will demand, and that the former, current and future Sailors of the Surface Navy deserve.” 

“The vision for the nation’s first museum dedicated to America’s Surface Navy is both exciting and forward-thinking, and we’re thrilled to have been selected as the team to bring those ideas, concepts, and dreams to life,” said Steven Hubrechts, chief of staff at Applied Minds. “Bringing together the extensive and proven experience in creativity and technology design at Applied Minds with the museum’s visionary team will undoubtedly result in the development of a world-class museum that will become the standard for the next evolution in museums.” 

In addition to the phase one design project to be undertaken by Applied Minds, space preparation and infrastructure improvements for the museum are already underway aboard Battleship USS Iowa Museum thanks to the generous donations of seed donors.  

For additional information about the National Museum of the Surface Navy and to become a Plank Owner, visit the website at https://surfacenavymuseum.org.  

HONOLULU — As this year’s biennal, multinational Rim of the Pacific naval exercise is drawing to a close, naval experts will gather in Honolulu to conduct the 2022 Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Exchange, or IMSE, essentially punctuating the end of RIMPAC with an exclamation point.

The conference is hosted by the Honolulu chapter of the Navy League and is being held at the Hawaii Convention Center Aug. 4-5.

According to retired Capt. Larry Osborn, a combination of three things makes IMSE unique — the location, the hybrid format and the enduring theme of building partnerships while focusing each year on a pertinent issue. The focus area for IMSE 2022 is “information sharing.”

As for location, “Honolulu, located in the mid-Pacific, is the only place where a U.S. combatant command is co-located with all its components,” said Osborn.

Produced as a hybrid event, Osborn said, “IMSE reaches across the Indo-Pacific and around the world with a live webinar broadcast while the in-person participants and attendees gather in a non-threatening, non-government venue to network informally and strengthen relationships.”

IMSE has no official  relationship with RIMPAC, but it’s not a coincidence that IMSE happens right after the exercise. The event will explore this “largest of all” multi-national exercise to learn how the maritime services from 26 nations share information and operate together effectively as a cohesive force.

Since it’s a RIMPAC year, there will be representatives of a number of Indo-Pacific militaries already here.  “We schedule IMSE to follow right after the RIMPAC closing to take advantage of the many foreign leaders present in Honolulu at that time,” Osborn said.

IMSE 2022 will feature a number of senior leaders from the region, to include remarks from the Australian and Korean heads of navy.  Adm. Sam Paparo, U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, will open the conference with a luncheon keynote. Discussion about the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue will include perspective from Indian, Japanese and U.S. senior leaders. Finally, a panel of ship commanding officers from the U.S., Malaysia, Australia, Korea, and the Philippines will share their RIMPAC experience.  

Anyone can register at imsehawaii.org to attend IMSE 2022 virtually via a live webinar or in person. Registration will stay open until the conference opening. Navy League members attending in person receive a discount.

WASHINGTON — Lt. Gen. Michael Langley has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be the first African-American four-star general in the U.S. Marine Corps, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Aug. 1.

Langley was nominated to the be commander of U.S. Africa Command in Stuttgart, Germany, on June 9. He will be promoted to general at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Aug. 6, the Marine Corps announced Aug. 2. Langley is currently serving as commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command; commanding general, Fleet Marine Force Atlantic; and commander, Marine Corps Forces North, Norfolk, Virginia.

“He’s been a Marine for more than 35 years. He’s led an impressive career. And he’s now the first Black four-star general in the history of the Marines,” Schumer posted on Twitter.

“It is a great honor to be the president’s nominee to lead U.S. Africom,” Langley said at his July 21 nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I am grateful for the trust and confidence extended by him, the secretary of defense, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and the commandant of the Marine Corps.”

A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Langley graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington and commissioned in 1985. He commanded at every level from platoon to regiment, including Battery K, 5^th Battalion, 11th Marines in support of Operation Wildfire in the Western United States; battalion and regimental commands in 12th Marines forward deployed in Okinawa, Japan; and both the 201st Regional Corps Advisory Command-Central and Regional Support Command – Southwest in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

As a general officer, his command assignments include deputy commanding general, II Marine Expeditionary Force and commanding general, 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade; commander, Marine Forces Europe and Africa; and deputy commanding general, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic and deputy commander, Marine Forces Command and Marine Forces Northern Command.

Langley holds multiple advanced degrees including Masters in National Security Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The U.S. Navy commissioned its newest amphibious transport dock ship, USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28), on July 30 in its namesake Florida city, Commander, Naval Surface Forces Public Affairs said July 30. 
 
“To the Sailors and Marines who will serve aboard USS Fort Lauderdale, thank you and your families in advance for the service you will fulfill and sacrifices you may endure,” said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, who spoke at the event. “The moment you bring this amphibious transport dock to life, you will strengthen the integrated deterrence capability of our entire joint force.” 
 
Guest speakers for the event also included Kari Wilkinson, president of Ingalls Shipbuilding; Gen. Eric Smith, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantlis. The principal speaker was U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida). 
 
“It is such an honor to be involved in the commissioning of the USS Ft. Lauderdale. It’s another chapter to the momentous history, friendship, and respect that the city has with the U.S. Navy,” Schultz said. “As chair of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, my support for our military is unwavering. I will always stand by our service members and veterans, and honor those who continue to serve.” 
 
Ship sponsor Meredith A. Berger gave the first order to “man our ship and bring her to life.” 
 
“The Navy names ships for people, places, and ideas that are special. The Navy certainly picked a special place when naming the USS Fort Lauderdale,” she said. “I am honored to be the sponsor for this incredible ship.” 
 
Built by the Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Fort Lauderdale was launched March 28, 2020, and christened Aug. 21, 2021. The ship was delivered to U.S. Navy Nov. 30, 2021. 
 
“Finally, if there is one thing that history has shown us from the days of antiquity it is that the stakes of the competition for control of the seas are high and for our part, USS Fort Lauderdale stands ready to deliver on any day, and at any time,” said Capt. James Quaresimo, the ship’s commanding officer. “And those that may wish to challenge us — they should pause. For we are equipped with America’s unstoppable secret weapon that our enemies will never be able to duplicate and that is the fierce, dedicated and unstoppable, men and women of the United States Navy and Marine Corps.” 
 
The ceremony marks the official transition of the USS Fort Lauderdale into the fleet and caps a weeklong series of events celebrating the ship and its namesake city. 
 
Amphibious transport dock ships are warships that embark, transport and land elements of a landing force for a variety of expeditionary warfare missions.

USS Fort Lauderdale will be homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.