Month: April 2022

Source: United States Navy

“At the time, I was looking into distance learning options to obtain my master’s degree,” recalled Hester. “Not even a month later, the request for applicants came out.”

Hester was one of five Bundy Scholars, a program named for Dr. William Bundy, the recently-passed professor who was known as a champion of the union between the warfare centers and naval operators. Hester says that she had limited exposure to the fleet before attending the Naval War College.

“I had some experience going out to the ships, but it was a small view of what being in the fleet is really like,” recalled the King George native. “My critical thinking only expanded through engineering, based on my experiences and what I already knew. At the War College, I interfaced, interacted and worked with other members of the service at my same level. That was a real eye-opener for me.”

The environment at the Naval War College is designed to encourage intellectual curiosity and conversations that cut across disciplines. Hester, who has a background on the technical side, got to exchange her knowledge with classmates who had more experience on the operational side. “Everyone goes by their first name. It’s not your rank that matters, but your ideas,” said Hester. “Everyone wears civilian clothes, which also helps break the barrier between military and civilian. In the end, we were all there to learn.”

The War College’s curriculum allows students to take both core and elective classes. Hester was one of two Bundy scholars also selected to participate in an advanced research program for wargaming.

“I spent ten months wargaming at the War College, and that’s something that has really benefitted me,” said Hester. “It’s not just reading it in a book or seeing it in a slide presentation, but it’s thinking through those operational scenarios and learning from my military peers on how they would fight tonight.”

The intermingling of technical experts with operational gurus in the fleet made a lasting impact on Hester.

“Part of DPG is providing an environment to understand concepts of employment, do experimentation and ensure that we are creating a capability for the fleet,” she said. “Understanding what the fleet needs [as far as utility] can help us as engineers make better decisions about what capability we are providing and what gaps we are filling.”

During her core classes at the college, Hester and her classmates reviewed case studies from previous wars focusing on the operational level, along with understanding theater security and foreign policy, leadership in the profession of arms and joint military operations.

“This experience has made me a better engineer and gave me a greater understanding of the competition and threats we’re facing,” Hester reflected. “I didn’t come from an active duty background. It was a great experience to learn alongside my military classmates what the Navy is doing, as well as what the Department of Defense is doing as a whole. This experience will be something I will always be able to apply to my Dahlgren career.”

Source: United States Navy

NAVSUP FLC Bahrain’s contracting department quickly awarded contracts to support the arrival and delivery of provisions to Cole in Aqaba, Jordan after a short notice schedule change and also deployed Logistics Support Representatives (LSRs) to provide on the ground support ensuring the delivery of mission critical cargo during the quick two-day port visit.

Gridley and Fitzgerald were in Manama, Bahrain conducting maintenance before returning to sea. During the port visits, NAVSUP FLC Bahrain delivered 66 pallets of mission critical cargo, provisions and mail.

Logistics Specialists first class Kyera Smiley, logistics support representative of NAVSUP FLC Bahrain noted, “LSRs are trained to not dwell on problems. Instead, we focus on what to do next in order to develop the most effective way to support our afloat mission partners.”

NAVSUP FLC Bahrain contract specialists and LSRs used innovative thinking and flexibility to provide seamless support to keep the ships mission ready.

“The past two weeks demonstrated the flexibility of our team,” said Commander Scott Wallace, executive officer of NAVSUP FLC Bahrain. “Our ability to rapidly award contracts and deploy staff is key to our ability to support ships operating in U.S. 5th Fleet.”

NAVSUP FLC Bahrain is one of eight FLCs under Commander, NAVSUP. Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania and employing a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel, NAVSUP’s mission is to provide supplies, services, and quality-of-life support to the Navy and joint warfighter.

Learn more at www.navsup.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/navsup and https://twitter.com/navsupsyscom

Source: United States Navy

From March to April, Hershel “Woody” Williams completed maritime security operations with African partners from Sierra Leone, Cabo Verde and Senegal as well as members of the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps.

“The men and women that made this possible are a testament to our shared values and commitment to ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of navigation on the waters surrounding the African continent,” said Capt. Michael Concannon, commanding officer, USS Hershel “Woody” Williams.

In March, the joint U.S. and African maritime team interdicted an illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing vessel operating in Sierra Leone’s economic exclusive zone. 

In April, as part of the African Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership (AMLEP), the joint team, led by Cabo Verde, worked in coordination with the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre – Narcotics (MAOC-N), the International Police (INTERPOL), and Cabo Verde’s national Maritime Operations Center (COSMAR) to conduct a compliant boarding of a Brazilian-flagged fishing vessel, which led to the seizure of approximately 6,000 kilograms of suspected cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $350 million.

 “I couldn’t be more proud of the professionalism and integration of the U.S. tri-maritime services, partner nations and other supporting organizations during our maritime security operations,” said Concannon. “These maritime security events show the world that our African partners are poised and ready to strike against illicit activity.”

Hershel “Woody” Williams is the first warship permanently assigned to the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility. The U.S. shares a common interest with African partner nations in ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation on the waters surrounding the continent, because these waters are critical for Africa’s prosperity and access to global markets.

The ESB ship class is a highly flexible platform that may be used across a broad range of military operations. Acting as a mobile sea base, they are part of the critical access infrastructure that supports the deployment of forces and supplies to support missions assigned.

For over 70 years, U.S. Sixth Fleet forces have forged strategic relationships with our allies and partners and solidified a foundation of shared values, experiences and vision aimed at preserving security and stability.

U.S. Sixth Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

Source: United States Navy

Under an interagency-approved flushing and sampling plan, the Navy water system is now in a two-year period of LTM. This includes testing about 6,000 more samples from roughly 55% of residences and other facilities on the system for more than 60 different contaminants.

“Our actions are focused on the health and safety of our people and our community – that is my highest priority,” said Rear Adm. Tim Kott, commander, Navy Region Hawaii. “By conducting long-term monitoring efforts, we are ensuring that our water remains safe. We have been able to make great progress thanks to the collaboration and hard work with many partners, and with the help of our community. We appreciate the continued working relationship with the Hawaii Department of Health as we review sampling results and act on any findings.”

Under the plan, the Navy is sampling 5% of homes and other buildings in each zone of the Navy water system for the first three months after the DOH amended that zone’s health advisory (a total of 15% in each zone after three months). After that, 40% of all homes and other buildings on the system will be sampled over the following 21 months. All schools, child development, and medical centers will be sampled regularly during both phases of the plan.

Sampling locations for homes in each zone are chosen as a geographic representation of the zone, based on their location on the neighborhood distribution system. Different homes will be chosen during each phase to provide a good geographic spatial representation of homes sampled.

A Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Hawaii representative contacts residents of homes selected for sampling to schedule an appointment at the resident’s earliest convenience. The sampling process takes about an hour.

When the sample team arrives at the home, they explain the long-term monitoring process and answer any questions, then proceed to the sampling faucet, typically the one highest and farthest from where water enters the home. The sample team takes several field measurements to account for some general conditions in the home. The team collects four one-liter bottles for lab analysis on the mainland.

It typically takes two to three weeks for final results. All results are validated to state and federal drinking water requirements, including the incident-specific parameters (ISPs) set by the DOH for the Navy water system.

Validated testing results will be posted to the Safe Waters website at: https://jbphh-safewaters.org.

Sample results are generally categorized as non-detect, detect, or exceed. If a sample exceeds action levels for contaminants, the resident or building point of contact will be personally notified.

“This is a very large undertaking, and my staff and I remain committed to conducting this effort in coordination with the DOH to ensure that we are continually providing safe drinking water for all users of our water system,” said Capt. Gordie Meyer, commanding officer of NAVFAC Hawaii. “We will immediately act on any validated sampling exceedances, coordinating with the DOH to determine the best course of action. We will continue to meet the incident-specific parameters — which are more health-protective than drinking water regulated standard levels — that are in place to verify that the water in our system remains safe for all uses.”

“The added level of safety that these ISPs offer also means that we may be working with our residents and tenants to conduct follow-up sampling and remedial actions,” added Meyer. “I regret that this may cause some additional disruption, but we are committed to doing this right and restoring trust in the Navy water system from the Navy’s Waiawa well, which is routinely monitored to ensure our water source and distribution system is safely providing water to our consumers. We will continue to work with regulators and our partners at the local, state, and federal levels to ensure that water from the Navy water system remains safe for all uses.”

For more information on these actions, go to the news section of http://www.navy.mil/jointbasewater.

For more information on long-term monitoring of the Navy water system, go to https://jbphh-safewaters.org.