Month: October 2022

Source: United States Navy

Also known as the Safety “S”, the Navy’s highest flight safety award is bestowed upon Navy and Marine Corps commands that have demonstrated exceptional and sustained safety excellence.
This achievement is based upon aircraft flight mishap rates, currency of safety programs, the number of aircraft being flown, and the amount of time the aircraft spent supporting deployed operations.

”The safety award is truly a manifestation of the quality, safe, professional operations, both flying the aircraft, as well as the maintainers doing an incredible job with maintaining the platforms that we have,” said Whitesell. “Our business is inherently dangerous, and it’s the professionalism of the maintainers and aircrew that enable us to give confidence to the moms and dads that send you out into the world to defend your country. I can’t do that myself; it’s you all that do that.”

Despite the unique challenges of an immensely large and diverse squadron, HSC-3 spearheaded COVID-19 operational risk controls, including distance learning and COVID patient transfer protocols, enabling the execution of 11,031 flight hours to qualify future warfighters in the MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter, as well as MQ-8B/C Firescout unmanned aerial vehicles. The squadron also conducted firefighting operations in support of California Fire and Federal Fire, flying 56 hours and dropping 166 “Bambi Buckets” of water in support of the shore bombardment area (SHOBA) fire and the Corey Iverson Wildland exercise. HSC-3’s proactive participation and feedback in the Safety Systems Working Group, Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization (NATOPS) Program Manager Summit, and Mine Warfare Improvement Program (MIWIP) helped enable safe and responsible operations within the community.

HSC-4 executed 2,959 total flight hours while maintaining eight mission-capable aircraft while embarked aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE-11), as well as detachments to Naval Air Station Fallon and Naval Air Facility El Centro. Overall, the squadron has flown more than 69,128 hours without a Class A mishap.

The “Titans” acquired ten additional aircraft and supported two deployments, including the inaugural deployment of three CMV-22B aircraft as part of the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group. VRM-30 successfully deployed one detachment, conducted independent operations, and supported VRM-50, the Navy’s CMV-22B Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), during their Safe-for-Flight certification. The Titans flew 1,022 sorties totaling 2,039 flight hours, including 520 night hours, with no aviation mishaps.

“There is no differentiation between our safety performance and our operational performance,” said Whitesell. “You must have both at the same time. A safe squadron is also an operationally effective squadron.”

Source: United States Navy

U.S. Navy patrol coastal ship USS Sirocco (PC 6) was conducting a counter-smuggling patrol in international waters when the mariners set their fishing vessel ablaze. Sailors from Sirocco rescued the mariners from the water and provided medical aide as USS Chinook (PC 9) and USS Thunderbolt (PC 12) extinguished the fire on the vessel.

“This was a superb effort by all of our crews,” said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces. “I couldn’t be prouder of everyone involved in saving lives while carrying out our mission to disrupt destabilizing maritime activity.”

The mariners, who identified themselves as Iranian and Pakistani, admitted to smuggling hashish and methamphetamines. Sirocco recovered 560 kilograms of hashish worth an estimated $1 million, about one-third of the total shipment. The remaining drugs were destroyed in the fire.

After the mariners received immediate medical care, all were transferred to a regional nation for additional treatment and repatriation. The fishing vessel, which sustained significant damage during the fire, sank.

The rescue comes three days after U.S. Navy personnel rescued three civilian mariners in the Gulf of Aden, Oct. 26, after their small motorboat caught fire while transiting international waters.

Guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94) and patrol coastal ship USS Monsoon (PC 4) responded after observing the mariners in distress and immediately rendered assistance. Sailors safely rescued the civilian mariners before their burning vessel sank approximately 50 miles off the coast of Yemen.

The U.S. 5th Fleet operating area includes 21 countries, the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean and three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandeb and Suez Canal.

Source: United States Navy

The aircraft, then attached to the “Wizards” of VAQ-133, was involved in a mid-air collision with another aircraft attached to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2 at NAS Fallon during a training event on Sept. 14, 2017. Both aircraft landed safely and the aircrew were uninjured. The Growler remained at NAS Fallon for several years, as refurbishment of this nature had never been done before and there were no processes or procedures on exactly how the repairs could be completed.

Upon initial inspection, there was little hope the aircraft would be fit to fly due to the complexity of the repairs required following the mishap, as well as weather damage from years of sitting in a desert environment. However, after thorough analysis and continued coordination, the Growler’s road to recovery began when clearance for repair was granted in 2021. In February of that year, the aircraft was loaded onto a flatbed truck and transferred to the Fleet Replacement Squadron, VAQ-129, at NAS Whidbey Island.

Classified as a “special rework,” funding was approved and a long-term hangar space was identified for the unprecedented project. For more than a year, engineers, maintainers and artisans from facilities across the United States collaborated to develop processes, complete repairs and thoroughly inspect the recovered aircraft – more than 2,000 man hours in total.

“This was a team effort by personnel from Fleet Readiness Center (FRC) Southeast, FRC Southwest Engineering and my team from FRC Northwest,” said Tommy Moore, depot lead for FRC Northwest. “We reassembled the aircraft by replacing all major components and turned the aircraft back over to VAQ-129 as a ‘special rework’ complete on April 24, 2022.”

The Growler will soon be transferred to an operational squadron in order to deploy around the globe and be ready to conduct flight operations for decades to come. Capt. David Harris, commodore, Electronic Attack Wing Pacific, commended the efforts of the entire Naval Aviation Enterprise in the accomplishment of this first-of-its-kind mission.

“It was truly amazing to watch the entire Naval Aviation Enterprise team come together to get this much-needed asset back up to flight status,” said Harris. “From the engineers who developed the needed repair designs, to the artisans who accomplished the complex repairs, to the VAQ-129 Sailors who ultimately rebuilt the aircraft to a flight status; it was a true team effort.”