Month: September 2023

Source: United States Navy

During the ceremony guest speaker, Bunker Hill’s second commanding officer, Vice Adm. Rodney Rempt, USN, Ret., wished the current crew fair winds and following seas as they bid farewell to their ship.

Bunker Hill’s final commanding officer, Capt. Jason Rogers reflected on the service of his crew and those who came before, addressing the decommissioning of this distinguished vessel.

“With great pride, I acknowledge the dedication and valor of the sailors who served aboard this ship for the past 37 years,” said Rogers. “The USS Bunker Hill’s legacy is a testament to our commitment to national security. As we lower the flag one final time, we honor the past while embracing the Navy’s future. Our sailors’ unwavering dedication and the ship’s service will never be forgotten. Today’s decommissioning ceremony, September 22, 2023, marks the end of an era, but the spirit of Bunker Hill lives on in all of us.”

Capt. Rogers also retired from active service during the ceremony. Marine 1st Lt. Mathieu Rogers, assigned to 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, reflected on his father’s lifelong guidance. “You demonstrated that finding your passion and sticking to it, not giving up,” said 1st Lt. Rogers turning to his father, “is not only a rewarding thing to do, it’s the right thing to do.”

Bunker Hill maintained a crew of 40 officers, 31 chiefs, and 300 enlisted Sailors. The ship was built in Pascagoula, Mississippi, by Ingalls Shipyard Company and commissioned Sept. 20, 1986, at Charlestown in Boston. It was the first U.S. surface warship to be equipped with the below-deck, advanced MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS), a multi-warfare missile-launching system capable of striking targets in the air, on and under the ocean surface, and on land.

Bunker Hill operated in the North Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman, supporting 10 Earnest Will convoys in 1987. The ship arrived in its new homeport of Naval Base Yokosuka, Japan the following year. At the end of January 1991 the ship launched its first Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs), a total of 28, against targets in Iraq from its station in the North Arabian Gulf, in support of Operation Desert Storm. It also supported Operations Desert Shield. In 2008, it was one of the Coalition ships from the British-led Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 maintaining a presence off the east coast of Africa in response to the recent events in Somalia. The following year it was the first guided-missile cruiser to receive a complete set of upgrades as part of the Navy’s Cruiser Modernization program including a new Aegis Weapons System, the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC), and SPQ-9B Radar. The guided-missile cruiser made full speed from off the coast of Panama to reach Haiti, joining U.S. military efforts on the Caribbean island devastated by a massive earthquake in 2010.

The first and second U.S. Navy ships named Bunker Hill honored the Revolutionary War battle fought primarily on adjacent Breed’s Hill at Charlestown, Massachusetts, on June 17, 1775.

The battle occurred in the midst of the larger siege of the city of Boston, when the Americans learned that the British intended to deploy troops to some of the heights surrounding the city in order to command its vital harbor. Nearly 1,200 patriots marched stealthily onto the peninsula on the night of the 16th and 17th and dug defensive positions. Despite the colonists’ secrecy, the British detected the move and their ships and batteries opened fire on the positions while they landed troops to carry the newly established works. American reinforcements during the battle raised their strength to about 2,400 men, and the British to more than 3,000, though not all the men on either side took a direct part in the fighting. American snipers in Charlestown harassed the British until their ships fired incendiary shot that set much of the town ablaze. In the meanwhile, the British resolutely assaulted the colonist’s positions twice, and both times the patriots, with equal resolution, fired into the regulars and Royal Marines and scythed them down. The British regrouped and attacked a third time as the patriots began to run out of ammunition, and finally drove the Americans back at the point of the bayonet. The Americans inflicted twice the number of casualties on their assailants—an estimated 450 patriots fell as opposed to 1,054 regulars and Royal Marines. The colonist’s valiant defiance imbued them with confidence that they could stand up to the British, while the crown’s losses shook their officers and they often maneuvered prudently to avoid direct assaults against entrenched patriots in subsequent battles.

The decommissioning of CG 52 supports department-wide business process reform initiatives to free up time, resources, and manpower in support of increased lethality.

Modern U.S. Navy guided-missile cruisers perform primarily in a Battle Force role. These ships are multi-mission surface combatants capable of supporting carrier battle groups, amphibious forces or operating independently and as flagships of surface action groups. Cruisers are equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles giving them additional long range strike warfare capability. Some Aegis Cruisers have been outfitted with a Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) capability.

The mission of CNSP is to man, train, and equip the Surface Force to provide fleet commanders with credible naval power to control the sea and project power ashore.

For more news from Naval Surface Forces, visit www.surfpac.navy.mil/ and www.dvidshub.net/unit/COMNAVSURFPAC.

Source: United States Navy

SRF-JRMC previously won the CNO award in 2021. This is their first SECNAV award.

“The safety of our people in this heavy industrial environment is our number 1 priority. I am very proud of our Japanese and American workers who watch out for each other,” said SRF-JRMC Executive Director, John Lund.

SRF-JRMC promotes a culture of safety and their low record of mishaps reflects that commitment. The command has worked to implement several initiatives to increase safety awareness, including: improved safety programming; greater visibility of the safety team on the waterfront and in the maintenance shops; increased information available to workers at the deckplate level through training, welcome aboard briefs, training for those working on ships in availabilities, specific hazard training on topics such as metals and lead, safety alerts and a monthly safety calendar. New and increased signage will be going up around the command to help ensure common mishaps continue to be avoided.

In an effort to continue to promote a culture of safety across the organization, the command has worked to create greater collaboration between the Environmental, Safety and Health and Radiological (ESHR) Control Division, Industrial Operations Safety Division, Environmental Division, Safety Administration Division and Radiological Controls Division. Through their “one team” approach, the divisions are ensuring that all aspects of safety − from environmental to occupational − are considered.

“What you practice becomes habit, so we ensure our workforce is in the habit of safety,” said Tamara Walker, ESHR director. “Our safety team of 60 people support the mission by keeping people safe and healthy on the job. Whether it is wearing a hardhat and glasses or safely disposing of hazardous waste, we lead by example and raise awareness.”

The CNO Safety Awards recognize outstanding support and achievement in safety and occupational health.

The SECNAV Safety Excellence Awards annually recognize Navy and Marine Corps units for unparalleled safety achievements

Established in 1947, SRF-JRMC is headquartered onboard Fleet Activities Yokosuka. The command employs over 2,800 binational workforce members including U.S. Navy active duty, Department of Defense civil servants, and host-nation contractors. SRF-JRMC’s detachment, based in Sasebo City of Japan’s Kyushu prefecture, employs over 460 personnel. Due to its complex nature as a medium industrial facility in Yokosuka, the command has been designated a “major shore command,” serving as the largest U.S. Naval ship maintenance provider in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility.

Source: United States Navy

The Sentinel-class fast response cutter, USCGC Robert Goldman (WPC 1142), a U.S. rigid-hull Inflatable boat, and the Royal Bahrain Navy’s patrol craft Al Farooq (PC 43) rendezvoused at sea and conducted a variety of search and rescue procedures including a simulated man over-board drill and small boat operations.

This was the first time the Royal Bahrain Navy’s patrol craft Al Farooq (PC 43) conducted a search and rescue exercise with the U.S. naval forces enhancing interoperability and maritime skills for both forces.

SAR exercises like these symbolize the strong bilateral operations and exercises between the U.S. and Royal Bahrain Navy.

Fast response cutters have high maneuverability capabilities and can reach speeds upwards of 28 knots with the ability to launch small boats from the stern, making them optimal for search and rescue operations.

Headquartered in Manama, Bahrain, NAVCENT includes U.S. forces operating in the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean and three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal and Bab al-Mandeb.