Preserving a piece of US Maritime History - invaluable

The USS Olympia is a cruiser that fought in the Spanish American War in 1898 and has been preserved in Philadelphia. She's a one of a kind ship, a national historic monument, and in danger. She needs approximately $10-15 million in repairs to keep her a viable museum for years to come. If you have the resources, or connections to those resources, please consider helping. (full disclosure - there is no financial benefit to me to ask the question - we need to save this ship for posterity). Please contact me at 612-599-1935 or bdskon@fedex.com if you have additional questions.

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Thursday, August 25, 2011

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers  USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109), left, and USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) depart Naval Station Norfolk ahead of Hurricane Irene.
NORFOLK (Aug. 25, 2011) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109), left, and USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) depart Naval Station Norfolk ahead of Hurricane Irene. Vice Adm. Daniel Holloway, commander of U.S. 2nd Fleet, ordered all ships in the Hampton Roads area to set Sortie Condition Alpha. Ships in the area are departing the area early Thursday morning, Aug. 25. Irene's current track indicates it will pass off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts late Saturday as a Category 3 hurricane. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Rafael Martie/Released)

Click on the picture for a high res view on the entire Atlantic Fleet - very cool

The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) departs Naval Station Norfolk ahead of Hurricane Irene.
NORFOLK (Aug. 25, 2011) The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) departs Naval Station Norfolk ahead of Hurricane Irene. Vice Adm. Daniel Holloway, commander of U.S. 2nd Fleet, ordered all ships in the Hampton Roads area to set Sortie Condition Alpha. Ships in the area are departing early Thursday morning, Aug. 25. Irene's current track indicates it will pass off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts late Saturday as a Category 3 hurricane. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nathan Parde/Released)

GW is back!

USS George Washington moors after a summer patrol
YOKOSUKA, Japan (Aug. 25, 2011) The aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) moors at Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka after her summer patrol. George Washington is the U.S. Navy's only forward-deployed aircraft carrier and is the flagship of Commander Task Force 70. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Charles Oki/Released)
The guided-missile frigate USS Nicholas (FFG 47) passes the guided-missile frigate USS Kauffmann (FFG 59) as it departs Naval Station Norfolk ahead of Hurricane Irene.

NORFOLK (Aug. 25, 2011) The guided-missile frigate USS Nicholas (FFG 47) passes the guided-missile frigate USS Kauffmann (FFG 59) as it departs Naval Station Norfolk ahead of Hurricane Irene. Vice Adm. Daniel Holloway, commander of U.S. 2nd Fleet, ordered all ships in the Hampton Roads area to set Sortie Condition Alpha. Ships in the area are departing early Thursday morning, Aug. 25. Irene's current track indicates it will pass off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts late Saturday as a Category 3 hurricane. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Chase/Released)
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG 72) departs Naval Station Norfolk ahead of Hurricane Irene.
NORFOLK (Aug. 25, 2011) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG 72) departs Naval Station Norfolk ahead of Hurricane Irene. Vice Adm. Daniel Holloway, commander of U.S. 2nd Fleet, ordered all ships in the Hampton Roads area to set Sortie Condition Alpha. Ships in the area are departing early Thursday morning, Aug. 25. Irene's current track indicates it will pass off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts late Saturday as a Category 3 hurricane. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eric S. Garst/Released)
The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) departs Naval Station Norfolk ahead of Hurricane Irene.
NORFOLK (Aug. 25, 2011) The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) departs Naval Station Norfolk ahead of Hurricane Irene. Vice Adm. Daniel Holloway, commander of U.S. 2nd Fleet, ordered all ships in the Hampton Roads area to set Sortie Condition Alpha. Ships in the area are departing early Thursday morning, Aug. 25. Irene's current track indicates it will pass off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts late Saturday as a Category 3 hurricane. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eric S. Garst/Released) 
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) and the guided-missile frigate USS Nicholas (FFG 47) depart Naval Station Norfolk ahead of Hurricane Irene.
NORFOLK (Aug. 25, 2011) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) and the guided-missile frigate USS Nicholas (FFG 47) depart Naval Station Norfolk ahead of Hurricane Irene. Vice Adm. Daniel Holloway, commander of U.S. 2nd Fleet, ordered all ships in the Hampton Roads area to set Sortie Condition Alpha. Ships in the area are departing early Thursday morning, Aug. 25. Irene's current track indicates it will pass off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts late Saturday as a Category 3 hurricane. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eric S. Garst/Released)
A Los Angeles-class attack submarine departs Naval Station Norfolk ahead of Hurricane Irene.
NORFOLK (Aug. 25, 2011) A Los Angeles-class attack submarine departs Naval Station Norfolk ahead of Hurricane Irene. Vice Adm. Daniel Holloway, commander of U.S. 2nd Fleet, ordered all ships in the Hampton Roads area to set Sortie Condition Alpha. Ships in the area are departing early Thursday morning, Aug. 25. Irene's current track indicates it will pass off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts late Saturday as a Category 3 hurricane. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Todd Schaffer/Released)

Ships flee Norfolk as Hurricane Irene nears - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Ships flee Norfolk as Hurricane Irene nears - Navy News News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

More detail than the story I looked at and posted yesterday.

Looks like 4 carriers are potentially impacted.................many more surface ships and subs are heading out....should be an interesting parade out of Norfolk

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

An F-35C test aircraft CF-1, rear, with an F/A-18E Super Hornet prepares for two-aircraft jet blast deflector testing.
LAKEHURST, N.J. (Aug. 13, 2011) An F-35C test aircraft CF-1, rear, with an F/A-18E Super Hornet prepares for two-aircraft jet blast deflector testing. F-35C carrier suitability testing is ongoing with catapult and arrestment test events through the rest of the year, leading up to initial ship trials in 2013. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin/Released

Second Fleet Sets Sortie Condition Alpha in Preparation for Hurricane

Second Fleet Sets Sortie Condition Alpha in Preparation for Hurricane

Monday, August 22, 2011

Is this plausible - you be the judge, but I have every confidence that the Obama administration is doing everything it can to stop us using fossil fuels

This is amazing either in its ineptitude, its destructive intention, or some combination of the two….From Kevin Mooney at http://www.masterresource.org/2011/08/lost-gulf-rigs-obama/#more-16297

Ten oil rigs have left the Gulf of Mexico since the Obama Administration imposed a moratorium on deepwater oil and gas drilling in May 2010 and others could follow soon…. The rigs have left the Gulf for locations in Egypt, Congo, French Guiana, Liberia, Nigeria and Brazil.
It gets worse.
Several of the remaining rigs could be relocating soon, according to the report. These include the Paul Romano, the Ocean Monarch and the Saratoga. Moreover, eight other rigs that were planned for the Gulf have been detoured away, Don Briggs, President of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association (LOGA), points out.
Mooney also quotes Bonner Cohen, a senior fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research on the broader devastation being wrought by the Obama administration’s energy policies:
What you are seeing in Louisiana is only a small piece of larger mosaic being put together by the Obama Administration to make affordable energy as inaccessible as possible,” he said. “From the administration’s war on coal to the serious consideration it is giving to imposing a nationwide regulation of hydraulic fracturing, to its shut down of deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, to its `endangerment finding” from the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency], the administration is practicing its own form of selected industrial sabotage.

From CDR Salamander's Blog


The ships from the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group underway in the 7th Fleet AOR
INDIAN OCEAN (Aug. 18, 2011) The amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4), left, the amphibious dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD 45) and the amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay (LPD 20) transit the Indian Ocean. The three ships, part of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, recently completed maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility and are underway in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility during a deployment to the western Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Trevor Welsh/Released)

Boxer - what a great Navy name!

The USS Boxer steams across the Indian Ocean
INDIAN OCEAN (Aug. 18, 2011) The amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) transits the Indian Ocean. Boxer is underway in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility during a western Pacific deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Trevor Welsh/Released)

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Navy Announces USS Bonhomme Richard to Relieve USS Essex in Forward Deployed Role

Navy Announces USS Bonhomme Richard to Relieve USS Essex in Forward Deployed Role

Huge news..........I saw the USS Essex in San Deigo right before she forward deployed.

And now - she's coming back. I suspect a long time in the yards awaits here...............