USS George Washington to Depart for Japan via South America
SAM LAGRONE APRIL 24, 2024 10:44 AM Carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) is set to depart Naval Station Norfolk, Va., this week for its new homeport in Japan, the Navy announced on Wednesday. The carrier will be part of U.S. 4th Fleet’s Southern Seas 2024 event that will team Washington up with the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78), and Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler USNS John Lenthall (T-AO-189). The carrier will embark with a partial air wing from Carrier Air Wing 7, Naval Air Force Atlantic announced. Outlined earlier this month, Southern Seas will have the U.S. group sail with warships from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay. Washington plans to make port calls in Brazil, Chile and Peru. An international staff will of about 24 officers from 11 partner nations will serve on the carrier. “This international staff will receive instruction from U.S. Naval War College professors and will work alongside embarked Destroyer Squadron 40 personnel,” reads a statement from U.S. Southern Command. The international staff will include officers from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom and the United States. Following Southern Seas 2024, “George Washington will relieve USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) as the forward-deployed naval forces (FDNF) aircraft carrier during a historic carrier swap at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., this summer. This will mark the second time George Washington has served as the FDNF aircraft carrier, arriving in Japan in 2008 as the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to be forward deployed to Japan before being relieved by Ronald Reagan in 2015,” reads a statement from Naval Air Force Atlantic. Following the transfer, Reagan will head to Washington state for an overhaul before its permanent homeport assignment. Prior to this week’s planned departure, George Washington completed its midlife nuclear refueling and complex overhaul at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. The normally four-year-long maintenance period stretched to just short of six years due to a number of factors, including supply chain issues and workforce problems that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Washington began the RCOH period on Aug. 4, 2017, and redelivered to the Navy on May 25, 2023. During the RCOH, the Navy conducted an extensive quality of life study that revealed sailors living aboard the carrier had some of the toughest living conditions in the Department of Defense. The investigation followed the death by suicide of nine GW sailors from 2017 to 2022. from JC's Royal New Zealand Navy and other Naval, Maritime or Military News https://ift.tt/eHPnXqv via IFTTT via Blogger https://ift.tt/f9D20MU April 25, 2024 at 01:49PM See all posts in full - click here https://jcsnavyandmilitarynews.blogspot.com/
Gisborne – Anzac Day TV coverage from C Company Memorial House
Apr 24 2024Updated 3 hours ago – Matai O’Connor, Kaupapa Māori Reporter The C Company Māori Battalion Memorial House is set to broadcast coverage of Anzac Day this year to help share stories and history of those from Tairāwhiti who went to war. Dr Monty Soutar said the C Company Māori Battalion Memorial House was approached by Whakaata Māori (Māori Television) a couple of years ago and was planning to broadcast for Anzac Day last year, but because of the region still reeling from the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle, it was decided to postpone to this year. Veteran broadcaster Julian Wilcox (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa) will be joined in Gisborne by military historian Dr Monty Soutar (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Porou), who throughout the broadcast will comment on what is happening and why certain things are done during a dawn ceremony. “It’s a huge honour for the C Company Memorial House to be the setting for it as it’s run by a voluntary trust and all income for it comes from koha, so to have this opportunity to promote what we do is great,” Dr Soutar said. Throughout the morning broadcast there will be features about different kaupapa related to the region and Anzac history. There will be a tour through the Memorial House, a closer look at Sir Apirana Ngata and the background to his work The Price of Citizenship, and a visit to St Mary’s Memorial Church in Tikitiki, which celebrates 100 years since laying its foundation stone. Coverage will also feature a piece on Toti Tuhaka (Ngāti Porou), who served with the Royal New Zealand Navy in Korea, and the exploits of Lieutenant Te Rauwhiro Tibble (Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-a-Apanui), of Tikitiki, who won the Military Cross for bravery in Italy. Tokomaru Bay kapa haka group, Te Hokowhitu-a-Tū will perform waiata associated with the 28 Maori Battalion and the stories behind these will be shared. The broadcast will cross over to the Auckland dawn ceremony as well as the Gisborne dawn ceremony at the Cenotaph. Anzac Day is about not forgetting the sacrifices made in the past by those who served, Dr Soutar said. “It’s quite special this year as Māori TV have chosen a quote that is on C Company house from Sir Apirana Ngata, who said at the beginning of World War 2: ‘We are of one house and if our Pākehā brothers fall, we fall with them’. “It’s almost ironic, with what is going on with the Māori language and the moves by the current Government to do different things that impact on Māori, that we should not forget what he said. “I guess we really need our Pākehā brothers to stand alongside Māori today in the continued battle for equality.” from JC's Royal New Zealand Navy and other Naval, Maritime or Military News https://ift.tt/U1fdKkS via IFTTT via Blogger https://ift.tt/cQ7Ts9S April 24, 2024 at 01:39PM See all posts in full - click here https://jcsnavyandmilitarynews.blogspot.com/
NZDF teams up with Warriors Anzac Day League fixture
A full-capacity Go Media Stadium is set to host the largest contingent of New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel commemorating Anzac Day anywhere in the world. 23 APRIL, 2024The NZDF and One New Zealand Warriors have combined forces on an unprecedented scale for the Warriors’ 2024 Anzac Day encounter with the Gold Coast Titans on Thursday. Rugby league fans will be treated to ceremonial pomp and pageantry, the sight of military hardware on the ground and in the air, and an appearance from some canine personnel. This is only the second time the New Zealand side has hosted the Anzac Day fixture, nine years on from the first occasion which marked the 100 year anniversary of the start of the Gallipoli campaign in 2015. “It’s a special honour for us to host the Anzac Day game again,” said One New Zealand Warriors CEO Cameron George. “From our viewpoint, it’s appropriate that the NRL should commemorate such an important day for our two nations.” The association between Anzac Day and New Zealand and Australia’s major sporting codes runs deep, and in particular for the One New Zealand Warriors. “We’re extremely grateful to the New Zealand Defence Force for lending such valuable support to ensure we are able to mark the day in a dignified and respectful way,” Cameron George said. From having the New Zealand Army Band leading proceedings on the field, with vocalists, a bugler, and a Royal New Zealand Navy guard of honour taking on the ceremonial duties, more than 150 serving personnel will be front and centre on one of the country’s largest sporting stages in front of a sold out crowd. A Royal New Zealand Air Force A109 helicopter will deliver the match ball in spectacular fashion, touching down on the halfway line before the match. The Australian Defence Force will also be represented with a flagbearer on the field. “The commemoration of Anzac Day is one of the most important national occasions on both sides of the Tasman,” said Lieutenant Colonel Tony Sumner, Director of Defence Public Affairs. “While Anzac had its origins on the beaches and hills of the Gallipoli Peninsula over a century ago, this day continues to symbolise the very close bonds we have with our Australian friends. “To be able to commemorate those who have served, fought and fallen on such a large sporting stage is a particular honour.” Some of the NZDF’s frontline capabilities will be on display at Go Media Stadium, with Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs) and the Army’s new armoured Bushmasters available for fans to look through, and meet the soldiers who operate them. Supporters will also get the chance to see the NZDF’s military working dogs showcase their incredible skills during a halftime display. The One New Zealand Warriors will also wear a special commemorative jersey to mark the occasion, made up of several key design elements honouring the servicemen and servicewomen who have fought for New Zealand and Australia. Fans are encouraged to turn up to Go Media Stadium early on Thursday for a special Anzac-themed curtain-raiser, when the NZDF’s women’s rugby league team takes on their New Zealand Police counterpart. Across the Tasman, the NZDF men’s team will also warm up the crowd at Accor Stadium in Sydney, by taking on the Australian Defence Force’s rugby league team in a hotly contested fixture from JC's Royal New Zealand Navy and other Naval, Maritime or Military News https://ift.tt/0Der2Xp via IFTTT via Blogger https://ift.tt/jV5Btqr April 24, 2024 at 12:44PM See all posts in full - click here https://jcsnavyandmilitarynews.blogspot.com/
Navy Bandsman explores Gallipoli history through musical predecessor
Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) Band member Petty Officer Fraser Robertson has returned to Gallipoli to play his part at Anzac Day commemorations for a third time.23 APRIL, 2024A tuba player from Te Awamutu, Petty Officer Roberston played at the commemorations in Türkiye in 2014 and 2017 and was chosen again for this year’s event. During the pre-deployment briefing, New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) contingent historian Dr Andrew Macdonald noted there were plenty of serving brass-band musicians who landed at Gallipoli in 1915. Sometimes they were members of regimental bands, but other times they were serving as soldiers in the front lines according to Dr Macdonald, a specialist military historian who holds an honorary captaincy with the RNZN. “That kind of resonated for me after being to Gallipoli twice,” Petty Officer Robertson said. While he was aware musicians had waded ashore at Anzac Cove he said he hadn’t know that some instruments had also been carried onto the peninsula. Other research by author and editor Chris Bourke showed that while band music was almost absent from the historical record of Gallipoli, it was nonetheless heard by New Zealand troops serving there. His research showed enough bandsmen landed on Gallipoli to form four bands. In particular, Petty Officer Robertson was interested in the life of Private William Griffiths, who also played the tuba. Private Griffiths was a stretcher bearer in the Auckland Battalion. During the August offensive to open the approach to Chunuk Bair, he suffered a gunshot wound to the head and later died at a hospital in Egypt. Private Griffiths was born and raised in Timaru, but was based in Auckland at the time of his enlistment into the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. For many years this young man – known to family and friends as Sandy – was a bandsman in the Auckland City Corps of the Salvation Army. “It’s quite intriguing,” Petty Officer Robertson said. “Brass bands have played a significant part in my family and life. I am a third-generation member of the Te Awamutu Brass Band, and my family is still heavily involved with the local band.” Most of the 40-strong NZDF contingent arrived in Türkiye about a week before the 25 April anniversary to acclimatise and rehearse before the ceremonies. Battlefield tours were part of the programme so the members could learn more about their predecessors and the battles that were fiercely fought at Gallipoli, and where, in some places, both sides’ trenches were as little as five metres apart. “The landscape still amazes me. You see how far away the Turkish soldiers would have been from the New Zealanders to the point where they could have easily had a conversation,” Petty Officer Roberston said. As well as conversations, Turkish soldiers would have heard music being played by the New Zealand troops – an aspect of the campaign which is not well known. According to New Zealand music website Audioculture, while musicians and music were not common during the campaign, they did feature. Small musical gatherings were sometimes held relatively close to the Turkish lines. For safety reasons, the Canterbury Battalion’s musicians played their first concert in the dark in Canterbury Gully – also known as Rest Gully. The following evening, the Turks brought their own band to the trenches. Both events were eventually drowned out by rifle and artillery fire. The commander of the Wellington Battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel William Malone, also documented that musical gatherings took place. He wrote that the musicians – whom he thought would not perform well in war – had proved their bravery as stretcher bearers. During the NZDF contingent’s recent battlefield tour, Dr Macdonald outlined the importance of song at Gallipoli, explaining how veterans he had interviewed talked about occasional sing-alongs among small groups of soldiers when away from the front line at places such as Rest Gully, the Maori Pah and Plugge’s Plateau, among others. “Based on what these elderly men – men who had served at these places inside the Anzac perimeter – told me, song was a form of distraction from what they had been through, as well as a form of camaraderie. It was also a means of relaxation.” from JC's Royal New Zealand Navy and other Naval, Maritime or Military News https://ift.tt/UKYhlpI via IFTTT via Blogger https://ift.tt/6YjHvs5 April 24, 2024 at 12:39PM See all posts in full - click here https://jcsnavyandmilitarynews.blogspot.com/ |
AuthorJohn Currin served 15 years in the Royal New Zealand Navy and has retained an interest in naval, marine, military and happenings around the world. Archives
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