This Day in Naval History - July 18

From the Navy News Service

1775 - Continental Congress resolves that each colony provide armed vessels.

1779 - Commodore Abraham Whipple's squadron captures 11 prizes in largest prize value of Revolutionary War.

1792 - John Paul Jones dies in Paris, France.

1813 - U.S. Frigate President captures British Daphne, Eliza Swan, Alert and Lion.

1920 - Naval aircraft sink ex-German cruiser Frankfurt in target practice.

1943 - German submarine shoots down K-47, the first and only U.S. airship lost during WW II.

1947 - President Harry S. Truman delegates responsibility for the civil administration of former Japanese mandated island to the Secretary of the Navy.

1966 - Launch of Gemini 10 with Lt. Cmdr. John W. Young, as Command Pilot. Mission involved 43 orbits at an altitude of 412.2 nautical miles and lasted 2 days, 22 hours, and 46 minutes. Capsule was recovered by HS-3 helicopter from USS Guadalcanal (LPH 7).

This Day in Naval History - May 07

By Navy News Service

1779 - Continental Navy sloop Providence captures British brig Diligent off Cape Charles.

1934 - USS Constitution completes tour of principal U.S. ports

1940 - FDR orders Pacific Fleet to remain in Hawaiian waters indefinitely.

1942 - Carrier aircraft sink Japanese carrier Shoho during Battle of Coral Sea.

This Day in Naval History - Nov. 25

From the Navy News Service

1775 - Continental Congress authorizes privateering in the War of American Independence.

1943 - In Battle of Cape St. George, five destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 23 (Capt. Arleigh Burke) intercept five Japanese destroyers and sink three and damage one without suffering any damage.
1961 - Commissioning of USS Enterprise [CVA(N)-65], the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, at Newport News, Va.

Old Guard Drum and Fife Corps

Check out the best American Revolutionary War books to learn more about the role of the state militias (today’s National Guard) in the Revolutionary War.

The United States Army Old Guard Drum and Fife Corps performs in colonial-era uniforms during the opening ceremonies of the 2011 Joint Senior Leadership Conference at Gaylord National Harbor in Oxen Hill, Md. Nov. 7, 2011. The theme for this year's JSLC is a celebration of the National Guard and it's 375th birthday in December.

U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Darron Salzer

This Day in Naval History - July 08

From the Navy News Service

1778 - Allied French fleet under Comte d'Estaing arrives in America.

1853 - Commodore Matthew C. Perry sails his squadron into Tokyo Bay.

1879 - USS Jeannette departs San Francisco to explore Arctic.

1944 - Naval bombardment of Guam begins.

This Day in Naval History - June 14

From the Navy News Service

1777 - John Paul Jones takes command of Ranger.

1777 - Continental Congress adopts design of present U.S. Flag.

1847 - Commodore Matthew Perry launches amphibious river operations by Sailors and Marines on Tabasco River, Mexico.

1940 - Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Naval Expansion Act to construct ships to increase Navy's tonnage by 11 percent.

1985 - Steelworker 2nd Class Robert D. Stethem of Underwater Construction Team 1 was killed by militant Shi'ite hijackers of TWA Flight 847. He later received a Bronze Star for his heroism.

236 years young, Army is strength of the nation

By Wisconsin National Guard Public Affairs– June 14, 2011

My, but how the U.S. Army has grown and changed over the years.

At 236 years young today, traces of the Continental Army from the Revolutionary War can still be seen in today’s warriors. Yet there is more than war fighting and humanitarian assistance to the approximately 1 million members of the U.S. Army.

“From the first battles at Lexington and Concord to the streets of Mosul and Kandahar, Soldiers have always defended freedom and epitomized what is best about America,” said Gen. Martin Dempsey, the 37th Army Chief of Staff. “We will remain the nation’s decisive force, the clearest symbol of America’s commitment to freedom and the country’s preeminent leadership experience. We will remain America’s Army, the strength of the nation.”

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, agreed.

“I believe that in many ways, the story of the Army is the story of America,” Mullen said.  “I often talk about how the Army is the very center of gravity for our military — a force that understands the power of ballots as well as bullets, and culture as well as conflict. It’s a force that is able to defeat an enemy swiftly and silently one day and help build a school or dig a well the next — one that has made possible the success we’ve seen in Iraq, the progress we are now making in Afghanistan and the security we ensure around the globe.”

Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond Chandler paid tribute to those Soldiers marking the Army’s birthday in harm’s way.

“Happy birthday to those who make the Army what it is today, the premier fighting force in the free world,” Chandler said. “You are America’s Army, and you are Army strong.”

That really is the heart of why we continue to observe the Army’s birthday. True, we celebrate a magnificent organization, but that organization is nothing without the men and women who make up its ranks — what Adm. Mullen calls “the flesh and blood of the Army.”

“One of my greatest privileges over the last four years has been getting to know them and their families,” he said. “To every Army Soldier and civilian, family member and veteran, thank you for your service. I salute each of you for the difference you make for our nation and for the world.”

How will you observe the Army’s birthday?

Information for today’s blog provided by Army News Service and DoD Live.

This Day in Naval History - May 18

From the Navy News Service

1775 - Benedict Arnold captures British sloop and renames her Enterprise, first of many famous ships with that name.

1798 - Appointment of Benjamin Stoddert as first Secretary of the Navy.

1969 - Launch of Apollo 10, dress rehearsal for first lunar landing mission. Navy Cmdr. John W. Young was the command module pilot and Navy Cmdr. Eugene A. Cernan was the lunar module pilot.

This Day in Naval History - May 10

By Navy News Service

1775 - Force under Ethan Allan and Benedict Arnold cross Lake Champlain and capture British fort at Ticonderoga, New York.

1800 - USS Constitution captures Letter of Marque Sandwich.

1862 - Confederates destroy Norfolk and Pensacola Navy Yards.

1949 - First shipboard launching of LARK, guided missile by USS Norton Sound.

1960 - USS Triton (SSRN 586) completes submerged circumnavigation of world in 84 days following many of the routes taken by Magellan and cruising 46,000 miles.

This Day in Naval History - April 22

From the Navy News Service

1778 - Capt. John Paul Jones of Ranger leads a landing party raid on Whitehaven, England.

1898 - U.S. warships begin a blockade of Cuba.

1987 - The U.S. Navy is ordered to provide assistance to neutral vessels under Iranian attack outside the exclusion zone and that requested help.

This Day in Naval History - April 19

From the Navy News Service

1783 - George Washington proclaims the end of hostilities with Great Britain.

1861 - President Lincoln orders the blockade of Southern ports from South Carolina to Texas.

1955 - USS Albany (CG 10) and USS William Wood (DD 715) begin to provide disaster relief to citizens of Volos, Greece.

This Day in Naval History - April 11

From the Navy News Service

1783 - Congress declares the end of war with Great Britain.

1900 - The Navy accepted its first submarine, USS Holland (SS 1).

1970 - Launch of Apollo 13, commanded by Capt. James A. Lovell Jr. Former naval aviator Fred W. Haise Jr. was the lunar module pilot. While 200,000 miles from Earth, there was an explosion on board which forced Apollo 13 to circle the moon without landing. Mission duration was 5 days, 22 hours and 54 minutes. Recovery was by Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 4 from USS Iwo Jima (LPH 2).

1991 - A U.N. ceasefire ends the Persian Gulf War.

This Day in Naval History - April 07

From the Navy News Service

1776 - The Continental brig Lexington captures the British ship Edward.

1917 - The Navy takes control of all wireless radio stations in the United States.

1942 - The Navy accepts African Americans for general service.

1945 - Lt. j.g. Ann Purvis and Ensign Jane Kendeigh become the first Navy flight nurses to land on an active battlefield (Iwo Jima).

1945 - Carrier aircraft defeat the last Japanese Navy sortie at the Battle of East China Sea; Yamato, the world's largest battleship, and five other ships are sunk.

1979 - The first Trident submarine, USS Ohio (SSBN 726), is launched at Groton, Conn.

This Day in Naval History - April 06

From the Navy News Service

1776 - Sloop-of-war Ranger, the frigate Queen of France and the frigate Warren capture the British vessel Hibernia and seven other vessels.

1862 - Naval gunfire from the warships Tyler and Lexington help save Union Troops at the Battle of Shiloh.

1909 - Cmdr. Robert E. Peary reports reaching the North Pole.

1917 - The United States declares war on Germany.

1945 - The first heavy kamikaze attack occurs on ships at Okinawa.

1961 - USS Lake Champlain (CVS 39) brings oxygen to aid stricken passenger of British liner Queen of Bermuda.

1968 - USS New Jersey (BB 62) is recommissioned for shore bombardment duty in Vietnam.

1989 - The President orders Department of Defense to assist in the Exxon Valdez oil spill cleanup.

1993 - Branch Navy Hospital Adak, Alaska, responds to crash of civilian Chinese airliner by providing lifesaving treatment and medical evacuation of 89 injured passengers. Only one passenger out of 265 passengers died.

This Day in Naval History - April 04

From the Navy News Service

1776 - The Continental Navy frigate Columbus captures HM Tender Hawke; this is the first American capture of a British armed vessel.

1854 - Sailors and Marines from sailing sloop Plymouth, protect U.S. citizens at Shanghai.

1898 - Appointment of the first Civil Engineering Corps officer, Rear Adm. Mordecai Endicott, as chief of Bureau of Yards and Docks.

1949 - NATO is established.

Navy Christens Littoral Combat Ship Independence

The Navy will christen littoral combat ship (LCS) Independence at 10:00 a.m. CDT on Saturday, Oct. 4, during a ceremony at Austal USA Shipyard, Mobile, Ala.

The name Independence recognizes the cornerstone of our nation's foundation that so many Americans have sacrificed to ensure. Five previous ships have also had that name. The first Independence was a 10-gun sloop that served during the War of Independence. The second Independence, the first ship of the line in the Navy, was launched in 1814 as a 74-gun ship, but later refitted to a 54-gun frigate. The third Independence served with the Naval Overseas Transportation Service following the end of World War One. The fourth Independence (CVL 22), a small aircraft carrier commissioned in 1943, earned eight battle stars during World War II. The fifth Independence (CV 62) was an aircraft carrier commissioned in 1959 and decommissioned in 1998.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., will deliver the principal address at the ceremony. Doreen Scott, wife of the former Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry Scott, will serve as ship's sponsor. The ceremony will be highlighted by Scott breaking a bottle of champagne across the bow to formally christen the ship, which is a time-honored Navy tradition.

Independence is one of two LCS seaframes being produced. LCS 1, Freedom, completed its acceptance trials and was delivered to the Navy on Sept. 18, 2008. Freedom is scheduled for commissioning on Nov. 8, 2008.

The LCS is an innovative combatant designed to operate quickly in shallow water environments to counter challenging threats in coastal regions, specifically mines, submarines and fast surface craft. It is capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots and can operate in water less than 20 feet deep. Independence will address a critical capabilities gap in the littorals. It will serve to enhance maritime security and it is capable of performing the core capabilities that define the Navy. It will deter hostility in troubled waters, maintain a forward presence, and it is capable of projecting power and maintaining sea control.

Under the current shipbuilding plan, the Navy is programmed to purchase 55 Littoral Combat Ships. These 55 ships will improve the Navy's capacity to respond to more globally distributed threats and will help the Navy reach its ultimate fleet goal of at least 313 ships.

The advanced design of Independence will allow it to launch and recover manned and unmanned vehicles. It will support interchangeable mission packages, allowing the ship to be reconfigured for antisubmarine warfare, mine warfare, or surface warfare missions on an as-needed basis. The LCS will be able to swap out mission packages pierside in a matter of a day, adapting as the tactical situation demands. These ships will also feature advanced networking capability to share tactical information with other Navy aircraft, ships, submarines and joint units.

Independence will be manned by one of two rotational crews, blue and gold, similar to the rotational crews assigned to Trident submarines. The crews will be augmented by one of three mission package crews during focused mission assignments. The prospective commanding officer of the blue crew is Cmdr. Curt A. Renshaw, who was born in Louisville, Ky., and raised in nearby New Albany, Ind. The prospective commanding officer of the gold crew is Cmdr. Michael B. Riley, a native of Phoenix, Ariz.

In May 2004, the Department of Defense awarded both Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics separate contract options for final-system design with options for detail design and construction of up to two LCS ships. The future USS Independence (LCS 2) is the General Dynamics' lead hull in that ship design.

In October 2005, the Department of Navy awarded General Dynamics - Bath Iron Works, a contract for detail design and construction of their first LCS. General Dynamics - Bath Iron Works teammates include Austal USA of Mobile, Ala. and General Dynamics – AIS of Pittsfield, Mass. A keel laying ceremony was held Jan. 19, 2006, at Austal USA Shipyard in Mobile, Ala., where the ships is being built.

More information on the LCS can be found at: http://peoships.crane.navy.mil/lcs/ .