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BAE Systems to enhance maritime operations and flight safety systems aboard large deck U.S. Navy ships and new construction aircraft carriers

August 9, 2019 seawaves

August 8, 2019 – The U.S. Navy has awarded BAE Systems a prime contractor position on a new indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to enhance maritime operations and flight safety systems aboard new construction aircraft carriers and large deck amphibious ships, to include refueling and complex overhaul ships. BAE Systems was one of three contractors awarded the opportunity to bid on future integration, engineering, assembly, testing, and installation focused task orders awarded throughout an eight-year ordering period. The work will be performed to enhance a variety of distributed systems that provide network capabilities,…

National Medal of Honor Museum Coming to Charleston

July 31, 2019 seawaves

July 31, 2019 – In defining action that puts an end to rampant rumors, resolves lingering questions, and ensures the future of a widely-supported national museum honoring America’s Medal of Honor Recipients, the National Medal of Honor Heritage Foundation today announced the museum will be built in Mount Pleasant. The newly-formed non-profit also unveiled a comprehensive strategic development plan that identifies costs, and specific fundraising and construction objectives, with a targeted July 4, 2023 opening. Organization leaders were joined by federal, state and local government officials for the announcement, which…

U.S. Coast Guard announces homeport of newest National Security Cutter

June 28, 2019 seawaves

June 26, 2019 – The U.S. Coast Guard today announced that Charleston, South Carolina will be the home of the Service’s newest National Security Cutter. “I am pleased to announce that Charleston, South Carolina will be the home of the Coast Guard’s 11th National Security Cutter,” said Admiral Karl L. Schultz, Commandant of the Coast Guard. Construction on the 11th National Security Cutter is scheduled to begin by Spring of 2020. Charleston is already home to two of the Coast Guard’s National Security Cutters, the JAMES and HAMILTON. In 2017,…

Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton Records First Marijuana Interdiction

April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 seawaves

March 29, 2019 – Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton conducted her first-ever stop, interdiction and seizure of a vessel trafficking marijuana March 22, while on patrol in the central Caribbean Sea. The quick response by the cutter’s law enforcement team led to the apprehension of six suspected smugglers and the seizure of nearly 2,000 pounds of marijuana worth over $3.5 million. “I couldn’t be more proud of this crew,” said Capt. Mark Gordon, commanding officer of the Hamilton. “Even more important than the drugs they kept from reaching our borders, this…

Commissioning ceremony breathes life into USS Charleston

March 15, 2019 seawaves

March 2, 2019 – As clouds passed overhead, shipboard alarms echoed across the Cooper River and the crew of USS Charleston (LCS 18) ran aboard their ship and brought her to life. More than 5,000 guests gathered at the Columbus Street Terminal in the ship’s namesake city, officially welcoming the U.S. Navy’s newest littoral combat ship into the fleet. LCS 18 is the 16th littoral combat ship to enter the fleet and the ninth of the Independence variant. The ship is the sixth to be named after Charleston, South Carolina,…

Future USS Charleston set for namesake city commissioning

March 11, 2019 seawaves

February 26, 2019 – The Navy will commission its newest Independence-variant littoral combat ship, the future USS Charleston (LCS 18), during a 10 a.m. ceremony, March 2, at Columbus Street Terminal in Charleston, South Carolina. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina will deliver the commissioning ceremony’s principal address. Charlotte Riley, wife of former Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, is the ship’s sponsor. The ceremony will be highlighted by a time-honored Navy tradition when Mrs. Riley gives the first order to “man our ship and bring her to life!” “The future…

USCGC Hamilton Home From Counter-Drug Patrol

December 17, 2018 seawaves

December 17, 2018 – The Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton crew returned to home Monday at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Charleston. Hamilton’s crew spent the majority of their 54-day deployment conducting counter-drug operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. At the beginning of the patrol, Hamilton executed an exhaustive three-day search, along with Coast Guard aircraft, for a civilian aircraft that reportedly crashed approximately 100 miles off the coast of South Carolina. While patrolling the drug-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Hamilton detained 21 suspected drug smugglers from…

USS Constitution Celebrates 221 Years Underway

October 22, 2018 seawaves

October 20, 2018 – USS Constitution and its crew headed underway from the ship’s berth in Charlestown, Massachusetts, Oct. 19, in commemoration of the ship’s launching 221 years ago on Oct. 21, 1787, and is celebrating the U.S. Navy’s 243rd birthday. “There’s no better place to commemorate the Navy’s and Constitution’s anniversaries in our natural state, underway at sea,” said Cmdr. Nathaniel R. Shick, 75th commanding officer of USS Constitution. “I still remember the excitement I felt as my first ship pulled away from the pier in Norfolk, Virgina. Anxious,…

Tall Ship Juan Sebastián de Elcano Visits Charleston

July 19, 2018July 19, 2018 seawaves

Between July 11 and 17, the school ship ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ made a stopover in Charleston (South Carolina, USA), which was the sixth visit to this port in its 90 years of service, being the previous one in 1985 33 years ago. Charleston has been the tenth visited port and the eighth in the Americas. The United States has become the seventh country visited in this XC instructional cruise. On the morning of the 16th, the festivity of the Virgin of Carmen, patron saint of the Navy, was celebrated…

USS Ralph Johnson set to arrive at Everett homeport

April 26, 2018December 10, 2018 seawaves

The newly commissioned Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) is scheduled to arrive at its homeport of Naval Station Everett, April 27. Ralph Johnson will be the sixth U.S. Navy destroyer homeported in Everett, including USS Momsen (DDG 92), USS Shoup (DDG 86), USS Gridley (DDG 101), USS Kidd (DDG 100), and USS Sampson (DDG 102). Ralph Johnson was commissioned for active service on March 24 in Charleston, South Carolina. The ship’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Jason Patterson, leads the core crew of 314 officers and enlisted personnel.…

Navy to Commission New Guided-Missile Destroyer Ralph Johnson

March 22, 2018 seawaves

The Navy will commission its newest guided-missile destroyer, the future USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114), during a 10:00 a.m. EDT ceremony Saturday, March 24, at Columbus Street Pier in Charleston, South Carolina. The future USS Ralph Johnson honors Marine Corps Pfc. Ralph Henry Johnson, who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity” during the Vietnam War. On March 5, 1968, in an observation post overlooking the Quan Duc Valley, Johnson used his body to shield fellow Marines from a grenade, absorbing the blast and dying instantly.…

CACI Solutions at CDCA Defense Summit: Readiness and Resiliency for Today’s Multi-Domain Battle

December 4, 2017 seawaves

CACI International Inc will showcase solutions to support the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Joint Community at the Charleston Defense Contractors Association (CDCA) Defense Summit on December 5-8, 2017 at the Charleston Area Convention Center in Charleston, SC. The annual conference brings together government and industry experts to discuss the issues and challenges facing the U.S. and the defense community today. CACI will showcase innovative solutions that support today’s warfighters in the multi-domain battle. These solutions will include next-generation IT and secure communications for use in a complex battlespace; software…

Norfolk Naval Shipyard undocks USS La Jolla (SSN 701)

November 30, 2017 seawaves

Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) successfully undocked USS La Jolla (SSN 701) Nov. 8. La Jolla will remain pier-side to finish the final leg of its moored training ship (MTS) conversion that began in February 2015. La Jolla is the first of two next-generation platforms undergoing conversion at the shipyard to train nuclear officers and Sailors at the Nuclear Power Training Unit (NPTU) in Charleston, South Carolina. USS San Francisco (SSN 711) arrived at the shipyard for its conversion in January. The two current MTS subs at NPTU, both commissioned in…

Partnership Enables Sealift Relief Efforts for Puerto Rico

November 2, 2017 seawaves

The first humanitarian relief supplies sealifted from here to Ponce, Puerto Rico, departed Oct. 31. In the hours following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, Joint Base Charleston C-17 Globemaster III transport jets responded, delivering more than 1,700 tons of aid, supplies and medical teams to affected areas. The C-17s can get to austere locations quickly, but the amount of cargo they can carry is limited. “The 841st Transportation Battalion has been working with [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] and other interagency partners over the past couple of weeks to move…

Future USS Ralph Johnson to be Commissioned in Charleston March 24th

October 23, 2017 seawaves

On Oct. 19, Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer announced the newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, Pre-Commissioning Unit Ralph Johnson (DDG 114), will be commissioned during a ceremony Saturday, March 24, 2018 in Charleston, South Carolina. Ralph Johnson, commanded by Cmdr. Jason Patterson, a Chicago native, is the 64th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, and the 30th DDG 51 class destroyer built by the Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) shipyard. It is the first warship named for Medal of Honor recipient Marine Pfc. Ralph Henry Johnson. Johnson, a native of Charleston, posthumously…