#convoys

Introducing everyone’s favorite actress Helga Sinclair as Dr. Elsa Schneider in: Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade!

It’s been decades….

                  ....since America ran convoys across the Atlantic

ATLANTIC OCEAN (February 28, 2020) -- United States Military Sealift Command (MSC) cargo ship USNS Benavidez (T-AKR 306) steams in formation with United States Navy guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) (out in front) and MSC cargo ship MV Resolve (center) during a convoy exercise.

         MV Resolve packed with military transportation equipment

The Navy is exercising a contested cross-Atlantic convoy operation for the first time since the end of the Cold War (1947~1991), using the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)  carrier strike group (able to provide protection and cover even from hundreds of miles out in front) to pave the way for sealift ships, with a cruiser escort, to bring the United States Army ground equipment for the major Defender Europe 20 exercise being held in Europe this Spring.

The 19-nation exercise is scheduled to take place in Central and Eastern Europe and Georgia in April-May 2020. Defender Europe 20 is the largest multi-national exercise of it’s kind since the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.

The graphic illustrates the emphasis on logistics -- moving massive amount of military equipment across the Atlantic to Europe -- in coordination with NATO forces....with a focus on defending Europe in any crisis.

It’s been decades -- since the Cold War years with the Soviet Union threatening the world at every turn -- that anything like this has been tested.

                                           _______________________

>>Personal observations: This major multi-national, cross-service event -- the convoy exercises, all of the ground equipment, many thousands of troops, the massive logistics, and the locations for the exercise in the Spring -- are all being done with an eye on Russia....and further expansionist designs that the Russians might have on neighboring countries.

It’s about time we prepared properly for such contingencies....after decades of benign neglect.

The most recent result of that neglect: Russia’s seizure of Crimea in 2014.

It’ll be interesting to see what kind of tantrum the Russians will throw to express their condemnation of the exercise. If I were the Russians, I would NOT be pleased!

>>Top photo: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jordan R. Bair, USN

>>The three ships in the top photo:

Guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) -- providing a lethal close-by escort for the cargo ships.

MV Resolve -- a vehicle carrier by trade -- loaded with military transportation equipment.

Convoy duty….

STRAIT OF HORMUZ (October 22, 2018) -- (Top photo) As Iranian patrol boats position themselves menacingly next to a United States Navy convoy transiting the Strait of Hormuz -- one of the world’s most important choke-points -- Ensign Samuel Fuchs, USN stands Junior Officer of the Watch (JOOW) on the bridge of escorting guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109). (The convoy and the lurking gunboats are right out in front of him [middle photo] -- as his warship takes position at the rear of the line!)

The military maritime convoy includes fleet replenishment oiler USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO-187) (middle photo, far right)....expeditionary mobile base platform ship USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3) (middle photo, center right)....ocean-surveillance ship USNS Invincible (T-AGM 24) (middle photo, center left)....and guided-missile destroyers USS Decatur (DDG 73) (far left) and USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) (behind the camera!) providing protection for the three critical support vessels in these perilous waters.

Fleet replenishment oiler USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO-187) refuels (jet fuel) aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).

  Expeditionary mobile base platform ship USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3)

               Ocean-surveillance ship USNS Invincible (T-AGM 24)

(Bottom photo) Quartermaster 3rd Class Aleksandr Sarvirov, USN prepares one of the many detailed logs that are particularly kept as American warships transit through tight navigation, heavy maritime traffic, and/or politically sensitive regions. (You have all three here in the Strait of Hormuz!) These logs will usually prove priceless should an incident occur, or even be suggested.

Just another day on the job for these Navy officers and sailors....

                    Guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur (DDG 73)

              Guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109)

                                      ________________________ 

>>CLICK on the tops photos -- most especially the middle one -- for a much better view of the threatening environment....

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