May 15th Update

SHIP LOCATIONS:

• Ship & Group Locations Checked / Updated (5/14, 15)
• OPEN SPIRIT 2012: NATO mine clearing exercise begins May 14 to May 25 off the coast of Estonia

SHIP LOGS:

May 10

• USS Swift (HSV-2): visits Abidjan, Ivory Coast

May 12

• USS George Washington (CVN-73): at sea, completed SCRUBEX test of fire fighting / CBR system, begin Sea Trials
• USS Underwood (FFG-36): arrive at Callao, Peru for UNITAS Pacific 53-12 Exercise

May 13

• USS North Carolina (SSN-777): visits Subic Bay, Philippines (on WESTPAC deployment)

May 14

• USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19): visits Jakarta, Indonesia
• USS New Orleans (LPD-18) and USS Pearl Harbor (LSD-52): visit Phuket, Thailand (...part of Makin Island ARG)

May 15

• USS George Washington (CVN-73): in Pacific, Sea Trials, onloading ammunition
  

GROUND UNITS LOGS:

• Ground units locations updated per DOD reports, up to (May 14)
• US 4^th Infantry Division, 4^th BCT, 12^th Infantry Regiment, 1^st Battalion: currently @ Bagram, Afghanistan (KIA Report)
• US 1^st Marine Division, 5^th Marine Regiment: currently @ Helmand Province, Afghanistan (KIA Report) (...4^th Regiment removed from log)

NOTEWORTHY NEWS:

May 14

• UGANDA: 24-Marines and trainers from US, UK and France are in Uganda assisting civilian contractors in training Ugandan army units in counter-insurgency tactics for service in Somalia (...deployment too small to note in log)

May 15

• SOMALIA: Somalia pirate onshore bases struck by EU naval air units, Aircraft & Attack Helicopters (...the units weren't identified ...BUT, the only capital ship in the area from the EU is the FS Dixmude (LHD), which has marine attack helo's. The decision to strike the pirate bases must have been made VERY recently, because the Dixmude was declared on (4/28) to have exited the EU piracy patrol to continue it's tour towards the southern tip of Africa. However, late last week the EU decided to allow the attacking of onshore pirate facilities, and began negotiating India's participation in the Atalante patrol, just as the UK declared it's intent to scale back sharply. It must have been then that the admiralty decided to strike the pirate facilities, and recalled the Dixmude back to the area.)