June 16th Update

SHIP LOCATIONS:

• Ship & Group Locations Checked / Updated (6/13-15)
• US / ROK / Japan Trilateral Exercise (June 21-22) South of Korean Peninsula
• US / ROK Bilateral Carrier Operations Exercise / (June 23-25) in the Yellow Sea with the USS George Washington CSG

SHIP LOGS:

June 9

• USS Makin Island (LHD-8): visiting Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; returning home
  June 10
  
• USS Nitze (DDG-94) patrolling in Gulf of Aden (part of Enterprise CSG)
  June 12
  
• USS Nimitz (CVN-68): in Pacific conducting drills and damage control exercises, planning to participate in RIMPAC 2012
  June 13
  
• USNS Mercy (T-AH-19): Siau MEDCAP phase ended June 10, currently at N. Sulawesi, Indonesia
  
• USS Annapolis (SSN-760): visiting Souda Bay, Greece
  
• USS George Washington (CVN-73): joint patrol with HMAS Ballarat (FFG)
  
• USS McCampbell (DDG-85): patrolling in E. China Sea
  
• USS Normandy (CG-60): participating in BALTOPS 2012, exercise ends June 16
  

June 14

• FS C. de Gaulle (CVN): Air Defense / Exocet training in Mediterranean with FS Forbin (DDG), Montcalm (DDG), La Fayette (FFG), Courbet (FFG), Surcouf (FFG) and Var (Support) on May 30
  
• HMS Daring (DDG): visited Muscat, Oman, preparing to return home
  
• RFA Ft. Rosalie (Support): visited Havana, Cuba during British Culture Week, strengthens counter-narcotics cooperation
  
• USS George Washington (CVN-73): celebrated it's 150,000^th safe arrested landing; deployed for it's 2012 patrol on May 26
  
• USS Iwo Jima ARG: It was announced today that the ARG will transfer it's homeport from Norfolk to Mayport, FL in 2014
  
• USS Tucson (SSN-770): returns to Pearl Harbor, WESTPAC patrol ends
  

June 15

• USS Eisenhower (CVN-69): CSG-8 plans to deploy to 5^th and 6^th Fleet AOR on June 20 for 9-months, group composition updated (Spanish FFG removed from escort list)
  

GROUND UNITS LOGS:

• Ground units locations updated per DOD reports, up to (June 15)
• UK The Royal Anglian Regiment, 1^st Battalion – KIA @ Nad' Ali District of Helmand Province, Afghanistan
• US 1^st Marine Division, 7^th Marine Regiment, 1^st Battalion – KIA @ Helmand Province, Afghanistan

NOTEWORTHY NEWS:

• EGYPT: The Egyptian Supreme Court declared 1/3 of the parliamentary seats were elected illegally, dissolved parliament, and set a new general election to occur two days before te next presidential runoff election. In the meantime, the military council assumes legislative powers.
• SYRIA: Syrian governmental sources confirmed that the army is gearing up for a major offensive against the opposition in the next couple days due to a warning by Russia that if the counterinsurgency isn't successful within 4-6 weeks, then Syria should prepare for war. It wasn't stated with whom the war would be with (either the West or Israel), but in recent days Russia has shipped attack helicopters to the Syrian military.
• Rumors abound that the US and Russia are reaching an agreement to divide up Syria and take military action ...but current observations disagree. It's thought that Russia would seize the port of Tartus (where the Russian naval base is) and some WMD facilities. The US and it's allies would achieve air supremacy, and establish safe zones for the civilians.