July 14th Weekly Update

SHIP LOCATIONS:

Ship & Group Locations Checked / Updated (July 8-14)

• RIMPAC 2012: Began (June 29), Active until (August 3)

SHIP LOGS:

July 8

• HMS Argyll (FFG): visiting Zeebrugge, Belgium for Navy Days
  
• USS J. Dunham (DDG-109): visits Odessa, Ukraine for 4-days, is planning to participate in Sea Breeze 2012 after visit (...part of Ike CSG)
  

July 9

• HMS Daring (DDG): visited Mumbai, India (...heading back to UK)
  
• USS Lincoln (CVN-72): ends combat operations in support of OEF
  

July 10

• RFS Smetlivy (DDG): Deploys to Syria from Black Sea Fleet
  
• Russian Amphibious Task Force assembling in Atlantic for training, includes ships from North and Baltic fleets, will train and operate in Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Seas (...Russian North Fleet Log updated, includes TF composition)
  
• USS Benfold (DDG-65): @ Koror, Palau, transitting 7^th Fleet AOR
  
• USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70): Begins PIA Maintenance period until February 1^st, 2013
  
• USS George Washington (CVN-73): visiting Hong Kong
  
• USS Harry Truman (CVN-75): returns to Norfolk after 16-month DPIA and 4-day Sea Trials, beginning carrier certs in preparation for it's next deployment.
  
• USS McFaul (DDG-74): arrives at Seychelles (...on independent Indian Ocean Deployment)
  

July 11

• HMS York (DDG): visited Tallinn, Estonia
  

July 12

• HMS Illustrious (CV): @ Portsmouth, UK, hosts Families Day
  
• USS J. Dunham (DDG-109): leave Odessa
  
• USS Underwood (FFG-36): Visiting Jamaica
  

July 13

• HMS Diamond (DDG): transits Suez Canal
  
• HMS Dragon (DDG): missile testing off Scotland
  
• HMS Ocean (LHA): returns to London for Olympic duty
  

GROUND UNITS LOGS:

Ground units locations updated per DOD reports, up to (July 1-7)

• French Mirage-2000D's being pulled from Afghanistan (last flight day was July 5)
• UK 4^th Mechanized Brigade will be replacing the 12^th in Helmand, Afghanistan in Octbober (...ORBAT of primary units in log)
• US 1^st Infantry Division, 4^th Brigade – KIA @ Gayan Alwara Mandi, Afghanistan
• US 2^nd Infantry Division, 3^rd Stryker – KIA @ Kandahar, Afghanistan
• US 82^nd Airborne Division, 4^th Brigade – KIA @ Zharay, Afghanistan
• Russia begins negotiations with Tajikistan to extend their use of the largest forward deployed army base outside Russia, the current agreement expires in 2014

NOTEWORTHY NEWS:

July 9

• SYRIA: Russia decides not to deliver any new weapons or sign any military contracts with Syria until “the situation stabilizes”

July 10

• EGYPT: The dissolved Parliament reconvenes, defying the military

July 11

• IRAN: Iranian army completes a 3-day air defense drill
• RUSSIA: Russia and Kazakhstan say they'll network their air defense systems by 2013

July 13

• SYRIA: Turkey now says a Syrian AAA missile didn't bring down the F-4 Super Phantom on Recon patrol off Latakia. Instead, they say it went down due to pilot error while evading a Syrian missile ...and Syria says it thought the F-4 was Israeli.