December 22 Weekly Update

SHIP LOGS & EXERCISES:

Ship & Group Locations Checked & Updated (December 16 to December 22)

ACTIVE EXERCISES:

• EURASIA PARTNERSHIP CAPSTONE 2012 (December 9-15) at Souda Bay, Greece (US Navy )

SHIP LOGS:

HMS Diamond (DDG)

• (Dec 21) Returns to Portsmouth, UK from deployment (Royal Navy ) (...removed from log)

PLAN Anti-Piracy TF

• (Dec 18) 3-ships visit Sydney, Australia for 4-days, en-route back home (Yahoo )

RFS Shaposhnikov TF

• (Dec 19) TF visits Bandar Abbas, Iran (Rusnavy.com )

RFS Vladivostok (New Mistral Class LHD)

• (Dec 21) Russia delays launch of the first Mistral Class LHD until 2016, ship being assessed for performance, role and status as part of Russian Navy (RIA Novosti )

RUSSIAN TASK FORCE TO SYRIA

• (Dec 18) RFS Kaliningrad (LST) tasked with urgent call for readiness to deploy to eastern Mediterranean, possibly to rescue Russian citizens in Syria, possibly for two months. Also tasked are RFS Moskva (CG), Severomorsk and Smetlivy (DDG), and Novocherkassk (LST) (Rusnavy.com )
• (Dec 19) RFS Severomorsk (DDG), Altai (Tug) and Dubna (Tanker) left Northern Fleet Severomorsk base for Gulf of Aden, expected to reach zone in mid-January (RIA Novosti )

USS Eisenhower CSG

• (Dec 18) Airwing fly’s off
• (Dec 19) returns from Deployment (US Navy ), DDG escorts separate from IKECSG (...speculate they attached to Stennis CSG, who has no DDG)

USS Iwo Jima ARG

• (Dec 18) returns to Norfolk, deployment ends (US Navy )

GROUND UNITS LOGS & EXERCISES:

US Ground units logs updated per DOD reports, up to (December 16 to December 22) (DOD News Releases )

France, UK, Russia, China Army logs updated per various news releases and open sources

ACTIVE EXERCISES:

• None Noted

UNIT LOGS:

• UK Prime Minister Cameron visits British forces at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan on (Dec 20) (MOD )
• (Dec 18) Russia and Kyrgyz President sign agreement establishing Joint Use Base by 2017 for a 15-year term (RIA Novosti )
• 173^rd Airborne Brigade – KIA @ Logar Province, Afghanistan (Dec 14)

NEWS that makes me go Hmmmm......

SYRIA

• (Dec 21) Syria fires 4-6 SCUD missiles at rebel positions near Aleppo (UPI )
• (Dec 22) Statements by Russian FM Lavrov seem to indicate Syria’s WMD's were consolidated into 1-2 locations, and were under Russian control (Debka ) (Yahoo )

MAPPING UPDATES

• None, Mapping file damaged, being recreated :(

December 15th Weekly Update

SHIP LOGS & EXERCISES:

Ship & Group Locations Checked & Updated (December 9 to December 15)

ACTIVE EXERCISES:

• EURASIA PARTNERSHIP CAPSTONE 2012 (December 9-15) at Souda Bay, Greece (US Navy )

SHIP LOGS:

HMS Sutherland (FFG)

• (Dec 15) Returns home from deployment ...removed from log

RFA Argus (Supply)

• (Dec 11) Visited Barbados, currently enroute home
• (Dec 14) Returns from Caribbean Deployment ...remove from log

USS Eisenhower CSG

• (Dec 19) ETA return from Deployment (US Navy ), DDG escorts separate from IKECSG (...speculate they attached to Stennis CSG, who has no DDG)

USS Iwo Jima ARG

• (Dec 7) in Atlantic
• (Dec 18) Returns from Deployment (US Navy )

USS Truman (CVN-75)

• (Dec 9) test X-47B UCAS on deck at sea

GROUND UNITS LOGS & EXERCISES:

US Ground units logs updated per DOD reports, up to (December 9 to December 15) (DOD News Releases )

France, UK, Russia, China Army logs updated per various news releases and open sources

ACTIVE EXERCISES:

• None Noted

UNIT LOGS:

• No Noted Changes

NEWS that makes me go Hmmmm......

SYRIA

• (Dec 13) US deploying Patriot ABM unit to Turkey

MAPPING UPDATES

• None, Mapping file damaged, being recreated :(

December 8th Weekly Update

SHIP LOGS & EXERCISES:

Ship & Group Locations Checked & Updated (December 2 to December 8)

ACTIVE EXERCISES:

• None Noted

SHIP LOGS:

HMS Argyll (FFG)

• (Dec 3) OST / FOST complete, ready to deploy in 2013 (Royal Navy )

HMS Monmouth (FFG)

• (Dec 6) relives HMS Diamond in Gulf of Aden (Royal Navy )

HMS Westminster (FFG)

• (Dec 5) Anti-Submarine training in Atlantic (Royal Navy )

RFA Wave Ruler (Supply)

• (Dec 5) Returning home from Indian Ocean patrol (Royal Navy )

RFS Moskva TF

• (Dec 6) Anti-Piracy deployment in Gulf of Aden CANCELLED, CG Moskva and both LSTs are returning to Sevestopol, DDG Smetlivy is reassigned to patrol near Crete (Rusnavy.com )

RFS Shaposhnikov TF

• (Dec 4) Shaposhnikov TF completes INDRA-2012 naval exercise off Mumbai (Rusnavy.com )

USS Eisenhower CSG

• (Dec 4) CSG in Mediterranean near Syria?

USS GHW Bush (CVN-77)

• (Dec 1) PIA done, heads out to sea, preparing for 2013 deployment (US Navy )

GROUND UNITS LOGS & EXERCISES:

US Ground units logs updated per DOD reports, up to (November 25 to December 1) (DOD News Releases )

France, UK, Russia, China Army logs updated per various news releases and open sources

ACTIVE EXERCISES:

• None Noted

UNIT LOGS:

• No Noted Changes

NEWS that makes me go Hmmmm......

MALI

• (Dec 4) Mali's government and rebel leadership meet inn Burkina Faso to negotiate an end to the crisis (Yahoo )
• (Dec 7) UN says no military offensive is expected until next September or October (Yahoo )

SOMALIA

• (Dec 3) Islamists ambush government convoy near the port of Merca
• (Dec 4) Islamists attack army base in Jowhar, one of the last urban Islamist strongholds
• (Dec 5) Islamists attack Puntland army base in Bossaso (BBC )

SYRIA

• (Dec 4) Intel sources detect Syrian engineers weaponizing Sarin gas for deployment; US, Turkish, Israeli and Jordanian forces on standby (Debka); NATO approves deployment of Patriot missiles to Turkey, IKE-CSG and IJ-ARG neaby (Debka)
• (Dec 5) Numerous media reports confirm Syria has weaponized a batch of Sarin gas for deployment (Fox News )

MAPPING UPDATES

• None, Mapping file damaged, being recreated :(

December 1st Weekly Update

SHIP LOGS & EXERCISES:

Ship & Group Locations Checked & Updated (November 25 to December 1)

ACTIVE EXERCISES:

CARAT 2012 (October to December) in WESTPAC

SHIP LOGS:

HMS Bulwark (LPD)

• (Nov 30) returns to UK (Royal Navy )

HMS Illustrious (CV)

• (Nov 27) at Gibraltar, Hellfire testing by 2 Apaches from 656 Squadron AAC (Royal Navy )
• (Nov 30) returns to UK (Royal Navy )

HMS Northumberland (FFG)

• (Nov 26) in Red Sea, replaces Sutherland, begins Anti-Piracy patrol (Royal Navy )

RFA Argus (Supply)

• (Nov 27) at Kingston, Jamaica delivering hurricane supplies (Royal Navy )

RFS Shaposhnikov TF

• (Nov 28 – Dec 2) at Mumbai, India (Rusnavy.com )

USS Carr (FFG-52)

• (Nov 30) Offloads $114.1 million of marijuana at Mayport, Operation Martillo deployment ends ...removed from log (US Navy )

USS Eisenhower CSG

• (Nov 29) in Red Sea

USS Stennis CSG

• (Nov 24) departs Bahrain after 4-day visit (US Navy )

USS Swift (HSV-2)

• (Nov 24) at Sekondi, Ghana conducting APS 2012 training (US Navy )

USS Vandegrift (FFG-48)

• (Nov 28) returns to San Diego from WESTPAC deployment ...removed from log (US Navy )

GROUND UNITS LOGS & EXERCISES:

US Ground units logs updated per DOD reports, up to (November 25 to December 1) (DOD News Releases )

France, UK, Russia, China Army logs updated per various news releases and open sources

ACTIVE EXERCISES:

• None Noted

UNIT LOGS:

US

• 10^th Mountain Division, 1^st Brigade – Deploying by Spring, 2013
• 101^st Airborne Division, HQ – Deploying by Spring, 2013
• 101^st Airborne Division, 4^th Brigade – Deploying by Spring, 2013

NEWS that makes me go Hmmmm......

EGYPT

• (Dec 1) As protests continue against Pres. Mursi's expanded powers, and the pro-sharia constitutional ratification process continues, islamists demonstrate in Cairo in favor of Mursi's efforts, second civil uprising at risk of breaking out (Yahoo )

MALI

• (Nov 28) Islamist rebels Ansar Dine have pushed a secular Tuareg group NMLA out of Lere, and now controls the Mauritania and Niger borders (Yahoo )
• (Dec 1) France wants UN resolution on Mali action by December 20 (Yahoo )

MAPPING UPDATES

• None, Mapping file damaged