March 16th Weekly Update

SHIP LOGS & OPERATIONS Ship & Group Locations Checked & Updated (March 10 to 16)

CHINA SOUTH SEA FLEET (Mar 12) S. Sea Fleet landing ship detachment conducted amphibious assault training (Peoples Daily ) (Mar 11) S. Sea Fleet Detachment @ Guangdong Province, conducted 4-day anchorage training (Peoples Daily ) (Mar 10) S. Sea Fleet Surveillance Ship @ Xixha Islands, S. China Sea for 9-days (Peoples Daily ) 14th ESCORT TASK FORCE (INDIAN OCEAN) (Mar 10) 14th ETF @ Arabian Sea, Anti-Hijack Exercise (Peoples Daily ) (Mar 8) 14th ETF @ Arabian Sea, end Exer. PEACE-13, en-route to Gulf of Aden ...ORBAT Updated (Peoples Daily ) FRANCE FS Courbet (Frigate) (Feb 26 – Mar 5) @ Indian Ocean, escort MV Tupi Maiden from Djibouti to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Defense Ministry ) FS Tonnerre TF (Jeanne de Arc Task Force) (Mar 8-9) @ Portsmouth, UK, conduct amphibious EX (Defense Ministry ) FS Ventose (Frigate) (Mar 1) @ Caribbean, intercept 2-drug boats (Defense Ministry ) RUSSIA RFS Severomorsk Task Force (Mar 11) @ Arabian Sea, escorting freighters Arizona and St. Paul to Red Sea (RIA Novosti ) UNITED KINGDOM HMS Argyll (Frigate) (Mar 13) @ Dakar, Senegal, participate in EX SAHARA EXPRESS 2013 (Royal Navy ) HMS Edinburgh (Destroyer) (Mar 12) @ New York City, USA, en route back to UK, will be decommissioned (Royal Navy )(Royal Navy ) HMS Illustrious (Carrier) (Mar 8) @ Glen Mallon, Scotland, onloading ammo, visit HMS Queen Elizabeth (Royal Navy ) HMS Northumberland (Frigate) (Mar 6-9) @ Arabian Sea for PEACE-13 at-sea phase (Mar 3-6) @ Karachi, Pakistan for PEACE-13 Naval Exercise HMS Portland (Frigate) (Mar 14) Rededicated after 12-month refit (Royal Navy ) HMS Queen Elizabeth (Carrier) (Mar 14) Navigation Bridge installed, Def Sec visits (Royal Navy ) (Mar 8) crew of HMS Illustrious visit, ship @ 80% complete (Royal Navy) HMS Westminster (Frigate) (Mar 13) @ London, UK (Royal Navy ) UNITED STATES USS Albany (SSN-753) (Mar 8) @ Norfolk, returns from EUCOM deployment (US Navy ) USS Albuquerque (SSN-706) (Mar 10) @ Sattahip, Thailand ...on 7th Fleet Patrol (US Navy ) USS Barry (DDG-52) (Mar 8-10) @ Souda Bay, Greece ...on 6th Fleet ABM Patrol USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) (Mar 9-10) @ Manilla, Philippines ...on 7th Fleet patrol USS Eisenhower CSG (Mar 9) @ Draguignan, France, COMREL trip to Rhone American Cemetary (US Navy ) (Mar 6-11) @ Marseille, France, COMREL trip to Esclavage Tolrance Zro (US Navy ) USS Frank Cable (AS-40) (Mar 9) @ Sattahip, Thailand ...on 7th Fleet Patrol (US Navy ) USS Freedom (LCS-1) (Mar 11) @ Pearl Harbor, US ...en-route to Guam (US Navy ) USS Kearsarge ARG (Mar 12) @ Morehead City, NC, 26th MEU embarks ships (US Navy ) (Mar 11) @ Atlantic, deployment delayed due to poor sea conditions (US Navy ) USS Laboon (DDG-58) (Mar 11) @ Norfolk, US, end deployment to 5th / 6th Fleet USS Nimitz CSG-Escorts (Mar 1) DDG's @ Straits of Hormuz ...on 5th Fleet patrol, USS Nimitz at homeport for maintenance USS Stennis CSG (Mar 8) USS Mobile Bay (CG-53), change of command (US Navy ) (Mar 8) DDG Farragut @ Suez Canal ...en-route home (US Navy ) (Mar 6) DDG Dunham @ Bahrain USS Truman CSG (Mar 9) @ Atlantic, Pilot training and drills REGIONAL / OTHER – NAVAL LOGS SPS Mendez Nunez (Frigate) – current command ship of Op. Atalante anti-piracy patrol (Mar 11) @ Gulf of Oman, escort oil tanker Smyrni after release from pirates (Armada ) (Mar 8) @ Indian Ocean near Dhurbo, Somalia, render aid to merchant ship Royal Grace (Armada ) (Feb 27) @ Gulf of Oman, boards merchant ship Al-Hasan for piracy (Armada )

GROUND UNITS, CONFLICTS & OPERATIONS LOGS US Ground units logs updated per DOD reports, up to (March 10 to 16) (DOD News Releases ) France, UK, Russia, China Army logs updated per various news releases and open sources

AFRICA NONE AMERICAS UNITED STATES (Mar 13-14) @ Washington DC, NORAD conducts Exer. FALCON VIRGO 13-06 (DOD ) USA – AFRICOM (Mar 11) @ Dakar, Senegal, SE-2013 meets with government agencies and NGO's concerning maritime issues (US Navy ) (Mar 7) @ Dakar, Senegal, EX SAHARA EXPRESS 2013 begins, International Naval Exercise ( US Navy ) USA – CENTCOM / 5th Fleet (Feb 25) MCM @ Bahrain, USS Warrior transferring to Japan; USS Pioneer transferring to San Diego ASIA / MIDDLE-EAST AFGHANISTAN (Mar 11) US 3rd Infantry Division, 1st Armor Brigade, KIA @ Jalrez District (DOD ) (Mar 11) US 3rd Special Forces, 1st Battalion, KIA @ Jalrez District (DOD ) (Mar 3) US 1st Marine Division, 7th Regiment, Patrolling @ Patrol Base Boldak CHINA (Mar 13) Nanjing Military District, U/I Armored Regiment in Live-Fire Drills (Peoples Daily ) KOREA (Mar 15) @ Sea of Japan, NK tests SRBM, USAF plans to activate more ABM missiles in Alaska (Daily Mail ) (Mar 11-21) EX KEY RESOLVE 2013, includes 10,000-SK and 3,500-US Troops (RIA Novosti ) RUSSIA (Mar 11-28) @ Krasnodar Territory, S. Russia, Russian Airborne forces anti-aircraft units participate in tactical exercises, includes MANPADS, Strela-10M, and ZU-23 (RIA Novosti ) (Mar 11) Army Preparing for ZAPAD-2013 Joint EX with Belarus in Sept, 2013 (RIA Novosti ) (Mar 11) Navy plans to add 78-new ships by 2020 (8-Borey SSBN; 16-SSN/SSK; 54-warships (FFG, Corvettes, LST)) (RIA Novosti )(Rusnavy ) (Mar 6) Russian Army creating new special operations unit similar to USSOCOM (RIA Novosti ) SYRIA (Mar 11) US personnel training Syrian rebels in Jordan in anti-tank tactics / weapons (Mar 11) UNDOF personnel evacuate patrol zone in Golan Heights, retreat into Israel (Mar 6) 21-UNDOF Troops kidnapped by Islamist group in Golan Heights (Mar 5) US & Israel establishes HQ to handle joint US / Israel / Jordan / Turkey anti-chemical weapons operations EUROPE FRANCE – IVORY COAST (Mar 2-5) @ Camp Bouet, 2-Exercises for camp defense and UNOIC Medical Evacuations (Defense Ministry ) FRANCE & UK (Mar 13) @ Le Mans, France, Exer. GAELIC VENTURE, joint exercise with UK 42 Commando & French 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment (Royal Navy ) UK – GERMANY (Mar 5) UK planning to return 15,000-troops from Germany in 2016, remaining 4,500 in 2019, and close all 7-bases (Yahoo )

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