4 NAVY NEWS, FEBRUARY 2008
A blogging
we will go
International departures
YOU’VE followed the almost
daily progress of HMS
Somerset as she emerged from
A CHANGE of scene is usually a
number of scenarios with allied nations. Austin, Diligence and Bayleaf. around them to monitor and report
refi t. Now you can follow her on good thing – and in the case of
Maritime surveillance, Harrier Mine countermeasures vessels HM ships shipping patterns, part of the permanent
deployment.
the Royal Navy, a very valuable
operations and a major anti-submarine Chiddingfold and Atherstone will also be maritime security regime to which Allied
The Devonport-based
warfare exercise with the Indian Navy all accompanying the task group east. navies now subscribe.
frigate has left the West
thing as well. feature in the Orion programme, which the The anti-submarine Merlins of the But there will also be the chance to
Country behind for six months
Gone are the days when the Senior Commander UK Carrier Strike Group, Flying Tigers, 814 Naval Air Squadron, further prepare the way for the RN’s two
on NATO patrol around the
Service could feel comfortable with mastery Cdre Tom Cunningham, described as a will be along for the ride, while at various new carriers in terms of projecting air power
Mediterranean on Operation
of the North Atlantic. “capability generation exercise”. points Illustrious will host the Royal Navy over land, and strike group operations.
Active Endeavour.
In the 21st Century it must prove He continued: “Every two years we take pilots of the Naval Strike Wing and the And along the way there will be plenty of
Barely a month after fi nishing
the capability of men (and women) and the whole machinery and prove we can do RAF pilots of No1 (Fighter) Squadron in chances for tactical development; the heat
Operational Sea Training – the
machines in more exotic climes, and that what we are confi gured for.” their ground attack jump jets. of the Middle East and the sub-continent
RN’s ‘MOT’ for ships and their
is a major element of Exercise Orion 08 The task group is itself a multi- The task group is scheduled to make 20 and the different density of the waters of
sailors – Somerset takes up the
which is now in full swing. national affair, attaching French (FS Jean port visits during the four-month Orion the Indian Ocean will provide vital data
fi ght against smugglers, people
The deployment will see a task Bart), Spanish (SNS Mendez Nunez) deployment, spread along the route in the on the performance of weapons systems,
traffi ckers, terrorists and pirates
group, led by aircraft carrier HMS and American (USS Cole) warships at Mediterranean, in Africa, the Middle East, aircraft and sensors, and will put different
in the Med alongside Allied
Illustrious, steam east of Suez to test various stages, along with the Royal Naval South Asia and the Far East. stresses on sailors as well as hydraulics/ air
warships. It’s an operation
themselves contingent – HMS Edinburgh (our ship of As soon as they left their home ports, the conditioning and the like.
NATO has been running since
in a the month – see page 12), HMS Westminster ships of Orion started scouring the seas
October 2001.
and HMS Trafalgar,
Since emerging from refi t in
supported by RFAs
Rosyth last year, Somerset’s
Wave Knight, Fort
trials, tribulations – and
successes – have been candidly
reported by her CO Cdr Rob
Wilson on his ‘captain’s blog’,
the fi rst internet diary by an RN
commanding offi cer.
● Bye of the Tigers... The aircrew of 814 Naval Air Squadron join their aircraft on the tarmac at Culdrose
You can keep up with her at
Picture: LA(Phot) Steve Johncock, RNAS Culdrose
hms-somerset-co.blogspot.com
Three times Twenty-Three
T
HE guardian
decided to set themselves a the Solent, the bulk of her time during the deployment and at
angels of HMS
SMUGGLERS, drug traffi ckers, the wrath of Nature physical challenge. devoured by patrols around its finale.
Northumberland
– all in a day’s work, or rather several months’
As Northumberland sailed out Iraq’s two oil platforms. Second down the gang-
work for the men and women of three workhorses
of Plymouth Sound on a fi ne Richmond took over from way (Commanding Officer
came to the rescue
of the fl eet. Type 23 frigates Her Majesty’s Ships
summer’s day, CO Cdr Martin HMS Cornwall in the northern Cdr Mike Utley was first) as
of lone yachtswoman
Simpson, navigator Lt Matt Gulf – and was instrumental Portland came alongside in
Dee Caffari after winter
Northumberland, Richmond and Portland all Clarke and CPO Jan Hamlyn in carrying out the changes in Devonport was Logs(CS) Philip
storms bashed her boat.
completed equally fruitful deployments in equally
agreed to take up the ‘million boarding operations ordered Thompson, who promptly knelt
diverse parts of the world as the curtain came down
metre challenge’ – to row one following Iran’s seizure of 15 on the jetty and asked his
The frigate was almost
on 2007.
million metres (1,000km or 621 sailors and Royal Marines from partner Miranda Woodhouse
home from deployment to the
miles) by the time the frigate Cornwall last March. to marry him.
Mediterranean and east of
caught sight of the Hoe once Not all the ship’s duties were With 400 of Portland’s fami-
Suez when she was diverted to darkness, there was not a great on the high seas, chiefl y the
more. confined to the narrow stretch lies and friends watching (no
aid the stricken sailor. deal the frigate could do, other Mediterranean.
That meant clocking up of water at the tip of the Gulf. pressure then – Ed), Miranda
Dee, too, had almost been than keep watch for Dee so That international force
at least 10,000 metres per When Oman was struck by said “yes”, the crowd cheered,
home; she had sailed from she could get some sleep and was also sucked into NATO’s
day on the Concept 2 rowing Cyclone Gonu in September, and so too the ship’s com-
Brazil and was making provide some shelter from major autumn manoeuvres,
machines, spurred on Richmond supplied 7,000 pany.
for the fi nishing line the winds. Noble Midas, staged
by Northumberland’s bottles of drinking water Chef Philip became
in the French port of “Just as I was about off Croatia. It fell to the
clubz LPT Emma Philips, to help victims in devas- a dad for the first
Brest at the end of a to crack, I heard that Type 23 to ‘enforce’
who also organised tated areas. time during Portland’s
transatlantic race when a guardian angel was sanctions and track
three circuit training And after handing over deployment; he was
the ill-tempered Bay coming to keep watch and board suspicious
sessions each day for responsibilities off Iraq flown back from
of Biscay conspired over me in the form vessels, as well as
the remainder of the to her sister HMS the Caribbean to
against her. of Northumberland,” fi ght off air attacks
ship’s company. Argyll, Richmond Halifax to see his
The solo said Dee. from F4 Phantoms
Rowing 621 headed for the United son Mackenzie.
sailor heard a With fi rst light (yep, they’re still in
miles is a worthy Arab Emirates port Also making
tremendous the following service with some
objective and a fi ne of Ras Al Khaimah to their first appear-
crash, her boat morning, the frigate of our Allies) and
way of shedding the play host to Sheikh ances during
Aviva shuddered, dispatched her sea F16 Falcons.
pounds, but as an Saud Bin Saqr Al Portland’s deploy-
and she jumped boat with a hot drink Then it was on
added incentive, the Qasimi in the first visit ment were Ethan
up on deck to watch and breakfast for the to Turkey, Israel and
trio were sponsored for to the Emirate by an RN Smith, born to LS
the main mast toppling stranded sailor. Aqaba in Jordan to
their efforts. vessel in two years. David Smith and his fian-
over the port side of the Northumberland remained spread the word about Allied
Three of the ship’s charities Out of the Gulf and bound for cée Katrina Bleschschmidt,
yacht, roughly 150 miles from on the scene until a tug arrived operations and the maritime
– the Calvert Trust which runs home, the frigate pounced on and Millie Sexton whose birth
La Coruña. from Spain to take Dee’s boat in campaign against terrorism and
outdoor pursuits for people two dhows suspected of peo- was watched by PO Nathan
For the next 18 hours Aviva tow. other illegal activities.
with disabilities near Kielder ple trafficking and worked with Sexton... with not a little input
rolled and pitched relentlessly With Dee safe, the warship So far, so good and fairly
Reservoir, the Echo Trust which Yemeni Coastguard to arrest 13 from his wife Helen.
in the Atlantic. “I was scared made a bee-line for Devonport typical of operations by SNMG2,
helps children’s hospitals and alleged smugglers. “We achieved our goals in a
and felt vulnerable and was to bring the curtain down but then the force made a rare
other health causes, and the Half a world away, smugglers big way,” he said – speaking
worried of being mown down on her four-month autumn foray outside the Med. The
Royal Naval Benevolent Trust fell victim to HMS Portland too, for his ship and his family.
by a ship as I did not show up deployment. task group sailed through Suez
– benefi ted from the rowers’ but their vile trade was drugs,
too well without a mast and Northumberland left home in and into the Red Sea and Gulf
exertions. not people.
marina Guardians of the Gulf,
sails,” she said. August to join NATO’s Standing of Aden to clamp down on
Also east of Suez, though The ship snared seven tonnes
pages 13-15
And then out of the darkness Naval Maritime Group 2 – an terrorism, piracy and people
for considerably longer than of cocaine in the Caribbean, and
appeared the lines of HMS international task group charged traffi cking.
● All gold... Northumberland
Northumberland’s relatively brief was also on hand to provide
Northumberland. In the with maintaining security Now if that hasn’t been hard
passes Drake’s Island at the
sortie, was HMS Richmond. assistance in Belize in the after-
work enough for the ship’s
end of her deployment
The Portsmouth-based 23 math of Hurricane Dean.
company, a few hardy souls
Picture: LA(Phot) Steve Johncock,
spent six months away from There were tears, too, both FRPU Whale Island
004_NN_Feb.indd 1 22/1/08 09:05:41
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48