Floating radar prepares for missile test

Sea-Based X-Band Radar stationed in Hawaii is getting a test.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser  reports the $2 billion floating radar component of the U.S. ground-based ballistic missile defense system has left Pearl Harbor for an exercise.

Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance chairman Riki Ellison says an interceptor fired from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base will try to shoot down a target missile fired from Kwajalein (KWAH'-jah-lihn) Atoll.

The Missile Defense Agency doesn't release a test date until it has issued a "Notice to Airmen and Mariners." The notice had not been issued Tuesday.

Four interceptors are in silos at Vandenberg and 26 others are at Fort Greely, Alaska.

The system is an element designed to protect Hawaii and the mainland from missiles fired from locations such as North Korea.

USS Reuben James making final return to Hawaii Read more: http://www.kitv.com/news/hawaii/uss-reuben-james-making-final-return-to-hawaii/-/8905354/19978796/-/lx29pd/-/index.html#ixzz2S9f36lr4

The Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate USS Reuben James will return to its homeport in Hawaii from a deployment to the Western Pacific on May 3.

During the ship's seven-month deployment, the crew of Reuben James participated in a series of bilateral maritime exercises or Cooperative Afloat Readiness and Training while conducting at-sea security scenarios, helicopter operations, a search and rescue practical and surface gunfire drills in the Seventh Fleet Area of Responsibility.

"First and foremost, thank you to the crew of USS Reuben James for your outstanding performance," said Reuben James Commanding Officer Cmdr. Daniel Valascho.  "Our motto is 'Back With A Vengeance,' but now we're back with a sense of satisfaction, knowing we did our part operating forward, strengthening partnerships and protecting freedom."

Having completed her final deployment Reuben James will be decommissioned this August after 27 years of service to the fleet.

"They maintained readiness, showed their pride and professionalism and always looked out for each other on and off duty," said Command Master Chief CMDMC(SW) Johannes J. Gonzalez. "I'm very proud of them all and I cannot think of a better crew to represent Reuben James on her final deployment."

During the ship's history it has completed deployments to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom, to the Eastern Pacific in support of counter-drug operations and it appeared in the 1990 motion picture The Hunt For Red October.

"I also want to thank all the families and friends who stood by us and prepared a native Hawaiian welcome for the entire crew. It will be great to see you all pierside," added Valascho.

Guided-missile frigates are multi-mission surface combatants, capable of Under-Sea Warfare and Surface Warfare missions. Reuben James is assigned to Commander, Destroyer Squadron 31 under Commander, Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, in Hawaii.

U.S. Third Fleet leads naval forces in the Eastern Pacific from the West Coast of North America to the international date line. Joint, interagency and international relationships strengthen Third Fleet's ability to respond to crises and protect the collective maritime interests of the U.S. and its allies and partners.

USS Crommelin retired in Pearl Harbor ceremony

Officers of ship walk off the USS Crommelin as part of decommissioning ceremonies today at Pearl Harbor.

The ongoing evolution of the U.S. Navy came to Pearl Harbor today with the first of two frigate decommissionings — a class of warship being replaced by new littoral combat ships.

For about 20 Crommelin family members, who came from California, Oregon, and even Australia, the retirement amounts to a loss of one of their own — the USS Crommelin, named for brothers who fought in the Pacific in World War II.

John G. Crommelin the fifth, 32, who lives on the Hilo side of Hawaii island, said it was an honor to be a part of the decommissioning.

His grandfather, John G. Crommelin III, was one of five brothers from Alabama dubbed the “Dixie Demons” and a “one-family navy” for their participation in every major campaign in the Pacific.

Cold War-era Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates are being replaced by smaller and speedier littoral combat ships that can get closer to shore and are designed to defeat “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft.

The Navy's only other frigate at Pearl Harbor, the Reuben James, is scheduled to be inactivated Aug. 30 2013

More than 250 people attended the decommissioning ceremony at Pier M-2.

“This is a special ship,” said retired Capt. James Orvis, the first commander of Crommelin. “Its contributions are not diminished by the fact that like many of us, she’s grown older. Those of us who have served in her can be proud to have walked the decks and contributed to her reputation.”   

USS Reuben James to leave Pearl Harbor on last patrol

The USS Reuben James, a guided missile frigate, leaves Tuesday on its last deployment.

  

The frigate USS Reuben James is heading out on its last deployment today as the Navy prepares to decommission it and another frigate -- the USS Crommelin — the last two in Pearl Harbor.

The Navy is replacing some of its 445-foot frigates, which have a crew of about 215, as well as some mine hunters, with littoral combat ships that can operate in near-shore waters off foreign countries.

Commissioned in 1986, the Reuben James will be taken out of service on Aug. 30, according to the Navy. The USS Crommelin is scheduled for inactivation on Oct. 31.

The Reuben James is heading out for an independent 7-month deployment to the Western Pacific.

“Reuben James has worked very hard to prepare to deploy. I’m very proud of the crew.  Everything we’ve asked them to do, they have answered the call,” said Cmdr. Daniel Valascho, commanding officer of Reuben James. “And now, they will answer the call of their nation as we sail over the horizon and say farewell to our families and friends.”

Valascho added, “I’m proud of all of them and I know they are excited to participate in the ship’s final deployment before decommissioning.”

The Navy said the ship and crew will “strengthen partnerships and alliances in the Western Pacific and provide maritime security near vital sea lanes.”

In August 1991, Reuben James moved from Long Beach, Calif. to Pearl Harbor. The ship participated in operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom as well as counter-drug operations.

In 2004, Reuben James went through an extensive modernization and maintenance program. The ship also appeared in the movie “The Hunt For Red October,” with Reuben James sailors portraying Soviets.

Navy's green plan for Pearl Harbor runway draws fire

History buffs say the famous runway at Pearl Harbor's Ford Island is under attack once again -- this time from the U.S. Navy itself, which may cover it with solar panels.

The unused runway in the center of the military base at Pearl Harbor is a good location for the solar project and is "critically important to achieving renewable energy mandates," says Navy spokeswoman Agnes Tauyan. But American history aficionados say the site should be preserved as sacred ground.

"We totally agree with (the Navy) being green, but we don't think they should do it where Americans spilled their red blood," says Ken DeHoff, director of the Pacific Aviation Museum, located in an airplane hangar on Ford Island. "There's plenty of room for them to create this project off to the west, which is just scrub oak and abandoned land."

The runway is part of a decommissioned airfield now, but on Dec. 7, 1941, 33 of the 70 aircraft on the ground at Ford Island and one hangar were destroyed during the Japanese surprise attack. In 1964, the runway and the rest of Ford Island was designated a National Historic Landmark.

The Navy's plan that is under consideration would cover Ford Island's 4,000-foot runway and 14 acres of adjoining land with 60,000 solar-energy panels. The goal is to convert at least 50% of the Navy's energy demands to alternative sources by 2020.

The Pacific Aviation Museum has opposed the proposed project because it says it does not respect the runway's significance in American history.

"Consider the hue and cry should a 60,000-panel project be located at Gettysburg or Valley Forge," the museum said in a written statement. DeHoff says the museum suggested the Navy build the solar panel array at West Loch, an unused area to the west of the airfield on Waipio Peninsula, but he says the Navy rejected the alternative location because it was within the "blast arc," or minimum safe distance, of an area where the Navy stores ammunition.

The museum gives tours of the island, featuring the runway, hangars and iconic red-and-white spiraled control tower that was featured prominently in the movies Pearl Harbor and Tora! Tora! Tora!

The island is also home to the battleship USS Missouri as well as monuments to the battleships USS Utah and USS Oklahoma. Tauyan says the proposal is part of a project that "includes installation of PV arrays on roofs, parking shade structures and available parcels of land" in military installations across the state of Hawaii, and that the project is critically important to "achieving energy security."

According to the Navy, the runway at Ford Island is under consideration for the panels because "it is an inactive space that is ideally located and sized." The Navy says the photovoltaic panel systems will be built, owned, operated and maintained by three energy companies awarded a $500 million contract to provide locally generated energy to the Navy.

The Navy says the West Loch location has not yet been completely ruled out and that several potential locations are being considered while the Navy conducts an environmental assessment of the surrounding area.

DeHoff says that although the runway hasn't been maintained since its deactivation in 1999, the site's historical significance, along with its importance to the local community, hasn't diminished. "This is an area that the kids play in, and they're going to cover it up and put a 7-foot high fence around it and basically make the place a monstrosity," he says.

Along with the roughly 450 homes housing Navy personnel and their families on the island, DeHoff says the museum has about 200,000 visitors a year.

According to the Pacific Aviation Museum, the Navy 's initial proposal was to erect the 60,000 blue, 4-by-6-foot solar panels in a way that would resemble the historic runway when seen from the air, with a white X placed every 1,000 feet along the array as if it were a closed runway.

Barbara Bloom, a museum representative, says the Navy's design is unacceptable because "it's going to look like the runway's made of Legos."

Tauyan says the Navy "remains committed to balancing our responsibility towards environmental stewardship, energy security and the preservation of historically significant facilities and structures."