HMCS CHARLOTTETOWN deploying to join CBG off Libya
- Thread starter Pat in Halifax
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http://thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/1231137.html
HMCS Charlottetown made a surprise return to Halifax Wednesday, hours after slipping its lines from a jetty to an emotional farewell from family and friends.
Mike Bonin, a navy public affairs official, confirmed Charlottetown was back in the Bedford Basin on Wednesday evening. Shortly before 10 p.m., the frigate was again steaming its way toward Libya.
The turnaround was necessary because the ship had to be "degaussed," a process that demagnetizes the vessel, in a special spot in the basin. Bonin said some technicians came aboard for the procedure but none of the crew left the ship.
The ship made it to the mouth of the harbour before turning back, Bonin said in an interview early Wednesday evening.
"It’s conducting a series of technical trials before it can go to sea. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, nothing abnormal."
Bonin couldn’t say why the demagnetizing hadn’t occurred before the ship left.
"Maybe it had something to do with the amount of rapid reaction it had to (undergo)," he said, referring to the small amount of time the ship had to prepare for its mission to Libya.
"Perhaps there wasn’t time to do it before it left."
Bonin said it was possible another vessel was inside the degaussing range and Charlottetown had to wait, but he couldn’t confirm if that was the case.
"It may have been something that was predetermined hours ago," he said. "They’ll stay there until the ship’s captain is ready to leave. He’ll make sure the ship is safe to sail."
Bonin didn’t know if the sailors onboard had prior knowledge of their return or if their loved ones had heard about it.
When the vessel left Wednesday morning, its crew waved goodbye to family and friends, with choruses of "I love you" yelled into the frigid air.
It was the start of a mission that is short on details, but was already full of praise.
Moments before its departure, members of the 240-member crew stood solemnly or embraced family, as Vice-Admiral Dean McFadden, the chief of maritime staff, expressed his gratitude for their quick response.
Most crewmembers had less than two days’ notice that they would be heading to the coastal waters off Libya, where a bloody crackdown has resulted in perhaps 1,000 deaths and an exodus of more than 140,000 into neighbouring countries.
"You are reacting to what is a burgeoning humanitarian crisis in Libya," McFadden said over a loudspeaker. "To Canada’s need for awareness and presence in that region, and to the aid and, as necessary, the evacuation of Canadians and others as need requires."
And that’s what was keeping Leading Seaman Bernice Murphy of Halifax going, despite not knowing when she’ll see her two-year-old grandson, Tristin, again.
"That’s why I signed on the dotted line," she said, as her boyfriend, Steve Critch, who’s retired from the navy, held Tristin in his arms.
"I wanted to serve my country, so this is what I’m doing."
The frigate is Canada’s only warship en route to the Mediterranean where an international flotilla of American and British ships is gathering as Moammar Gadhafi wages a vicious battle to hang onto power in the North African country.
It could take as many as 12 days for Charlottetown to reach its destination. No date has been given for its return, but officials said the mission could last as long as six months.
Canada already has a C-17 transport plane and two Hercules planes stationed in nearby Malta. Charlottetown is capable of delivering medical aid or other supplies, enforcing UN- or NATO-sanctioned embargoes or participating in other military action.
A Sea King helicopter and two flight crews are onboard, ready to do surveillance, deliver aid or carry out evacuations if needed.
Capt. Gerritt Siebring, a Sea King crew commander, said the combination of navy and air force personnel means more can be accomplished.
As the ship set sail, though, it wasn’t clear exactly what roles it would play.
"You can’t always have all the answers to every single question. It’s a very dynamic situation over there and we’ll have to adapt to what’s happening," said Cmdr. Craig Skjerpen, Charlottetown’s commanding officer.
Rear Admiral David Gardam, commander of Maritime Force Atlantic and Joint Task Force Atlantic, said the time it takes for Charlottetown to arrive in the Mediterranean will be put to good use.
"During that time, we have the opportunity to do the planning to prepare for whatever the mission may be," he said.
HMCS Charlottetown made a surprise return to Halifax Wednesday, hours after slipping its lines from a jetty to an emotional farewell from family and friends.
Mike Bonin, a navy public affairs official, confirmed Charlottetown was back in the Bedford Basin on Wednesday evening. Shortly before 10 p.m., the frigate was again steaming its way toward Libya.
The turnaround was necessary because the ship had to be "degaussed," a process that demagnetizes the vessel, in a special spot in the basin. Bonin said some technicians came aboard for the procedure but none of the crew left the ship.
The ship made it to the mouth of the harbour before turning back, Bonin said in an interview early Wednesday evening.
"It’s conducting a series of technical trials before it can go to sea. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, nothing abnormal."
Bonin couldn’t say why the demagnetizing hadn’t occurred before the ship left.
"Maybe it had something to do with the amount of rapid reaction it had to (undergo)," he said, referring to the small amount of time the ship had to prepare for its mission to Libya.
"Perhaps there wasn’t time to do it before it left."
Bonin said it was possible another vessel was inside the degaussing range and Charlottetown had to wait, but he couldn’t confirm if that was the case.
"It may have been something that was predetermined hours ago," he said. "They’ll stay there until the ship’s captain is ready to leave. He’ll make sure the ship is safe to sail."
Bonin didn’t know if the sailors onboard had prior knowledge of their return or if their loved ones had heard about it.
When the vessel left Wednesday morning, its crew waved goodbye to family and friends, with choruses of "I love you" yelled into the frigid air.
It was the start of a mission that is short on details, but was already full of praise.
Moments before its departure, members of the 240-member crew stood solemnly or embraced family, as Vice-Admiral Dean McFadden, the chief of maritime staff, expressed his gratitude for their quick response.
Most crewmembers had less than two days’ notice that they would be heading to the coastal waters off Libya, where a bloody crackdown has resulted in perhaps 1,000 deaths and an exodus of more than 140,000 into neighbouring countries.
"You are reacting to what is a burgeoning humanitarian crisis in Libya," McFadden said over a loudspeaker. "To Canada’s need for awareness and presence in that region, and to the aid and, as necessary, the evacuation of Canadians and others as need requires."
And that’s what was keeping Leading Seaman Bernice Murphy of Halifax going, despite not knowing when she’ll see her two-year-old grandson, Tristin, again.
"That’s why I signed on the dotted line," she said, as her boyfriend, Steve Critch, who’s retired from the navy, held Tristin in his arms.
"I wanted to serve my country, so this is what I’m doing."
The frigate is Canada’s only warship en route to the Mediterranean where an international flotilla of American and British ships is gathering as Moammar Gadhafi wages a vicious battle to hang onto power in the North African country.
It could take as many as 12 days for Charlottetown to reach its destination. No date has been given for its return, but officials said the mission could last as long as six months.
Canada already has a C-17 transport plane and two Hercules planes stationed in nearby Malta. Charlottetown is capable of delivering medical aid or other supplies, enforcing UN- or NATO-sanctioned embargoes or participating in other military action.
A Sea King helicopter and two flight crews are onboard, ready to do surveillance, deliver aid or carry out evacuations if needed.
Capt. Gerritt Siebring, a Sea King crew commander, said the combination of navy and air force personnel means more can be accomplished.
As the ship set sail, though, it wasn’t clear exactly what roles it would play.
"You can’t always have all the answers to every single question. It’s a very dynamic situation over there and we’ll have to adapt to what’s happening," said Cmdr. Craig Skjerpen, Charlottetown’s commanding officer.
Rear Admiral David Gardam, commander of Maritime Force Atlantic and Joint Task Force Atlantic, said the time it takes for Charlottetown to arrive in the Mediterranean will be put to good use.
"During that time, we have the opportunity to do the planning to prepare for whatever the mission may be," he said.
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More on CHA tasking from Defence Minister's statement following a NATO DefMin's meeting in Belgium (highlights mine):
Aims of NATO's OP Active Endeavour, from the OP web page here:
Aims of NATO's OP Active Endeavour, from the OP web page here:
I wonder if they will send a ship to relieve 339 down the road. And turn this into some sort of rotation. Or will 339 just go there, wave the flag and then head home after its all over. Cause I think the unrest in the middle east is just warming up.
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I think future deployment plans would fall under OPSEC.....
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navypuke said:
I would hope that someone with 10 years in the Navy would have a better grasp of whats going on then this post seems to indicate. Ouch!
Actually we don't send vessels out to the Gulf as much anymore because we like to dump all our money into Afghanistan. And because we decided to stick around for two more years thats caused the Navy to change many plans when it comes to the Middle East because CEFCOM doesn't have the money. Charlletown is only there because Libya decided to have a civil war.
And by the unrest in the Middle East I mean the recent stuff that started in Tunisia and spread outwards to Eygpt, Bahrain, kuwait, Libya and other countries. I'm not talking about the normally suicide bomber in the sunday market Middle East thats seems to be the norm over there.
And by the unrest in the Middle East I mean the recent stuff that started in Tunisia and spread outwards to Eygpt, Bahrain, kuwait, Libya and other countries. I'm not talking about the normally suicide bomber in the sunday market Middle East thats seems to be the norm over there.
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navypuke said:
We don't? Check out OP ALTAIR and OP SAIPH.
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Current or upcoming deployments are not really a subject for discussion on the internet....
Some of us/ME might be affected by this in a rather personal way. I'd rather you not discuss what my ship might be doing.
NS
Some of us/ME might be affected by this in a rather personal way. I'd rather you not discuss what my ship might be doing.
NS
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Hear/Here!NavyShooter said:
The acronym STFU comes to mind.
trigger324
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navypuke said:
Do you consider 2008 "in a long while"? I did OP ALTAIR that year, it doesn't feel a long while ago.
