TOMAKOMAI KO, Japan - Sailors aboard USS Tortuga (LSD 46) and soldiers from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Northern Army loaded vehicles and trailers pierside in Tomakomai Ko, March 15, in support of earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. Tortuga’s crew loaded 13 jeeps, 10 utility...

MISAWA, Japan - More than 70 crewmembers of Patrol Squadron 4, currently on deployment in Okinawa, Japan, arrived at Naval Air Facility Misawa (NAFM), March 16, to better assist with Japanese relief efforts. The squadron repositioned their relief efforts in the wake of the recent 9.0-magnitude...

USS BLUE RIDGE, At Sea (March 16, 2011) - The USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group to include the cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), the destroyer USS Preble (DDG 88), and the combat support ship USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10) along with the guided-missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS John...

PACIFIC OCEAN (March 16, 2011) - Flight crews from Patrol Squadron (VP) 4 are flying humanitarian and support missions as part of Operation Tomodachi in response to the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunamis that hit northern Japan March 11. The squadron, nicknamed the "Skinny Dragons,"...

NORFOLK, Va. (March 15, 2011) - Commander, Submarine Force (COMSUBFOR) has announced that the Virginia-class submarine USS New Hampshire (SSN 778) and the Seawolf-class submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22) have commenced Ice Exercise 2011 (ICEX-2011) in the Arctic Ocean. USS New Hampshire is home...

SAN DIEGO (NNS) - Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CSG) and its embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, will arrive in San Diego from a six-month scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Areas of Responsibility (AOR) March 19. "I could not be more...

USS BLUE RIDGE, At Sea (March 15, 2011) - The USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group to include the cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), the destroyer USS Preble (DDG 88), and the combat support ship USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10) along with the guided-missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS John...

PACIFIC OCEAN (March 15, 2011) - The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, embarked aboard three ships of Amphibious Squadron 11, is heading towards the northeastern coast of mainland Japan and expects to arrive on March 16 in support of Operation Tomodachi. The posturing of forces to Japan is to...

PACIFIC OCEAN (March 15, 2011) - USS Preble (DDG 88) was one of the first U.S. Navy assets to respond with Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief in Japan, providing over 700 pounds of supplies to earthquake and tsunami survivors. Preble along with embarked HSL-43 air detachment personnel...

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan (March 14, 2011) - In response to the earthquake and tsunami disasters in Northern Honshu, Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, Vice Adm. Scott Van Buskirk, directed Commander, Task Force 76 to organize a Maritime Response cell on March 11, to coordinate U.S. Navy relief efforts out...

USS ESSEX, At Sea (March 14, 2011) - The Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) are preparing to provide humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HADR) support to Japan as directed after the country was hit by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami...

MISAWA, Japan (NNS) - Approximately 92 Sailors from Naval Air Facility Misawa (NAFM) and its tenant commands, volunteered with a clean up-relief effort at the Misawa Fishing Port, March 14. The clean up comes only days following an 8.9-magnitude earthquake, which triggered a tsunami along Japan's...

PACIFIC OCEAN (March 14, 2011) - The USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group, to include the cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), the destroyer USS Preble (DDG 88), and the combat support ship USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10), along with the guided-missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS John S...

PACIFIC OCEAN (March 14, 2011) - The U.S. 7th Fleet has temporarily repositioned its ships and aircraft away from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant after detecting low level contamination in the air and on its aircraft operating in the area. The source of this airborne radioactivity is a...

POHANG, Republic of Korea - The amphibious landing dock ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) embarked two MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters from Helicopter Mine Countermeasure Squadron (HM) 14 off the coast of Pohang, Korea on March 12, in preparation to provide humanitarian assistance in support of earthquake...

PACIFIC OCEAN - The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) departed from Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka on March 12, to provide humanitarian assistance in support of earthquake and tsunami relief operations in Japan as directed. “We had just pulled into Yokosuka when I got the...

ATSUGI, Japan - Helicopters assigned to the Chargers of Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron (HS) 14 at Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi, transported 1,500 pounds of rice and bread to survivors of the 8.9 earthquake and tsunami Japan on March 12. The supplies will help feed more than 2,000 people...

SOUTH CHINA SEA - Seventh Fleet command flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) Sailors and embarked 7th Fleet staff members are preparing for humanitarian aid and disaster relief support operations while sailing toward the eastern coast of mainland Japan March 13. Blue Ridge Sailors loaded a...

ATSUGI, Japan - Sailors and family members from Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, collected relief supplies on March 12, for victims affected by the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami. Within a few hours of the collection’s kickoff, boxes outside of Atsugi’s commissary were overflowing with...

PEARL HARBOR (March 11, 2011) - U.S. Pacific Fleet ships in the Western Pacific were converging on Japan to be in the best position to help those in areas damaged by the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami. They include the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), which departed...