The CURTIS WILBUR joined up with the GEORGE WASHINGTON and it's task force a few days later. Along with an American cruiser and destroyer, the Australian Frigate DARWIN was also accompanying the carrier. It was nice to be able to work with them at sea.
The original plan was to proceed to Gaum for resupply with the carrier. A few days later that plan was changed. China intentionally cut a telecomunications line being laid by a North Korean ship and the whole region erupted. The task force was redirected into the South China Sea to help keep the peace.
The main concern turned to setting the proper screens for the carrier while transitioning through a very contested and congested area. China claims the entire South China Sea as its own territory. This announcement confirs ownership of all natural resources within that area, in this case, significant oil fields. North Korea is trying to develop those oil fields and contracting the rights out to other nations, the US included. Other nations have conflicting claims to the South China Sea as well. This is causing large bases and "resorts" to pop up on tiny islands in the middle of no where. Some islands are being constructed and then developed so the waters around them can be claimed.
As the task force moved though the South China Sea, the four picket ships were repositioned depending on the threats faced. We were most worried about missles and submarines from China. Other nations also continuously patrol their islands from the air so that was a concern as well.
In the mean time, what concerned me most during all of these developments was in obtaining supplies for my store. I had already ordered supplies in Gaum before being told that port visit was not going to happen. I had no other prospects of obtaining supplies from any American bases. From that point forward I would need to subsist off of CLF supply ships. I was concerned about this development because supply ships seldom carry all that many goods.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Second Sortie
Sorry, I have not added much to my blog lately. My ship has been extrememly busy on an extended deployment and I wanted to make sure this record is far enough in the past to no longer matter.
The mission started with the second sortie I have had the misfortune to experiance. Our goal was to find and trail a Chinese submarine that had already been detected and tracked from the air. I was told that these kinds of assignments could last anywhere from a few days to a month at sea.
Shortly after pulling out of the harbour, our mission changed to something very different. As it turned out a large group of Chinese surface ships had pulled out of their harbor at relatively the same time and we were best positioned to intercept and monitor their activity. That was when ship life started getting interesting. The goal was to sneak up on the Chinese warships without being detected. That ended up being acheived quite effectively. We joined several Japanese destroyers already monitoring the formation. From that point on we spent the next week documenting the activity of the Chinese group (SAG), while playing cat and mouse with the Chinese destroyers.
We were able to document the daily actions of the SAG and report back anything unusual. The Chinese Navy is becoming more experianced with each passing year. During our observations we witnessed a RAS (refueling at sea), this may have been the first ever completed for the Chinese. It has important ramfications in that the ability to RAS increases the distance a ship can cover without returning to port for fuel.
The other major event to take place was the launching of a UAV. This was the first documented case of the Chinese using unmaned aircraft launched at sea. Our radars tracked the flight and recorded data for scientists to examine at a later date.
We were relieved on station by another destroyer and were then able to proceed with our original mission, Tailisman Saber. This was the first interaction I had seen with an unfriendly ship. I had seen and talked with the sailors on an allied ship and now had witnessed the interaction between two possible foes.
The mission started with the second sortie I have had the misfortune to experiance. Our goal was to find and trail a Chinese submarine that had already been detected and tracked from the air. I was told that these kinds of assignments could last anywhere from a few days to a month at sea.
Shortly after pulling out of the harbour, our mission changed to something very different. As it turned out a large group of Chinese surface ships had pulled out of their harbor at relatively the same time and we were best positioned to intercept and monitor their activity. That was when ship life started getting interesting. The goal was to sneak up on the Chinese warships without being detected. That ended up being acheived quite effectively. We joined several Japanese destroyers already monitoring the formation. From that point on we spent the next week documenting the activity of the Chinese group (SAG), while playing cat and mouse with the Chinese destroyers.
We were able to document the daily actions of the SAG and report back anything unusual. The Chinese Navy is becoming more experianced with each passing year. During our observations we witnessed a RAS (refueling at sea), this may have been the first ever completed for the Chinese. It has important ramfications in that the ability to RAS increases the distance a ship can cover without returning to port for fuel.
The other major event to take place was the launching of a UAV. This was the first documented case of the Chinese using unmaned aircraft launched at sea. Our radars tracked the flight and recorded data for scientists to examine at a later date.
We were relieved on station by another destroyer and were then able to proceed with our original mission, Tailisman Saber. This was the first interaction I had seen with an unfriendly ship. I had seen and talked with the sailors on an allied ship and now had witnessed the interaction between two possible foes.
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