The St. Patricks reception at Kevin Barry's was well attended by USCG, Navy League, and HAAF personnel. Congressman Jack Kingston, Congressman John Barrow, and the Parade Grand Marshall Fr. Patrick O'Brien also stopped in to meet and greet.

Members of the Savannah Navy League enjoyed a cruise aboard the Samuel B Roberts on Labor Day along with the families of the ships crew. This is known as a Tiger Cruise and is designed to acquaint the families and friends of Navy ships on shipboard routine and life.

Navy Leaguers boarded a bus at 0500 for the ride to Mayport arriving at the ship about 0745. The ship shoved off shortly after 0800 and steamed due east out to the continental shelf which is about 25 mile off shore. The picture above shows us on a speed run of 25 knots, which created quite a breeze on what was a hot and muggy day.

We had a great lunch on the fantail cooked on a commercial barbeque, which was hoisted aboard for the occasion. The menu included hamburgers chicken and ribs including all the normal side dishes you would expect at a first class barbeque.

We all had the run of the ship with crewmembers giving us guided tours and detail of their jobs at sea and the ships operation. We arrived back at the dock right on schedule at 1500.

CO Wally Lovely treated us like family and all had a good time. There was also a bit of an adventure on the return bus trip when the bus ran out of gas. However, everyone took in stride and arrived back in Savannah around 2000. Really a fun day!

IN OCTOBER 2004, USS GEORGIA WAS REDESIGNATED TO SSGN AND IN FEBRUARY 2005 ENTERED NORFOLK NAVAL SHIPYARD FOR A REFUELING OVERHAUL AND CONVERSION TO SSGN. UPON COMPLETION OF HER CONVERSION THE USS GEORGIA WILL BE CARRY 154 TOMAHAWK MISSILES, UP TO 66 SEALS AND THE SEAL DELIVERY VEHICLE. IN DECEMBER 2007, USS GEORGIA DEPARTED THE SHIPYARD FOR HER NEW HOME IN KINGS BAY, GEORIGA.

TO CELEBRATE HER RETURN TO SERVICE AND HER RETURN TO HER NAMESAKE STATE OF GEORGIA, THERE WILL BE A RETURN TO SERVICE CERMONY IN KINGS BAY ON MARCH 28, 2008. TO WELCOME THE SUBMARINE TO GEORGIA AND TO LET THE CREWMEMEBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES KNOW THAT CITIZENS THROUGHOUT GEORGIA ENTHUSIASTICALLY WELCOME THEM AS OUR STATE’S NAMESAKE SUBMARINE, THE RETURN TO SERVICE COMMITTEE IN COOPERATION WITH THE NAVY LEAGUE AND THE GEORGIA ASSOCIATION OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTERS IS SPONSORING THE “GEORGIA FLAG PROJECT”. THIS GEORGIA STATE FLAG WILL TRAVEL THROUGH ALL 159 COUNTIES IN GEORGIA.

DURING THE RETURN TO SERVICE CEREMONY ON MARCH 28, GOVERNOR SONNY PURDUE WILL PRESENT THE FLAG AND LOGBOOK TO THE COMMANDING OFFICER. THE LOGBOOK WILL CONTAIN ENTRIES SIGNED BY THE COUNTY COMMISSIONNERS AT A BRIEF CEREMONIAL SIGNING IN EACH OF THE 159 COUNTIES.

Below are photos taken at the ceremonies in which Savannah Navy Leaguers took part.

The Enterprise is now in the midst of her transit through this fascinating waterway. On our port side, the barren Sinai Peninsula stretches like a moonscape into the distance, alternating between dunes and flat expanses of sand. To starboard, we can see Muslim prayer towers and occasional neighborhoods, with a thin asphalt roadway lining the bank like a long black ribbon. Small Egyptian patrol boats zip around ahead and alongside the carrier, and a truck full of soldiers matches our pace on the roadway. Every few hundred yards, a single armed Egyptian soldier stands with his back to the ship, scanning the nearby streets for any sign of trouble.

I’ve attached a few pictures I snapped during the voyage. In one you can see the float coat (life vest) and cranial (helmet) I wear, like everyone else on the flight deck. In the picture titled “ready for launch,” notice the big jet blast deflector behind the aircraft. The JBD safely directs all the heat from the jet’s engines up and away from the air crew members standing just a few feet away. I’ve heard the deck of an aircraft carrier during flight ops described as “a Nascar pit in a hurricane,” and I think the description fits!

The Red Sea awaits on the other end of the Canal.

--Michael

Click on image for bigger picture

USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), an AEGIS Cruiser homeported in Mayport, FL, is named after the World War II Battle of the Philippine Sea. She was commissioned in 1989 and has served extensive in Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terror. Philippine Sea is 567 feet in length, has a crew of 360 and is commanded by CAPT Stephen J. Johnson, USN.

USS The Sullivans (DDG 68) is an AEGIS Destroyer homeported in Mayport FL and named after the five Sullivan Brothers who lost their lives during the Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942. The Sullivans was commissioned in 1997 and has visited Savannah several times. She has just returned from a deployment to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Sullivans is 505 feet in length, has a crew of 320 and is commanded by CDR Wade F. Wilkenson, USN.

USS Underwood arrives in Savannah and receives a salute from Old Fort Jackson's 32 pounder.

CAPT Tim Close, USCG, Captain of the Port of Savannah turned over his command to CDR Mike Drieu and departed for Eighth Coast Guard District, New Orleans on July 7th. President Hugh Robinson presented Tim with a print of S.S. Savannah on behalf of the Navy League. Mike Drieu is a Coast Guard Academy graduate with a wide variety of assignments both in the United States and international areas. He comes to Savannah with his wife, Deena, and two children from New Orleans, where he was Chief of the Response Branch and in charge of controlling hazardous materials in 26 states.