|
USNS ''Spearhead'' is the first ship in the to be operated by the Military Sealift Command and christened on 17 September 2011. ==History== Construction of ''Spearhead'' began on 22 July 2010, when the ship's keel was laid at the Austal facility in Mobile, Alabama in a ceremony that included officials from the US Navy, the US Army, the state of Alabama and the city of Mobile. At the time, ''Spearhead'' was intended for service with the US Army in the 7th Sustainment Brigade as USAV ''Spearhead''. ''Spearhead'' was launched on 8 September 2011, though she did not enter the water until several days later; her launch was the moving of the vessel from the shed where she was constructed onto a floating drydock.〔 At the time, she was scheduled to be delivered to the navy in early 2012, a delay from the original target of September 2011. ''Spearhead'' was christened on 17 September 2011.〔 Her sponsor was a former army officer, Kenneth Wahlman; as part of the ceremony, his daughter Catherine Wahlman (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Corps of Cadets class of 2013) broke a bottle of champagne across ''Spearheads bow. ''Spearhead'', after delivery to the navy in early 2012, will undergo sea trials and tests, and in the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 is planned to begin operations, homeported at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek. She will be crewed by civilian sailors from the Military Sealift Command, and her first captain was Douglas D. Casavant, Jr.〔 In August 2012 ''Spearhead'' made a "clean sweep" of her acceptance trials.〔("Acceptance trials 'clean sweep' by JHSV 1." ) ''Marine Log'', 30 August 2012.〕 ''Spearhead'' was formally delivered to the navy on 5 December 2012, eight months late and $31 million over budget.〔("Delay in JHSV Delivery Will Ripple Into 2017" )〕 She will make her first deployment to Europe and Africa in early 2014, followed by a trip to Latin America. On 7 March 2014, ''Spearhead'' visited Liberia, where marines conducted a rigid-hulled inflatable boat drill.〔("Marines conduct crisis response exercise from USNS Spearhead." )〕 On 12 June 2014, the ''Spearhead'' was conducting routine testing off the coast of Key West. In the early morning, lightning struck an aerostat that was tethered to the vessel. The strike caused the aerostat to deflate and land in the water, where it sank.〔(USNAVSO/US 4th Fleet Statement regarding AEROSTAT ) - Navy.mil, 13 June 2014〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USNS Spearhead (T-EPF-1)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|