Free Republic

SAN DIEGO (AP) — An explosion in the hull of a Navy cruiser during routine maintenance injured six workers on Saturday, two of them critically, authorities said. Subcontractors from the National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. were working in the fuel tank of the USS Lake Champlain as it sat in dry dock when the explosion occurred just after noon, said San Diego Fire Department spokesman Maurice Luque. "Apparently it was caused by flammable gas that ignited," Luque said. "We don't know how or why." Two of the workers were taken to UC San Diego Medical Center with "major trauma burns"...

ABOARD THE USS LAKE CHAMPLAIN, May 2, 2006 – While there is a ring of steel around the Iraqi oil terminal platforms in the Northern Arabian Gulf, small rubber boats with special boat crews do much of the heavy lifting for security and stability in the area. A small-boat boarding party from the Royal Australian Navy's HMAS Ballarat prepares for maritime operations in the Northern Arabian Gulf. American, British and Australian are always a part of Coalition Task Force 58, which provides maritime security in the region. Other countries' ships join when available. Photo by Jim Garamone   (Click photo...

ABOARD THE USS LAKE CHAMPLAIN, April 30, 2006 – Despite political tensions among Iran and other countries, exchanges between the Iranian navy and coalition forces in the northern Arabian Gulf are "fully courteous and professional," said U.S. Navy Capt. Christopher Noble, during an interview here. Noble, the commander of Coalition Task Group 58.1, is charged with protecting Iraq's oil terminals, located in Iraqi territorial waters. However, exchanges with ships manned by Iranian Revolutionary Guardsmen are not as professional, and the Iranian ships test the coalition on occasion. "But it's still a crisp relationship, and they know why we're here," said...