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Mine Warfare Patches, MSO MSC MCM MCS MINRON MINDIV MOMAG


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Salvage Sailor
On 9/10/2015 at 10:39 AM, Salvage Sailor said:

....and the new class of Costal Minehunter which could move closer inshore to clear waterways for maritime traffic

 

USS HERON (MHC-52) Osprey class in commission 1992-2007 (sold to Greece)

 

More from the USS HERON (MHC-52) Osprey class minehunter

 

MHC 52 USS HERON 003.jpg

 

MHC 52 USS HERON 004.jpg

 

More from the USS HERON (MHC-52) Osprey class minehunter

 

MHC 52 USS HERON 005.jpg

 

MHC 52 USS HERON 006.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

Current patch COMCMRON THREE - USS ARDENT (MCM-12), USS CHAMPION (MCM-4), USS SCOUT (MCM-8)

 

Mine Countermeasurers Squadron Three

 

Mine Countermeasures Squadron Three is one of three deployable U.S. MCM staffs that conduct integrated MCM operations anywhere in the world. The Mine Countermeasures Squadrons serve as tactical MCM commanders, working directly with fleet commanders, as well as serving as immediate superior in command (ISIC) for their assigned MCMs and MHCs.
The staff is comprised of twenty-two Officers and enlisted Sailors from these MCM communities who meld their experience into a cohesive professional team. This integrated concept of mine countermeasures utilizes airborne, surface, and diving units in concert. Sharing the strengths of each component of this MCM triad through precise navigation systems, the total effectiveness of this team of airmen, seamen, and divers is far greater than the sum of it's individual components. Integrated MCM operations are conducted under the command of this staff whose focus is always on training, safety, and the development of tactics.
The squadron is comprised of MCM's and MHC's. Mine Countermeasures Squadron Three is a subordinate Command of Mine Warfare Command, Corpus Christi, TX. and homeported at U.S. Naval Station Ingleside, Ingleside, TX.

 

 

COMCMRON THREE 001.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

USS WIDGEON (MSC-208) Bluebird class coastal minesweeper in service 1955 to 1969, homeport Sasebo, Japan for 13 years. Market Time minesweeper in Vietnam with six campaign stars.

 

From the mid-1960s, the ship commenced a regular schedule of deployments on "Operation Market Time" patrol stations in the coastal waters off South Vietnam, on patrol and interdiction to cut off the seaborne flow of supplies to the communist Viet Cong forces inside South Vietnam. During one such cruise in January 1967, while being diverted from an "Operation Market Time" patrol to conduct classified operations in the Gulf of Tonkin, the ship made the national news when she was rammed by a swordfish. Later during that same cruise, while the ship was crossing the South China Sea, she sighted a McDonnell F4-C Phantom crash into the sea. Widgeon altered course in time to rescue one man of the two-man crew. The other flier, the pilot, died in the crash. Commander, Naval Forces, Philippines, later cited Widgeon for her outstanding performance of duty during the rescue.
 
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Widgeon returned to Sasebo on 17 February 1967, worn and beaten from heavy seas, and was under repairs during March and April. On 1 May, a Navy P-3 Orion patrol plane, with a crew of 12 men on board, crashed in the Tsushima Strait off the southern coast of Korea. Widgeon headed for the scene of the crash, transiting the hazardous Hirado Strait for search and rescue (SAR) operations. She searched for two days and recovered numerous bits of debris but was unable to locate any survivors or the fuselage of the plane. The minesweeper ultimately returned to Sasebo on 5 May, to commence refresher training.
 
Widgeon spent the months of July through September, on her sixth "Market Time" patrol and a cruise in the South China Sea. Departing Sasebo on 3 July, the minesweeper arrived at Bangkok, Thailand, on 15 July. She later operated with mine countermeasures units of the Royal Thai Navy in the Gulf of Thailand in a SEATO exercise, "Sea Dog," before she operated on "Operation Market Time" stations from 27 July to 12 September. When she arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on 16 September, the ship's crew had not touched land in 60 days. Widgeon subsequently spent the rest of the year engaged in local operations out of Sasebo and Buckner Bay, Okinawa, and made a visit to Hong Kong for rest and recreation.
 
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Over the next two years, Widgeon continued her operations in the Far East and Southeast Asian waters. During that time, she conducted two "Operation Market Time" patrols for which she later received the Meritorious Unit Commendation. The award, given the ship on 16 August 1970, was for the period from 1 June 1968 to 13 September 1969. During that time, Widgeon served with the Mine Countermeasures Ready Group and Coastal Surveillance Forces in combat operations off the coast of South Vietnam. She maintained a consistently high standard of readiness that enabled her to assume assigned duties early or on very short notice, and she completed three stints on "Operation Market Time" patrol stations. She not only inspected or boarded over 1,100 vessels but, on occasion, returned "hostile" fire from shore and conducted underwater searches. Throughout the repeated patrol extensions, "the continually outstanding performance, high state of morale, preparedness, and ingenuity of the officers and men of USS Widgeon attested to their exceptional team spirit and professionalism. By their exemplary courage and dedication, they contributed significantly to the success of anti-infiltration efforts in the Republic of Vietnam and enhanced the reputation of the Mine Countermeasures Ready Group, thereby reflecting credit upon themselves and the United States Naval Service."
 
Ultimately, after 13 years of continuous service in WestPac operating areas, Widgeon sailed for the United States on 17 August 1969, in company with Catskill, Vireo, and Warbler. Proceeding via Pearl Harbor, she arrived at Long Beach exactly one month later.

 

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Salvage Sailor
On 8/7/2018 at 2:42 PM, Salvage Sailor said:

 

MOMAG - MOBILE MINE ASSEMBLY GROUP
 
Before 1975, mine shops around the world were divisions of various naval magazines or ordnance facilities. This arrangement frequently put the magazine's priorities above those of the mine shop's, resulting in Minemen often being assigned to divisions outside their rating. On 1 July 1975, the reorganization of the mine force resulted in the establishment of both the Commander, Mine Warfare Command (COMINEWARCOM) and the Com­mander, Mobile Mine Assembly Group (COMOMAG). This reorganization established MOMAG detachments and units located around the world.
 

image004.jpg

 

 

 

 

MOMAG UNIT TWELVE - Mobile Mine Assembly Group 12, Misawa, Japan

 

MOMAG TWELVE 001.jpg

 

MOMAG TWELVE 002.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

MINE FLOTILLA ONE

 

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Mine Flotilla (MinFlot) ONE was formed and COMINRON THREE reported to this Commander, who wore both MinFlot1/MinRon 3 “hats” for it’s duration - until the early seventies. Mine Division 33 consisted of ten MSL’s, a Mike Boat (LCM), an LCPR, and one LCVP. All three Mine Divisions reported to MinFlot 1/MinRon 3, as did a mine disposal/EOD function, and the Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Surveillance Unit 12 (MIUWS 12), until a 1965 trip to DaNang, SVN when we dropped them off permanently for Vietnam duty. All embarked units were transported aboard the USS Epping Forest MCS-7, and the MSC’s often sailed independently, but convoyed with EF frequently to many WesPac destinations as a mine flotilla.

 

Mine Flotilla One 004.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

USS PEACOCK (MSC-198) Bluebird class coastal minesweeper (ex-AMS-198) in service 1955 to 1975,  Pacific Fleet, Lebanon (1958), Taiwan Straits (Formosa 1958), Market Time Vietnam.

 

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USS PEACOCK (MSC-198) Japanese made

 

A 'Foreign Legion' vessel which served overseas for her entire active naval career.  Since her arrival in the Far East, homeported in Sasebo, Japan, Peacock traveled to such places as Hong Kong, Okinawa, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea and the Ryukyu Islands, as well as numerous ports-of-call in Japan. She has regularly participated in Mine Exercises with the Navies of Japan, Korea, Nationalist China and the Republic of the Philippines. Peacock played an active role in Market Time Patrol off the coast line of Vietnam throughout the Vietnam War.

 

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Peacock was the last of the Sasebo-based MSC's to depart Japan. She headed for Long Beach, California just after Christmas, 1970, for further assignment as a Reserve training ship. Peacock sailed "unaccompanied" from Sasebo to Taiwan where she laid over for New Years 1971. She then sailed to Subic Bay, PI where she hooked up with four MSO class minesweepers for the transit east. Off Johnston Island Peacock detached from the other ships and headed to Pearl Harbor on her own. Following a short stay in Pearl Harbor she departed for the last leg of the transit to her new homeport of Long Beach, CA. The total transit took 57 days.

 

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Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (3)
Combat Action Ribbon (1)
Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation for Gallantry (4)
Vietnam Service Medal (8)

 

MSC_198_USS_PEACOCK_004.jpg

 

 

 

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Salvage Sailor

USS ALACRITY (AG-520) ex-MSO 520, Ability class minesweeper in service 1958 to 1977.  Converted and reclassified as a Miscellaneous Auxiliary, AG-520, 1 June 1973 and used for sonar testing.  Decommissioned, 30 September 1977 at Charleston, SC

 

MSO 520 AG 520 USS ALACRITY 001.jpg

 

MSO 520 AG 520 USS ALACRITY 002.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

USS STALWART (MSO-493) Aggressive class minesweeper in service 1957 to 1966 when she was destroyed by an engine room fire and sunk in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 

MSO 493 USS STALWART 001.jpg

 

MSO 493 USS STALWART 002.jpg

 

USS STALWART (MSO-493) Sunk at San Juan, P.R.

c. July 1966
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Photo by Doug Oldaker, IC3

 

She was moored to the east side of the tender pier at San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 25 June when a fire broke out in her machinery space. Although Stalwartʼs crew and the crew of the high-speed transport USS Beverly W. Reid (APD-119) – in port for liberty after operations in the Caribbean – fought the fire for about nine hours, Stalwart capsized and sank. Stalwart was refloated by the rescue and salvage ships USS Escape (ARS-6) and USS Hoist (ARS-40) on 17 July and towed back to Charleston by the fleet tug USS Salinan (ATF-161) on 23 November.

 

110249309.jpg

 

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Salvage Sailor
On 3/24/2018 at 11:38 AM, Salvage Sailor said:

USS PIVOT (MSO-463) Prince Rocky Lighter

She was a Market Time minesweeper, anyone have the patch?

 

Ligher USS PIVOT MSO 463 Prince Rocky 001.jpg

 

Ligher USS PIVOT MSO 463 Prince Rocky 003.jpg

 

Finally found the USS PIVOT (MSO-463) and a bunch of others I'll be posting soon

Market Time Agressive class minesweeper in service 1954 to 1971

 

1082029381_MSO463USSPIVOT001.jpg.5222a63ad47d4a4b51028095af742482.jpg

 

 

MSO 463 USS PIVOT 002.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

110244005.jpg.97d6d6a1a45b808fd514d98d5af05c3c.jpg

9 May 1989 Passing Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, DC as she transits the Anacostia River
U.S. Navy photo DN-ST-89-08169

 

USS EXPLOIT (MSO-440) Aggressive Class Minesweeper
The second Exploit was laid down 28 December 1951 at Higgins Inc., New Orleans, LA, Launched 10 April 1953
Commissioned USS Exploit (AM-440), 31 March 1954

 

IMG_6391.JPG.6bf49cdb6ca918478d2e72cd7e9e3e77.JPG


Reclassified as an Ocean Minesweeper, MSO-440, 7 February 1955
Decommissioned 16 December 1993 and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Portsmouth, VA
Struck from the Navy Register 28 March 1994
Sold for scrap 4 December 2000 to Baltimore Marine Industries of Baltimore, MD.

 

IMG_6392.JPG.a64c32cf4ca92a1c15e910a6b02e42f1.JPG

 

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H

On 12/9/2021 at 5:47 PM, Salvage Sailor said:

 

Finally found the USS PIVOT (MSO-463) and a bunch of others I'll be posting soon

Market Time Agressive class minesweeper in service 1954 to 1971

 

1082029381_MSO463USSPIVOT001.jpg.5222a63ad47d4a4b51028095af742482.jpg

 

 

MSO 463 USS PIVOT 002.jpg

Here is another version of the Pivot, enjoy

uss pivot mso 469 .jpg

uss medowlark msc 196 reverse.jpg

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Salvage Sailor
On 12/3/2016 at 10:13 AM, Salvage Sailor said:

Another USS PLEDGE (MSO-492), This one is the cut edge MINDIV 73 version

 

MSO 492 USS PLEDGE MINDIV 73 001.jpg

 

MSO 492 USS PLEDGE MINDIV 73 002.jpg

 

...and her other items already posted

 

USS PLEDGE (MSO-492) Aggressive class in commission 1956-1994
The 2nd Pledge, her namesake (AM-277) was mined and sunk at Wonsan during the Korean War

 

MSO 492 USS PLEDGE 001.jpg

 

MSO 492 USS PLEDGE 002.jpg

 

 

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USS PLEDGE (MSO-492)

Aggressive Class in service 1956 to 1994

MARKET TIME

137113511_MSO492USSPLEDGEBattleshipofMINEPAC001.jpg.e072bf831c9a65f4629f9b076bf3b94b.jpg

THE BATTLESHIP OF MINEPAC

USS_Pledge_(MSO-492)_underway_off_Vietnam_in_October_1967.jpg.7efabfb7f99144138d80e5ea63e5110b.jpg

VIETNAM 1967

189507263_MSO492USSPLEDGEBattleshipofMINEPAC002.jpg.36e8c8f8aa13af0485328045a2a1ef40.jpg

 

USS_Pledge_(MSO-492)_underway_at_sea_(L45-230_04.01).jpg.d1d5d023e7313fa521ddf83f4d386bf5.jpg

 

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Salvage Sailor
On 12/15/2013 at 10:54 AM, Bearmon said:

 

USS Peregrine EMSF 373 (Experimental Fleet Mine Sweeper)

 

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USS PEREGRINE (EMSF 373) Experimental Fleet Mine Sweeper

aka Peregrine (AG 176)
ex-EMSF-373
ex-MSF-373
ex-AM-373

Auk class minesweeper in service 1945 to 1969

 

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MINRON 4

923892283_MSF373USSPEREGRINE002.JPG.972b28741ae31523479d9f6cc0f78bf1.JPG

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Salvage Sailor

USS CAPE (MSI-2)

Inshore Minesweeper

MSI2USSCAPE001.JPG.08e6947fef55dfaa06ff47c5ce2850d2.JPG

 

 

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Cape (MSI-2) was launched by Bellingham Shipyard of Bellingham, Wash., on 5 April 1958. She was placed in service on 27 February 1959.  Attached to Mine Squadron Seven (MINRON 7) in California.

 

MSI2USSCAPE002.JPG.9107b0cd257a031323b1ec4b7895e5ef.JPG

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Salvage Sailor

USS Lorikeet (AMS-49/YMS-271/MSCO-49)

YMS-1 class minesweeper of the YMS-135 subclass in service 1942 to 1968, WWII Operation Iceberg (Okinawa) Veteran

MSCO49USSLORIKEET001.JPG.8e8d6bb967cc36e657857c457ac8b728.JPG

 

Reclassified MSC(O) 49 on 7 February 1955, she participated in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet’s largest postwar mine warfare exercises to date, Operation LANTMINEX in the spring of 1955. In late 1956 she shifted her home port to Panama City, Florida.

 

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She departed Panama City for Charleston arriving in late August 1957. She then sailed for New York 3 September where she decommissioned 18 September. Placed in service 30 October 1959, she once again became a Naval Reserve training ship, this time for the 3d Naval District. In January 1961 she provided the basis of training for two reserve crews attached to the Naval Reserve Training Center (NRTC) Jersey City, New Jersey.

From 1 July 1964 to 3 September 1968, Lorikeet served as flagship for Commander. Naval Reserve Mine Division 31 and was based at Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Lorikeet was relieved as flagship and Naval Reserve training ship on 3 September by USS Limpkin (MSC-195).

 

MSCO49USSLORIKEET002.JPG.d45f9065f959dde5274241c91fbb55e1.JPG

 

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Here is some sort of related patch that I could not find much about on the Internet.  All I could find was mention that the Mine Warfare Inspection Group (MINSGRU) moved from Charleston to NAS Corpus Christi in 1993 but has since been disestablished.   

 

 

Mine Warfare Inspection Grp (1).jpg

Mine Warfare Inspection Grp (2).jpg

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Salvage Sailor

You were searching for the incorrect USN acronym, it's (MWIG) vs. (MINSGRU)  Nice patch btw

 

MINEFORCEATLANTICFLEET002.JPG.f838695d73fea94097772b5d763d9f0e.JPGMINEFORCEPACIFICFLEET001.jpg.97890a5b0d073c8079d3697e6cbe07d6.jpg

 

The Major Mine Warfare Commands

Commander, Mine Warfare Command is the principal mine warfare adviser to the chief of naval operations; the commanders-in-chief of the Atlantic and Pacific fleets; commander-in-chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe; and Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic, for mine war- fare. To keep abreast of the latest developments, Mine Warfare Command has two subordinate commands; Mobile Mine Assembly Group (MOMAG) to maintain stockpiles of offensive and practice mines; and Mine Warfare Inspection Group (MWIG) to monitor fleet readiness and recommend innovations in mine warfare.

 

MOMAG001.jpg.05acd4e5e5f9cebc92f39a6120af77ee.jpg

 

Mobile Mine Assembly Group (MOMAG) is the headquarters and administrative commander for 11 units and detachments around the world. Mobile Mine Assembly Group units and detachments assemble and 28 maintain service mines.

 

Mine Warfare Inspection Group (MWIG) conducts, or helps conduct, mine warfare readiness certification inspections on ships, aircraft, submarines, special warfare units, mine sites and other facilities that have mine warfare missions. The group is staffed with people from surface, submarine, aviation, special warfare and mine communities.

 

Mine Group Two exercises administrative and operational control over surface and mine countermeasures assets on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and Mine Group One in Seattle does this on the West Coast. Mine Group Two has three active duty and nine naval reserve force oceangoing minesweepers and several minesweeping boats. It provides trained mine countermeasures units; trains reservists assigned to naval reserve force mine- sweepers; and supports fleet and mine warfare exercises for training or peacetime fleet operations.

 

Mine Division 125 is a subordinate command of Mine Group Two.  It conducts minesweeping in shallow waters using the Navy's last seven minesweeping boats. Mine Group One has nine naval reserve force oceangoing mine- sweepers and conducts the same function as Mine Group Two.

 

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Fleet and Mine Warfare Training Center, also located in Charleston and a subordinate command of Training Command, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, is the Navy’s only “A” and “C” school for mine war- fare, mine laying and mine countermeasures. The center offers mine warfare for giving and taking orders, passing information and knowledge, and maintaining and preparing equipment are important in minesweeping exercises. miliarization, specialization and technical courses to disseminate mine warfare knowledge throughout the fleet.

 

MineWarfareTrainingCenter001.JPG.24bb77be5cd0c9c66bc72f64dbe786ec.JPG

 

Minesweeper Commanding Officers The Navy will receive new mine countermeasures ships and minesweeper hunters to replace the 21 oceangoing minesweepers built during the 1950s. These old wooden-hulled ships have small, tightly knit crews that give new meaning to the phrases “team spirit” and “group effort.” The ships and their crews — “iron men in wooden ships” — give skippers like Commander Donald Owen, former commanding officer of USS Leader (MSO 490) and presently chief staff officer of Mine Group Two; and Commander Mark Rogers, commanding officer of USS Fearless (MSO 442), something to boast about.

 

Rogers spent about nine years in the Navy before learning what minesweepers did for a living. “I now understand mine- sweepers, so when we start having fleet exercises, I might raise my hand and say, ‘Let’s start it out with five mines in the harbor,' and watch everybody hit the deck. People still think mines are old-fashioned, that they are not used anymore. That’s wrong ” Owen said other ships don’t have the same camaraderie and morale as a minesweeper. “The sailors are one-of-a-kind, and if they don’t do their job, no one takes up the slack for them. They’re conscientious and they know there’s no room for slacking off.” “Everybody talks about the team concept,’’ said Rogers. “Go to a 300-person destroyer or a 500-person cruiser and that’s a team. But imagine a 52 or a 55 person team where everybody does his job and everybody stands watches and you’re all in it together. That's the team concept. On a minesweeper you can feel it.” There’s another thing you can feel on a minesweeper — the swells. “It’s the element of survival,” said Owen. “When you get out there in some of those heavy seas, you feel as if it’s really man against nature.”

 

MSO442USSFEARLESS001.jpg.55f6d9bc4518e2272ffb3e546d7d2977.jpg

 

Owen loves the wooden ships. “It’s tremendous in that you rearrange things a lot easier. You can beautify and take pride in the wood.” Rogers agrees. “The more wood the better. We have wooden decks. We wood panel the spaces. We removed the tile and the carpet and replaced it with wood. And there’s brass too. I’ve got so much brass that some has been painted over. If I had to polish all the brass on the ship. I’d need sailors just to shine it.”

 

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Now that these old ships are to be decommissioned, the officers are sorry to see them go. “That was one of the things that was so sad,” said Owen. “There were so many beautiful objects aboard — craftsmanship items from 30 years ago that are now gone.” “That’s right,” said Rogers. "I hate to see the oceangoing minesweepers go. but they’re 30 years old and we need the new mine countermeasures ships and the minesweeper hunters. The thing I like is the minesweeper hunters are going to be commanded by lieutenants. Young officers need opportunities to command early. If someone had taken me to sea on a small ship for an afternoon, I'd have given anything to get assigned to one. “People sometimes avoid orders to oceangoing minesweepers. They say. 'Those are 30-year old wooden ships that are in the reserves.’ But that's not the whole picture. An ensign fresh from college who becomes the chief engineer gets a lot of responsibility for a young person. Anything he does after that is going to be pretty easy.” “If I had known about oceangoing minesweepers when I was a junior officer,” said Owen, “I would have requested one because you get more responsibility and you learn more. For an initial sea tour, it’s marvelous. When you finish one tour on an oceangoing minesweeper, you really have a good seagoing, surface warfare background. With the Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship coming out I still recommend it.”

 

MCM001.jpg.9be60825ad3647db4e3fe5407a3e0917.jpg

 

The officers say the minesweepers have camaraderie, high morale and give crew members lots of responsibility. Are their sailors equally enthusiastic? “Retention on these ships is extremely good,” said Owen. "Eve had guys who shipped over just to remain aboard. One sailor used his GUARD 111 to stay on the ship.” Rogers agreed and added. “We need officers and enlisted people — active duty and reservists — to realize that minesweepers can be fun and great places to serve."

 

History of Naval Mines No review of contemporary mine warfare would be complete without a look at the history of mines. Today, mines are so sophisticated they can be pre-set to detonate when the first ship passes or after a certain number of ships of the proper size pass. Mines can detect ships by their magnetic signature or the sound they make. Some mines can propel themselves for miles underwater to stop in enemy ports, and others can release a torpedo to attack a ship or submarine.

 

Formidable modern mines are the descendants of humble ancestors. David Bushnell, inventor of America’s first submarine, was also the inventor of the first naval mine. Produced in 1776, the mine was a simple watertight wooden keg filled with gunpowder and hung from a float. In 1777, General George Washington authorized a number of these mines, then called torpedoes, set adrift in hopes of damaging a British fleet. Although the attempt failed, the naval mine later gained a reputation as one of the least expensive yet most effective offensive and defensive naval weapons. The use of mines in naval warfare was initially considered unethical, and for many years the sea mine was thought of as a “devilish device” used only by unchivalrous nations.

 

After Bushnell’s first mines, Robert Fulton (of steamboat fame) designed several sea mines between 1797 and 1812 which he tried unsuccessfully to sell to France, Great Britain and the United States. Although many of his mines worked well, he never received much sup- port. Mines were used with little or no consequence in several wars in Europe and Asia up to the 1850s. Not until the Civil War were mines used effectively on a large scale. The Confederate Navy was inferior to the Union Navy, but the South sank 27 ships with mines while artillery fire sank only nine. During World War I, the naval mine emerged as the Allies’ primary weapon against German submarines. American and British forces planted more than 72,000 mines from the northern tip of Scotland to the southern tip of Norway, forming a deadly net to keep German U-boats from preying on allied ships. In the years after World War I, the mine was nearly forgotten.

 

The use of mines revived with the start of World War II. By the end of the war, the Navy was using contact mines and the more effective magnetic, acoustic and pressure mines. Classic use of mines occurred in World War II during Operation Starvation. To cripple enemy shipping, the Navy planted more than 12,000 mines in Japanese shipping lanes and harbor approaches. They were so effective that 266 Japanese ships were sunk and all maritime activity was disrupted.

 

MINENEUTRALIZATIONSYSTEMMARK77001.jpg.373c3a1af958fc38be7f7ca5950c48a9.jpg

 

A new family of mines — “Destructors”— was used in 1967 during the Vietnam conflict. The destructors were simply general-purpose bombs with highly sophisticated electronic detonators. Today’s mines are effective against many different types of ships. Mines are becoming increasingly complex, but have features that make assembly, testing and storage easier and safer. □ —Story by JO I Dale Hewey Photos by PH2 Perry Thorsvik ALLHANDS

 

MSO446USSFORTIFY001.jpg.2caa4086faaa06fcf37f81570ff0ca76.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

USS GUARDIAN (MCM-5)

Avenger class in service 1989 to 2013

Desert Storm

MCM5USSGUARDIAN001.JPG.b716dc484b600096d32009e7c81136d6.JPG

 

She started her short career with a bang.  On May 1, 1991 USS Guardian departed Naval Station Newport for its maiden deployment in support of Operation Desert Storm, assigned to duty in the Persian Gulf providing mine countermeasures and sweeping for the multinational fleet

 

Unfortunately she also ended her short career with a bang, ending up on a reef in the Philippines in 2013

 

MCM5USSGUARDIAN002.JPG.113ee7400f56caee255b984dd2075f21.JPG

 

January 5, 2013 USS Guardian departed CFAS for a western Pacific patrol.

 

January 8, The Guardian moored at White Beach Naval Facility in Okinawa, Japan, for a routine port call.

 

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8 January 2013 Guardian arrives at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa for a port visit and supply replenishment during its 2013 patrol in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility  U.S. Navy photo 130108-N-VD190-012 by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Steve Whitel

 

January 13, The mine countermeasures ship pulled into Subic Bay, Philippines, for a brief stop to refuel and take on supplies.

 

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17 January 2013
Aground on Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea 80 miles east-southeast of Palawan Island in the western portion of the Philippine archipelago

 

January 17, USS Guardian ran aground on Tubbataha National Marine Park Reef after 4 a.m. local time and stuck, approximately 80 miles east-southeast of Palawan Island. No one was injured. The site is protected by Philippine law, and is off-limits to navigation except for research or tourism approved by Tubbataha Management Office. MCM 5 did not have a permit to enter the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, and Guardian’s officers ignored Marine Park rangers when told that they were entering a protected area. When the rangers warned the ship’s officers that they would be boarding it, the ship’s crew took battle positions with their weapons, forcing the rangers to back off.

 

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Heavy waves crash against the grounded mine countermeasure ship Guardian, which ran aground on the Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea on 17 January 2013 U.S. Navy photo

 

January 18, As a precautionary measure, all 79 crew members were temporarily transferred to a support vessels USNS Bowditch (T-AGS 62) and MSV C-Champion.

 

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22 January 2013
U.S. Navy salvage assessment team members board the mine countermeasures ship Guardian
U.S. Navy photo 130123-N-ZZ999-027 by Naval Aircrewman (Tactical Helicopter) 3rd Class Geoffrey Trudell

 

January 25, U.S. Navy-led salvage team safely transferred the 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel from the tanks of USS Guardian to the contracted Malaysian tug Vos Apollo, in two days, to prevent potential environmental damage. Two heavy lift ship-borne cranes have already been contracted to support the salvage operations and are due to arrive at the scene around Feb. 1.

 

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25 January 2013
Malaysian tug Vos Apollo prepares for defueling operations near the grounded Guardian while a U.S. Navy small boat approaches with a salvage team. The U.S. Navy contracted Vos Apollo to assist with removing fuel from the mine countermeasures ship, which ran aground on the Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea on January 17. No fuel has leaked since the grounding and all of the approximately 15,000 gallons onboard Guardian was safely transferred to Vos Apollo during two days of controlled defueling operations on January 24 and January 25. The U.S. Navy continues to work in close cooperation with the Philippine Coast Guard and Navy to safely remove Guardian from the reef while minimizing environmental effects
U.S. Navy photo 130124-N-ZZ999-001 by Naval Aircrewman 3rd Class Geoffrey Trudell

 

January 30, U.S. Navy decided recently that the only viable option to free the Guardian is to cut it up and remove it in sections, an operation that will take at least one month depending on weather and environmental protection, because the damage to its wooden hull is too extensive for any atempt to lift the ship onto the barge.

 

FANTASTIC Set of Photographs of the deconstruction of the GUARDIAN by the US Navy

 

February 15, USS Guardian was officially decommissioned and stricken from the U.S. Naval Vessel Register.

 

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12 March 2013
The U.S. Navy contracted vessels Jascon 25 and the tugboat Archon Tide are positioned next to the ex-Guardian during salvage operations
U.S. Navy photo 130312-N-VF350-059 by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Anderson Bomjardim

 

 

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Salvage Sailor

MINE DIVISION EIGHTY FIVE (MINDIV 85)

Charleston, South Carolina

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USS ABILITY (MSO-519) FLAGSHIP

USS NOTABLE (MSO-460)

USS SALUTE (MSO-470)

USS RIVAL (MSO-468)

MINDIV 85 002.JPG

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Salvage Sailor

USS ENDURANCE (MSO-435)

Aggressive class in service 1954 to 1972

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Painting by Richard DeRosset titled "Sea Battle off the Cua Co Chien River Mouth," used in the book "Wooden Ships and Iron Men: The U.S. Navy's Ocean Minesweepers, 1953-1994" by David Bruhn, depicting the ocean minesweeper Endurance engaging a North Vietnamese gunrunner in a historic wooden ship versus steel ship confrontation

 

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Japanese made

 

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Salvage Sailor

USS PLUCK (MSO-464)

Aggressive class in service 1954 to 1990

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Mine Squadron Nine (MINRON 9), Mine Division Ninety Two (MINDIV 92) Sasebo, Japan

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