Controversial hands in pockets ban for sailors lifted by US Navy – Julian Perreira 15th February 2024 at 11:54am
Sailors in the United States Navy are now allowed to place their hands in their pockets after the service implemented sweeping changes to its uniform policy.
The policy update, which was sent out to all US Navy personnel, rescinds the decades-old restrictions barring sailors from putting their hands in their pockets, which the Navy previously claimed was “inappropriate and detracts from a professional military appearance”.
Sailors are now “authorised to have hands in their pockets when doing so does not compromise safety nor prohibit the proper rendering of honours and courtesies”, the latest guidance said.
While the US Navy has relaxed its rules, current US Army policy still states that “while in uniform, personnel will not place their hands in their pockets, except momentarily to place or retrieve objects.”
No such regulation exists for UK military personnel. However, having hands in pockets is widely considered a sign of poor discipline and it has been known for ‘repeat offenders’ to have to sew up their pockets as a punishment.
Since the policy update was released, female sailors are now able to wear t-shirts designed for women, if the garment conforms with the navy’s current colour, fabric, and neck configuration standards.
“The intent of this policy update is to address expressed dissatisfaction regarding the required wear of male or unisex t-shirts that are not designed to fit female bodies,” the latest regulation said.
Sailors may also wear false eyelashes or eyelash extensions in uniform – provided they are no more than “14 millimetres in length as measured from the eyelid to the tip of the eyelash.”
The false eyelash colour must match the colour of the natural eyelash, however, and “eyelash extensions cannot hinder wear of protective eyewear”.
Elsewhere, the Royal Air Force has scrapped its strict no-hand tattoo policy for all serving personnel and potential recruits.
The removal of the RAF’s previous zero-tolerance stance on hand tattoos brings the service in line with British Army and Royal Navy guidance.
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Tricky E-7 adaptations complicate U.S. Air Force, Boeing negotiations – By Stephen Losey
A Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft is prepared for a sortie during Red Flag-Alaska 19-3 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Aug. 9, 2019. (2nd Lt. Mark Goss/Air Force)
DENVER, Colo. — The Air Force’s desired adaptations to Boeing’s E-7A battlefield management aircraft are proving to be harder than expected and complicating price negotiations, top service officials said Tuesday.
“We’re having a hard time with [the E-7 program], getting price agreement with Boeing,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told reporters in a roundtable at the Air and Space Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium here. “We’re still in negotiations with them, and that’s not been finalized yet.”
The Air Force plans to buy 26 E-7s from Boeing by 2032 to replace its aging E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft fleet. The service awarded Boeing a $1.2 billion contract in February 2023 to start working on the aircraft.
The service plans to first buy two rapid prototype E-7s, with the first expected to be fielded in 2027, and in 2025 make a production decision on the rest of the fleet.
Australia already flies the E-7, which it refers to as the Wedgetail, and Boeing is also making the aircraft for other nations such as the United Kingdom. The Air Force’s version of the E-7 will have a modified design to meet U.S. satellite communication, military GPS and cybersecurity and program protection requirements.
“We’re partnering with the US Air Force to deliver this critical capability and are working diligently to reach an agreement,” Boeing said in a statement to Defense News.
Andrew Hunter, the Air Force’s assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said in another roundtable the sticky negotiations center on the E-7′s first two rapid prototype aircraft.
The level of engineering work needed to adapt the E-7 to the Air Force’s specifications was “above and beyond what we anticipated,” Hunter said.
“The big surprise there was an unexpected amount and degree of non-recurring engineering required to meet the requirement that the Air Force specified, which we thought was very close to what the U.K. is currently procuring from Boeing,” Hunter said. “Those discussions have been challenging.”
Hunter said the Air Force is trying to better understand Boeing’s proposal and determine what elements are essential, and what are unnecessary or could be deferred. The service has narrowed those nagging issues down to a smaller list, Hunter said, but he declined to detail them.
Hunter said he would prefer the process to be going faster. But he acknowledged it’s not surprising that Boeing is being particularly cautious as it negotiates on this program, and that the Air Force and Boeing are working through these challenges together.
“They’ve gotten into some contracts in the past that it’s apparent that as they were bidding those, there was key information they were lacking,” Hunter said. “At some level, it’s not that surprising that they’re trying hard to do their homework and not bid things and not understand the full scope of the work they can be expected to perform when they prepare their proposal.”
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
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Photos show damage that happened to USS Shaw (DD-373). She was a Mahan-class destroyer and the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Captain John Shaw, a naval officer.
Shaw sustained major damage from several bomb hits by Japanese forces during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Shaw (DD-373) wrecked in floating drydock YFD-2 on 7 December 1941, with fires were nearly out but structure still smoking. Her bow had been blown off by the explosion of her forward magazines, after she was set afire by Japanese dive bombing attacks. In the right distance are the damaged and listing USS California (BB-44) and a dredge.
A navy photographer snapped this photograph of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, just as the USS Shaw exploded. The stern of the USS Nevada can be seen in the foreground. (80-G-16871)
USS Shaw (DD-373) after bow replacement
Mid-February 1942, just after she arrived to receive a new bow and other repairs of damage from the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Note her temporary bow, installed just forward of the foremast. Submarine on the building ways in the left distance is probably Whale (SS-239).
Commissioned in 1936, Shaw was plagued by construction deficiencies and was not fully operational until 1938. After training in the Atlantic, she was transferred to the Pacific and was berthed in a dry dock in Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.
Shaw sustained major damage from several bomb hits by Japanese forces during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The spectacular explosion of her forward magazine provided one of the most iconic photographs of the attack. She was repaired within a few months of the attack, and served in the Pacific through the rest of World War II, earning 11 battle stars.
Shaw was decommissioned in October 1945 and sold for scrap in July 1946.
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New Scottish-named mine-hunting mothership arrives at HMNB Clyde Alex Candlin 12th February 2024 at 1:38pm
The RFA’s first Scottish-named mine-hunting ‘mother ship’ RFA Stirling Castle, which can launch autonomous drones to seek out threats in the water, has arrived at her new home in Clyde.
The former oil rig support ship will be captained by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s Richard Reville who has spoken with pride about his new vessel.
“Being on the first Scottish-named ship is an absolute pleasure. I’m very proud to be the commanding officer of such a wonderful platform with the capability that it has,” he said.
He said: “I have a soft spot obviously because, for myself, I’m not very far from Stirling Castle.
“There’s been equipment fits on board that had to be done in order for the vessel to move into its military service.
“So, it’s been a long process, it’s been challenging but it’s been rewarding. It’s been very different for us.”
Mr Reville recently rejoined the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) after a career that included captaining super yachts.
The new minehunter RFA Stirling Castle, which was purchased by the Ministry of Defence in 2023, will replace the aging fleet of Sandown-class mine-hunting ships and is now part of the Royal Navy’s “paradigm shift”.
The shift will change how the Royal Navy deals with the threat of sea mines around the world and the vessel could be ready for operations later this year.
Currently, her crew is going through an intense period of trials to prepare the 6,000-tonne ship for “initial operational capability”. Overall, the crew will number 54, but only 27 will be deployed at any one time.
Mr Reville said the crewing arrangements gave a good “work and home life balance” and would help with recruitment.
It is hoped the ship will be ready this year and a dedication ceremony could take place as early as April.
Lieutenant Chris Stone, of the MTXG’s Zulu Squadron, said: “It’s a paradigm shift for the Royal Navy, from the legacy (mine counter-measure vessels) that Scottish people will definitely have seen about on the Clyde.
“We’re bringing in a brand new remote and autonomous capability.
“You only have to threaten to lay a mine in an area and that raises insurance premiums for shipping.
“We need a credible capability to deal with that in the future and that’s what we’re working towards now.”
As a former commercial ship, the comfort of the accommodation on RFA Stirling Castle is higher than on Royal Navy warships. Previously a Norwegian vessel, it has an onboard sauna and two gyms.
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British divers recover historic bell from wreck of first US Navy destroyer sunk by enemy 13th February 2024 at 3:55pm
A team of British defence divers have recovered an iconic symbol of one of the most notable US Navy shipwrecks – the bell of USS Jacob Jones – the first destroyer in US history to be lost to enemy action.
Defence Equipment & Support’s Salvage and Marine Operations (SALMO) team retrieved the bell from the depths of the ocean 40 miles south of the Scilly Isles, 107 years after the shipwreck which cost the lives of 64 men.
This operation highlights the longstanding and enduring naval ties between the UK and US and provided an excellent training opportunity for the expert SALMO team.
What happened to the USS Jacob Jones?
In the final 18 months of the First World War, the US Navy maintained a substantial presence in UK waters and the Western Approaches to help cope with the U-boat menace and keep the maritime lifeline open across the Atlantic.
USS Jacob Jones was one of half a dozen destroyers escorting a troop and supply convoy from southern Ireland to Brittany in December 1917.
Rear Admiral (Retired) Sam J Cox, Director of the US Navy’s Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC), said: “The ship played an important role safeguarding convoys carrying the troops and supplies from the US to the United Kingdom and France that were critical to Allied victory.”
When USS Jacob Jones was undertaking this tasking, she was torpedoed by German U-boat commander and ace Hans Rose in U-53.
The warship went down in just eight minutes, enough time for about one-third of the crew to escape on life rafts or jump into the Atlantic to save themselves.
Although U-boat crews were vilified by Allied propaganda at the time, Hans Rose not only rescued a couple of American sailors when his boat surfaced after the attack, but he also radioed the US base at Queenstown, Ireland, (now called Cobh) to inform them there were men in the water in need of rescuing.
The wreck was discovered resting on the seabed more than 375ft deep by the Darkstar technical dive team in August 2022.
Despite the remoteness and depth of the destroyer, US authorities were concerned trophy hunters might try to recover USS Jacob Jones’ bell – an important icon of any warship.
Last December, the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) asked the British Government for two favours – to preserve the sanctity of the wreck and recover the bell.
The NHHC are guardians of nearly 3,000 shipwrecks and more than 17,000 aircraft lost at sea.
RAdm (Retired) Cox said the remains of USS Jacob Jones were “a hallowed war grave” and that it is US Navy policy to “leave such wrecks undisturbed”.
He added: “However, due to risk of unauthorised and illegal salvaging of the ship’s bell, the Navy History and Heritage Command requested Ministry of Defence assistance.”
The bell was found camouflaged by growth on the seabed near the wreck in an upright position.
The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) – being used at sea for the first time – was manoeuvred to allow its manipulator to carefully collect the bell and place it into the ROV basket, to allow recovery to the surface.
The SALMO team also placed a wreath and the Stars and Stripes flag on the wreck in tribute to the 64 men who didn’t manage to escape the sinking destroyer 107 years ago.
RAdm (Retired) Cox added: “This most recent chapter in the story of Jacob Jones is one of collaboration and mutual respect for the site.
“The US Navy is grateful to the Salvage and Marine Operations Team for recovering the bell, which will serve as a memorial to sailors who made the ultimate sacrifice in the defence of both the United States and the United Kingdom.”
SALMO head Andy Liddell said: “I am proud of what the team have achieved.
“To assist our Allies in the recovery of the bell from such a historic wreck on the first deployment of the new ROV is a massive achievement.”
After a ceremonial handover to the US authorities, the bell will eventually be given to the expert conservators of the NHHC Underwater Archaeology Branch in Washington DC before going on display as a permanent reminder of the sacrifices by the men who died.
SALMO’s role includes responding to any Royal Navy incidents at sea involving ships, submarines and aircraft and providing underwater engineering support to maintain Royal Navy vessels.
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Nato achieves historic milestone with first all-female crew completing mission sortie 13th February 2024 at 4:33pm
In a historic first for Nato’s Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), an all-female aircrew completed a mission sortie, marking a significant milestone in its operational history.
Conducted as part of Nato’s enhanced Vigilance Activities (eVA), the mission involved 22 servicewomen from eight Nato allies – Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and the US.
The mission, consisting of an all-female command and control crew took place on Friday.
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Based in Geilenkirchen, Germany, AWACS supports Nato’s Assurance Measures, initiated in 2014 after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, demonstrating Natos’s readiness and deterrence against aggression.
Nato emphasises the crucial role women play in fortifying its strength, drawing upon the diverse skills and talents of its population.
The percentage of women in Nato’s armed forces has doubled since 1998, reflecting a commitment to inclusivity and recognising the invaluable contributions of women in defence.
The AWACS jets are known by the alliance as Nato’s ‘eyes in the sky’ and have distinctive radar domes mounted on their fuselage for air surveillance.
Nato’s air base in Geilenkirchen is home to a fleet of 14 Boeing E-3A AWACS aircraft.
AWACS surveillance aircraft contribute to counter-terrorism efforts, including Operation Sea Guardian in the Mediterranean, showcasing Nato’s commitment to tackling security threats.
AWACS has also been integral to previous Nato operations, including missions in the United States following 9/11, in Libya, and in Afghanistan.
The aircraft also offer air surveillance assistance to safeguard the skies during Nato summits and other significant international gatherings held within the alliance.
AWACS conducts a wide range of missions from peacetime air policing, support to counter-terrorism, evacuation operations, embargo, initial entry and crisis response to the full spectrum of wartime missions.
Under normal circumstances, the aircraft operates for about eight-and-a-half hours, at 30,000ft (9,150m) and covers a surveillance area of more than 120,000 square miles (310,798 square km). The aircraft is capable of flying longer operations due to its air-to-air refuelling capability.
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Next generation of British frigates could be crewed by as few as 50 sailors 13th February 2024 at 6:00pm
Defence contractor Babcock says the next generation of British frigates could be crewed by as few as 50 sailors.
John Howie, the company’s corporate affairs chief, said recent technological advances mean fewer crew members are needed.
Speaking to The Telegraph, he said while the Type 31 frigates currently being built for the Royal Navy require a core crew of about 105 sailors, the company believes the next generation vessels – widely known as the Type 32 – should only require half that number.
Mr Howie told the newspaper: “People talk about a Type 32 frigate – we like to refer to it as Type 31 batch two. We’re doing a crew of about 105 on Type 31, so realistically we should be aiming to half that number for batch two.”
The corporate affairs chief added that even bigger crew reductions could be possible, taking numbers below 50, although decisions about maintaining safe crew levels would need to be made.
Plans for the Type 32 were announced four years ago but a report last year by the National Audit Office, entitled The Equipment Plan 2023 to 2033, found a deficit of £16.9bn – the largest since 2012 – which it described as a budget “black hole”.
The report said some costs for new projects had been included in the plan – but were not fully funded. This included the Type 32 frigates and other projects, which were seen as unaffordable by £5.9bn against currently allocated budgets.
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Seven Navy ships enter Auckland Harbour 2010
A fleet of seven ships enters Auckland Harbour. New Zealand Navy Ships, HMNZS CANTERBURY, ENDEAVOUR, TE KAHA, HAWEA and TAUPO were joined in the harbour by Royal Australian Navy Ships, ARUNTA and ANZAC who are visiting Auckland and Nelson.
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USS Half Moon (AVP-26) was a seaplane tender that in commission in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946 that saw service in the latter half of World War II.
After the war, she was in commission in the United States Coast Guard as the cutter USCGC Half Moon (WAVP-378), later WHEC-378, from 1948 to 1969, seeing service in the Vietnam War during her Coast Guard career.
Construction and commissioning[edit]
Half Moon was laid down as a small seaplane tender (AVP-26) on 10 March 1942 by Lake Washington Shipyards, Houghton, Washington, and was launched as such on 12 July 1942, sponsored by Mrs. T. A. Gray. In March 1943 she was selected for conversion into a motor torpedo boat tender and redesignated AGP-6, but she was so close to completion as a seaplane tender that it soon was decided to convert the seaplane tender USS Oyster Bay (AVP-28) into a motor torpedo boat tender instead; Oyster Bay was designated AGP-6 and became USS Oyster Bay (AGP-6). Half Moon, meanwhile, was again classified as a seaplane tender, again designated AVP-26 on 1 May 1943, and commissioned as such on 15 June 1943.
[edit]
World War II[edit]
Half Moon spent her first months in shakedown training off California, and was then assigned to the United States Pacific Fleet. Departing San Diego, California, on 25 August 1943, she embarked a United States Marine Corps air group at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and steamed into Vila Harbor, New Hebrides, on 14 September 1943. She then sailed to Brisbane, Australia.
The New Guinea campaign[edit]
From Brisbane, Half Moon moved to Namoai Bay, on Sariba Island, New Guinea, arriving on 6 October 1943. At Namoai Bay Half Moon began her tending duties. Her embarked squadron, flying PBY Catalina flying boats, conducted night antishipping strikes in the New Guinea area. With the support of seaplane tenders like Half Moon these missions, called ‘”Black Cat” strikes, achieved important results in the destruction of Japanese transports.
Half Moon departed for Brisbane on 21 December 1943, remained there until 10 February 1944, and then steamed into a succession of New Guinea ports on the way to her new operating base, Finschafen, New Guinea. There she resumed her support of seaplane operations in the New Guinea theater.
After tending seaplanes on air-sea rescue missions from Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, in May 1944, Half Moon spent several months substituting for transports in the Pacific area, stopping at Brisbane, Manus Island, Milne Bay, and other ports. She took up “Black Cat” operations again on 25 August 1944 from Middelburg and later Morotai.
The Philippines campaign[edit]
Steaming out of Morotai on 6 October 1944, Half Moon joined a small convoy en route to Leyte Gulf to assist in the developing operations for the recapture of the Philippine Islands. The convoy arrived at Leyte Gulf on 21 October 1944, and Half Moon immediately steamed down the eastern coast of Leyte in search of a proper anchorage for her seaplane operations.
Anchoring in Hinamangan Bay, Half Moon came under air attack on 23 October 1944, and soon realized that her anchorage was a rendezvous point for Japanese planes attacking Leyte. Late on 24 October 1944 the radar aboard Half Moon began to pick up two large surface units converging and it was soon clear that she was to be a witness to the last engagement between battlelines of surface ships, the Battle of Surigao Strait, one of several actions making up the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf of 23 October 1944 – 26 October 1944. Half Moon cautiously slipped out from behind Oabugan Grande Island and was given permission to proceed up the coast of Leyte between, but well to the west of, the two fleets. She watched the spectacle of Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf‘s battleships, cruisers, and destroyers pounding the Japanese ships, and after the battle returned to Hinamangan Bay. Another fierce air attack, however, soon convinced the commanding officer of Half Moon that San Pedro Bay, further north, offered a more hospitable base for operation.
Half Moon weathered two severe storms, on 29 October 1944 and 8 November 1944, and operated with her seaplanes in Leyte Gulf until 27 December 1944. She was then designated as part of the support convoy for the Mindoro landing, and departed for Mangarin Bay on 27 December 1944. The convoy, known as “Uncle plus 15”, encountered some of the most prolonged and determined air attacks of World War II as the Japanese strove mightily to prevent American reinforcements from reaching Mindoro. Air cover provided by land-based aircraft stopped only some of the Japanese attackers. Suicide planes (kamikazes), bombs, and strafing hit many ships. The Liberty Ship SS John Burke, loaded with ammunition, exploded, leaving virtually no trace after a kamikaze hit, the tanker USS Porcupine (IX-126) and the motor torpedo boat tender USS Orestes (AGP-10) were severely damaged, and other ships also suffered hits.
Nevertheless, the convoy drove through, giving the Japanese planes a hot time with concentrated antiaircraft fire. During the convoy’s three-day voyage, gunners on Half Moon and the other ships were at their stations around the clock, Half Moon accounting for at least two and possibly four of the attacking aircraft.
The convoy arrived at Mindoro on 30 December 1944. Air attacks continued. On 4 January 1945 during one of these a large bomb skipped over Half Moon’s fantail, falling to explode. Half Moon remained in Mangarin Bay tending seaplanes until returning to Leyte Gulf on 17 February 1945.
Following the victorious Philippine invasion, Half Moon moved to Manus and Humboldt Bay. While in dry dock at Manus a sole Japanese aircraft launched a torpedo at Half Moon, striking the dry dock and destroying its mess hall. There was no damage to Half Moon and only one injury, a crew member who fell off the top of the dock while fishing. The following day Tokyo Rose reported that Half Moon had been sunk.
On 30 May 1945, Half Moon got underway for the Philippines again, arriving at Tawi Tawi in the Sulu Archipelago on 11 June 1945. She supported seaplane antisubmarine searches from Tawi Tawi Bay until early August 1945, and then carried out the same mission from Mangarin Bay on Mindoro.
Honors and awards[edit]
Half Moon received two battle stars for her World War II service.
Post-World War II[edit]
Following Japan’s surrender on 15 August 1945, Half Moon proceeded to Subic Bay on Luzon in the Philippines, and from there got underway for Okinawa on 30 August 1945. On the afternoon of 31 August 1945 signs of a storm were evident and by 1 September 1945 Half Moon was engulfed in a raging typhoon, with winds up to 120 knots (220 km/h) (222 kilometers per hour) and barometer readings of 27.32 inches (925 millibars). Smart seamanship allowed her to weather the storm, and she arrived safely at Okinawa on 4 September 1945.
Half Moon departed Okinawa for Manila on 1 October 1945, operated in that area for about a month, and departed Manila on 7 November 1945 for deactivation. She arrived at Seattle, Washington, on 1 December 1945, steamed to San Diego on 12 April 1946, decommissioned there on 4 September 1946, and was placed in reserve.
United States Coast Guard service[edit]
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Barnegat-class ships were very reliable and seaworthy and had good habitability, and the Coast Guard viewed them as ideal for ocean station duty, in which they would perform weather reporting and search and rescue tasks, once they were modified by having a balloon shelter added aft and having oceanographic equipment, an oceanographic winch, and a hydrographic winch installed. After World War II, the U.S. Navy transferred 18 of the ships to the Coast Guard, in which they were known as the Casco-class cutters.
The U.S. Navy loaned Half Moon to the United States Coast Guard on 30 July 1948. After undergoing conversion for Coast Guard use, she was commissioned into the Coast Guard on 14 September 1948 as USCGC Half Moon (WAVP-378).
Atlantic operations 1948-1967[edit]
Half Moon was stationed at Staten Island and Governors Island in New York City throughout her Coast Guard career. Her primary duty was to serve on ocean stations in the Atlantic Ocean to gather meteorological data. While on duty in one of these stations, she was required to patrol a 210-square-mile (544-square-kilometer) area for three weeks at a time, leaving the area only when physically relieved by another Coast Guard cutter or in the case of a dire emergency. While on station, she acted as an aircraft check point at the point of no return, a relay point for messages from ships and aircraft, as a source of the latest weather information for passing aircraft, as a floating oceanographic laboratory, and as a search-and-rescue ship for downed aircraft and vessels in distress, and she engaged in law enforcement operations.
On 24 and 25 August 1951, Half Moon assisted the merchant ship Castello Guadalest in the North Atlantic at 39°30′00″N 058°32′00″W.
While in Bermuda on a United States Coast Guard Reserve training cruise, Half Moon helped civil authorities in fight a fire aboard the merchant ship Coastal Service at Ordnance Wharf in St. George’s, on 14 August 1963.
Half Moon was reclassified as a high endurance cutter and redesignated WHEC-378 on 1 May 1966. Her loan period from the U.S. Navy came to an end on 26 September 1966, when she was transferred permanently from the Navy to the Coast Guard.
On 11 January 1967, Half Moon seized four American fishing vessels seven nautical miles (13 kilometers) northwest of Dog Rocks following a shooting incident in which one person was killed and another wounded.
Vietnam War service 1967[edit]
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Half Moon sailed from New York Harbor on 1 April 1967 under the command of Commander Emmett G. McCarthy, bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and an assignment to Coast Guard Squadron Three. The squadron, which was designated Task Unit 70.8.6, was activated at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 24 April 1967 when its commander, Captain John E. Day, hoisted his flag aboard his flagship, the Coast Guard cutter USCGC Gresham.
Coast Guard Squadron Three was tasked to operate in the South China Sea in conjunction with U.S. Navy forces in Operation Market Time, the interdiction of North Vietnamese arms and munitions traffic along the coastline of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The squadron‘s other Vietnam War duties included fire support for ground forces, resupplying Coast Guard and Navy patrol boats, and search-and-rescue operations. Serving in the squadron with Gresham and Half Moon were the cutters USCGC Yakutat, USCGC Barataria and USCGC Bering Strait; like Half Moon and Gresham, they all were former Navy Barnegat-class ships. They departed Pearl Harbor on 26 April 1967 and reported to Commander, United States Seventh Fleet, for Market Time duty on 4 May 1967. They were joined by Navy radar picket destroyer escorts (DERs) of Escort Squadrons 5 and 7.
The ten Market Time ships arrived at Subic Bay in the Philippines on 10 May 1967. The five Coast Guard cutters and five Navy destroyer escorts continuously manned four Market Time stations off Vietnam, while only Navy warships served on two Taiwan patrol stations. One ship rotated duty as the station ship in Hong Kong.
During her tour, Half Moon conducted nine naval gunfire missions along the coast of South Vietnam in support of forces ashore. On 12 September 1967 she was ordered to fire on a Viet Cong (VC) build-up in An Xugen Province; her gunfire killed at least one VC soldier and destroyed three fortifications on that occasion. During her tour, she was credited with killing at least 13 VC soldiers, destroying 64 military emplacements and structures, and sinking four sampans. Half Moon also served as a home base for 50-foot (15.25 m) U.S. Navy Patrol Craft Fast and participated in search and rescue operations.
Half Moon concluded her Vietnam War tour on 29 December 1967.
Honors and awards[edit]
See note.[note 1]
Atlantic operations 1968-1969[edit]
Half Moon returned from Vietnam to her home port at New York City on 22 January 1968 and resumed her routine Coast Guard operations in the Atlantic. On 11 July 1968 she helped to evacuate an injured crewman from the West German merchant ship Brunsdeich.
Decommissioning and disposal[edit]
The Coast Guard decommissioned Half Moon on 15 July 1969. She was sold for scrapping on 29 April 1970 to Cantieri Navali, Genoa, Italy, for a bid price of $66,000 (USD).
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