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USNS Neptune (ARC-2), was the lead ship in her class of cable repair ships in U.S. Naval service. The ship was built by Pusey & Jones Corp. of Wilmington, Delaware, Hull Number 1108, as the USACS William H. G. Bullard named for Rear Adm. William H. G. Bullard. She was the first of two Maritime Commission type S3-S2-BP1 ships built for the US Army Signal Corps near the end of World War II. The other ship was the Albert J. Myer, which later joined her sister ship in naval service as the USNS Albert J. Myer (T-ARC-6). The ship was built by Pusey & Jones Corp. of Wilmington, Delaware as Hull Number 1108.

The ship was built by Pusey & Jones Corp. of Wilmington, Delaware, Hull Number 1108, as the USACS William H. G. Bullard named for Rear Adm. William H. G. Bullard. She was the first of two Maritime Commission type S3-S2-BP1 ships built for the US Army Signal Corps near the end of World War II. The other ship was the Albert J. Myer, which later joined her sister ship in naval service as the USNS Albert J. Myer (T-ARC-6). The ship was built by Pusey & Jones Corp. of Wilmington, Delaware as Hull Number 1108.[1][2]

The ship was assigned to and largely worked on installation of the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) under its unclassified name for installation, Project Caesar.

Neptune performed cable repair duties all over the world until 1991, when she’d been in service for some 38 years. During her career, she received a Navy E ribbon in 1988.

Inactivated in 1991, the same year in which the SOSUS mission was declassified, she was placed in the James River reserve fleet near Ft. Eustis, VA on 24 September 1991. The ex-Neptune was removed from the fleet 6 December 1994 to stripped. The ship was dismantled and recycled by International Shipbreaking Ltd. of Brownsville, TX in late 2005.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USNS_Neptune_(ARC-2)

HMS Somerset is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She is the eleventh ship of the class to join the fleet since 1989.

HMS Somerset

She was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd on the River Clyde, in Scotland and was launched in June 1994 by Lady Elspeth Layard, wife of then 2nd Sea Lord Admiral and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command Admiral Sir Michael Layard. She entered service in 1996. Lady Layard is the ship’s sponsor. She is named after the Dukedom of Somerset.

The fourth Somerset to serve in the Royal Navy, she has inherited four battle honours from previous ships of the name; Vigo Bay (1702), Velez Malaga (1704), Louisburg (1758) and Quebec (1759). The previous ships all served during the 18th century and ensured that the name Somerset played a significant part in that period of naval history.

Somerset’s home port is HMNB Devonport. The ship has the Freedom of the City of Wells and is also affiliated with the County of Somerset, the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, the 2nd and 4th Battalions of The Rifles (inherited from affiliation with the Royal Green Jackets), TS Weston and TS Queen Elizabeth Sea Cadet Units, Downside, Baytree and Helles Schools, Bridgwater College and the Somerset Legion House of The Royal British Legion. The 19th Duke of Somerset takes a keen interest in the ship and is a regular visitor, and the ship also hosted Harry Patch, Simon Weston (in place of Johnson Beharry) and Marcus Trescothick whilst docked at Avonmouth for a remembrance service to launch the 2008 British Legion Poppy Appeal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Somerset_(F82)

Keeping the connection going

Thinking about joining the NZ Naval Reserve Force? Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Otto would wholeheartedly encourage it.

Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Otto wears a RNZN uniform and smiles at the camera. Behind him are models and pictures of ships in a wooden cabinet.

18 JANUARY, 2024

For him, it’s getting to do something a bit different from his full-time role, with a different set of challenges. He’s the Cyber Security Operations Manager for Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency and the Executive Officer of Navy Reserve Force unit HMNZS Olphert, based in Lower Hutt.

He came to Waka Kotahi over two years ago, transitioning to the Royal New Zealand Navy Reserves after a career as a Weapons Engineer and cyber defence specialist in the Royal New Zealand Navy.

Growing up in Howick, Auckland, he attended Santa Maria and Macleans Colleges before completing a Bachelor of Engineering Technology (Electrical).

“I joined the Navy in 2013, starting as a marine engineer officer. I saw a lot of possibilities in the Navy, to do that next step of development beyond a degree. And I felt I had more to learn, as well as becoming a people leader.

“I had a number of really interesting roles in the regular force which led to my specialisation in cyber defence, including as an engineering manager in defence digital, establishing the Navy’s cyber team and in the cyber security and support capability programme.”

He left the Navy feeling great about the experience – which included overseas deployments in frigates – and feeling he’d tackled everything he could do in the defence cyber security role. But he was keen to keep contributing to the Defence Force.

Since joining Olphert, he’s been the Initial Training Officer and now the Executive Officer. “Both roles have given me some great opportunities to broaden my skills and contribute to the unit.

“One of the biggest perks in my view is the sense of comradeship and the culture of working with Navy people which is a difficult concept to explain to those who haven’t experienced it.”

“Another fantastic benefit from being at Olphert is that we have the Reserve Small Arms Training Team attached to the unit, and as such I’ve never been at risk of falling out of date for my Annual Weapons Qualification!”

As well as his specialisation, his officer training has provided a useful skillset in the civilian sector.

“The Navy teaches you about being a leader and looking after a team, particularly during operations. It’s about having a calm, collective approach, when you’re under pressure.

“The Navy Reserves give you some really unique opportunities to both develop new skills, meet like-minded people, contribute to protecting New Zealand’s interests, and get paid to do it.”

USS CALIFORNIA

USS California

USS California (BB-44) was the second of two Tennessee-class battleships built for the United States Navy between her keel laying in October 1916 and her commissioning in August 1921. The Tennessee class was part of the standard series of twelve battleships built in the 1910s and 1920s, and were developments of the preceding New Mexico class. They were armed with a battery of twelve 14-inch (356 mm) guns in four three-gun turrets. California served as the flagship of the Battle Fleet in the Pacific Ocean for the duration of her peacetime career. She spent the 1920s and 1930s participating in routine fleet training exercises, including the annual Fleet Problems, and cruises around the Americas and further abroad, such as a goodwill visit to Australia and New Zealand in 1925.

California was moored in Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 when the Japanese attacked the port, bringing the United States into World War II. The ship was moderately damaged by a pair of torpedoes and a bomb, but a fire disabled the ship’s electrical system, preventing the pumps from being used to keep the ship afloat. California slowly filled with water over the following three days and eventually sank. Her crew suffered heavy casualties in the attack and four men were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the attack. She was raised in April 1942, repaired and heavily rebuilt, and returned to service in January 1944.

The ship thereafter supported the amphibious operations conducted during the Pacific War, including the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign (though she was damaged in a collision with Tennessee and thus missed the Battle of Peleliu) and the Philippines campaign, during which she took part in the Battle of Surigao Strait. She was hit by a kamikaze during the invasion of Lingayen Gulf in January 1945, but after undergoing repairs, she rejoined the fleet supporting troops fighting on Okinawa during the Battle of Okinawa. Her crew took part in the occupation of Japan after the end of the war, and after returning to the United States via the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, was laid up in Philadelphia in 1946. She remained in the fleet’s inventory until 1959, when she was broken up for scrap.