As part of the festivities associated with the first ever commissioning of a navy ship in Orange County, host city Seal Beach got some newly planted trees yesterday. 33 members of the USS Dewey crew planted more than 50 New Zealand Christmas trees along Lampson Avenue as a community service project for Seal Beach. The navy’s newest and most sophisticated ship, The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, USS Dewey (DDG-105), will be commissioned at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, on Saturday, March 6, 2010.

Sometimes extraordinary things happen in Seal Beach. This March 6th, a week from Saturday, for the first time ever in Orange County, a naval vessel will be commissioned. Commissioning a ship is a time-honored tradition, which celebrates a vessels' formal entry into service with the active Navy fleet. But, what does that mean to us as a community here in Seal Beach? Why should we care?

After serving the United States Navy for 33 years, the USS Los Angeles (SSN 688) will arrive in Los Angeles later Today for a final visit that includes a decommissioning ceremony Jan. 23. USS Los Angeles departed Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Jan. 14, and is stopping in Los Angeles en route to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for inactivation. The visit will include participation by the crew in numerous public events ongoing throughout the weekend.

Sometime last fall, General Combs of the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos decided he could conserve water and help meet environmental goals by setting up a composting operation on the base. Monday night at the Seal Beach City Council meeting, the peoples' representatives gave the much maligned project a big thumbs down. The problem, among other complaints, is the potential daily parade of 12 to 15 40 ton trash hauling 18 wheelers thundering down Lampson Avenue, a residential street.

A Chief Petty officer from Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Daniel Alcala , set a new record in the physical fitness test at the Orange County Sheriff's Regional Training Academy and was ranked as the # 1 recruit in his class. Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Daniel Alcala was also elected honorary class sergeant by the faculty staff and his fellow classmates and he led the graduates in formation during the ceremony marking completion of their curriculum at the academy.

The Defense Department announced that one of the five soldiers killed on Friday by a suicide bomber in Iraq was PV2 Bryce Edmund Gautier, 22 of Cypress California. He was killed along with four other soldiers when their Humvee was struck by a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in Mosul, Iraq.  They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment,
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.  

Several hundred beachgoers and children from McGaugh Elementary were thrilled to watch a helicopter rescue demonstration by the Coast Guard yesterday at the Seal Beach pier. According to Mr. Anthony Turner, of the Public Affairs Department of Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles, "It was a search and rescue demonstration. What was unique about it was that the Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) who was on board was sworn in while he was on the helicopter."

The Department of Defense today announced construction approval of a new Navy hospital for Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. The $500 million project is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 and is one of the two largest Defense Department projects included in the stimulus bill. The new hospital will replace the current Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton (NHCP), which was designed in 1969 with construction completed in 1974.

A new amphibious landing dock ship will be commissioned the USS

For those of us who like to look with wonder and awe at machines of war--be it the supersonic F-18 Super Hornet or the massive 18-inch guns of a battleship, today's navy ships can appear less than impressive. The guns with barrels wide enough to swallow a person are a relic of times gone by. That is, of course, only in appearances. Consider the US Navy's precedent setting guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold, which is offering a rare opportunity for public tours this weekend in Seal Beach.

The plans of BG (R) James Combs, of the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, to run a composting operation on the base continue to create controversy among residents of Seal Beach, Rossmoor, and Los Alamitos. The plan ignited a firestorm of complaints from residents of College Park East at the Seal Beach City Council meeting on May 11. Last night, General Combs gave another presentation, complete with a tour of the composting site on the base. The plan he described last night varied in some significant details from the presentation at the Seal Beach city council meeting.

Our local Coast Guard rescued a man off a remote beach on the back side of Catalina Island early yesterday morning. The man's boat had caught fire the night before, so he abandoned ship. The sailor made it to shore in his dinghy. His personal locator beacon played a major part in the rescue.

A 62 foot dead fin whale was found floating in Cerritos Channel in Los Angeles harbor Friday morning. Coast Guard Station Los Angeles was on scene to assess the situation until members from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service arrived.
According to Lt. j.g. Stephanie Young, "Once the whale was reported, Coast Guard sent their Station Los Angeles asset out to monitor the whale to make sure that there weren't any commercial or recreational vessels that would be damaged by hitting the whale and to be sure there weren't any other marine mammals in the area that could be harmed."

Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach received the 2008 Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) 2008 Shore Safety award (small industry category) for improvement of base safety standards in a ceremony held March 18. The station will also be awarded the CNO's award for Environmental Quality (industrial category) for preservation of the ecosystem surrounding the base in a ceremony to be held in June.

Look out for extra security or other action around the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station any time this week. This includes restrictions on Anaheim Bay around the base.

If you might be wondering what ship is at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, you have come to the right place.