NORFOLK, Va. — Once marooned in Montreal, Canada, the crew of the littoral combat ship Little Rock is now back to getting the ship and sailors qualified as a Navy combatant warship.
Less than two weeks after arriving at her Mayport, Florida, homeport, the Little Rock pulled into Norfolk Naval Station to get some pierside training, as well as what the crew hopes to be one of the qualifications it needs to operate.
“The ship is conducting underway replenishment ship qualification trials,” said Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Hillson, spokeswoman for Naval Surface Forces Atlantic in Norfolk. “The ship must be certified in order to conduct underway replenishments.”
Hillson said that the pier laydown in Norfolk provided the best location to conduct the in-port portion of what is called “Underway Replenishment Ship Qualification Training,” during which the Little Rock will conduct both pierside and underway training.
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Norfolk Naval Station’s pier laydown best supports the in-port portion of the UNREP trials, which involves not only the Little Rock but also the fleet replenishment oiler Joshua Humphries.
“The ship will depart Norfolk mid-week and then commence the underway portion of the SQT,” Hillson said. “Following the UNREP SQT, the ship will transit back to their homeport at Mayport Naval Station.”
The underway portion of the training and qualification evolution will be conducted with the fast combat support ship Supply.
Commissioned in early December in Buffalo, New York, the ship gained international attention when an extreme cold snap iced the ship in while ported in Montreal, preventing her to transit the rest of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
At the time, Navy officials made the decision to keep the ship pierside in the Quebec rather than risk damage to the ship and crew.
After nearly three months, she was free, and arrived in her homeport just 10-days ago.
Mark D. Faram is a former reporter for Navy Times. He was a senior writer covering personnel, cultural and historical issues. A nine-year active duty Navy veteran, Faram served from 1978 to 1987 as a Navy Diver and photographer.
