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Joshua Karsten

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Mohammed Abdu Al-Omari rolls out a carpet during a ''rug flop'' event in Bahrain, hosted by U.S. Navy Cmdr. Joe Zerby and his wife, Jill.<br>Joshua Karsten/Stars and Stripes
Mohammed Abdu Al-Omari rolls out a carpet during a ''rug flop'' event in Bahrain, hosted by U.S. Navy Cmdr. Joe Zerby and his wife, Jill.<br>Joshua Karsten/Stars and Stripes

‘Rug flops’ make for a colorful social event in Bahrain

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned “rug flop,” where carpet vendors literally roll out the red carpet for service members stationed in Bahrain.

The base school in Bahrain has extended its closing until March 10 amid coronavirus concerns in the country.<br>Joshua Karsten/Stars and Stripes
The base school in Bahrain has extended its closing until March 10 amid coronavirus concerns in the country.<br>Joshua Karsten/Stars and Stripes

DODEA’s Bahrain School extends school closure as coronavirus cases rise in country

Bahrain’s Health Ministry said Thursday it had confirmed 33 cases of infected citizens in the small island kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy Central Command headquarters and the largest concentration of U.S. service members and their families in the Middle East.

The base school in Bahrain is closing its doors through Friday amid coronavirus concerns in the country.<br>Joshua Karsten/Stars and Stripes
The base school in Bahrain is closing its doors through Friday amid coronavirus concerns in the country.<br>Joshua Karsten/Stars and Stripes

DODEA’s Bahrain School closes over coronavirus concerns

Military children at the Bahrain School have been told to stay home the rest of the week, following the country’s first confirmed coronavirus case and several others reported at the island kingdom’s airport.

Rear Adm. Curt A. Renshaw, deputy commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, arrives aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan Feb. 17, 2020, at Khalifa Bin Salman Port, Bahrain. The ship stopped briefly in Bahrain after transiting the Strait of Hormuz last week.<br>Nathan Reyes/U.S. Marine Corps
Rear Adm. Curt A. Renshaw, deputy commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, arrives aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan Feb. 17, 2020, at Khalifa Bin Salman Port, Bahrain. The ship stopped briefly in Bahrain after transiting the Strait of Hormuz last week.<br>Nathan Reyes/U.S. Marine Corps

Navy’s USS Bataan quietly visits Bahrain for brief port visit

The USS Bataan pulled into Bahrain over the long President’s Day weekend, but it doesn’t appear the crew had much time off.

In a February 12, 2020 photo, a U.S. Navy MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter departs from the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) in the Strait of Hormuz.<br>Nathan Reyes/U.S. Navy
In a February 12, 2020 photo, a U.S. Navy MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter departs from the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) in the Strait of Hormuz.<br>Nathan Reyes/U.S. Navy

Thousands of Marines enter Persian Gulf with USS Bataan’s amphibious readiness group

The amphibious assault ship USS Bataan transited the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf Wednesday, becoming the first U.S. Navy “big deck” to enter these strategic waters in 2020.

Heather Heffernan, a fifth grade teacher at the Bahrain School, interacts with her students in September of 2019. The school was closed Monday, Dec. 9, 2019, by order of the king following a big win by the Bahrain national soccer team.<br>Joshua Karsten/Stars and Stripes
Heather Heffernan, a fifth grade teacher at the Bahrain School, interacts with her students in September of 2019. The school was closed Monday, Dec. 9, 2019, by order of the king following a big win by the Bahrain national soccer team.<br>Joshua Karsten/Stars and Stripes

Bahrain’s DODEA school closes to celebrate national team’s big soccer win

The Bahrain School, run by the Department of Defense Education Activity on the U.S. Navy base there, operates independently but decided to “honor the decree from the king,” the school's principal said.

Sailors man the rails aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge as it pulls into its home port at Norfolk, Va. A shakeup in sea/shore tour lengths will see 20 ratings with longer sea tours, 22 ratings with shorter sea tours and seven ratings with longer shore tours.<br>U.S. Navy
Sailors man the rails aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge as it pulls into its home port at Norfolk, Va. A shakeup in sea/shore tour lengths will see 20 ratings with longer sea tours, 22 ratings with shorter sea tours and seven ratings with longer shore tours.<br>U.S. Navy

Navy changes tour lengths for 50,000 sailors and boosts reenlistment bonuses

The changes will affect more than half of all Navy job fields. Factors that impacted the changes to tour lengths included initial training, available duty billets and retention, the Navy said.