Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin

VCNO Lisa Franchetti Takes Command of Navy

Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti delivers remarks after relieving Adm. Mike Gilday on Aug. 14, 2023. USNI News Photo

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Adm. Lisa Franchetti took command of the U.S. Navy as the acting chief of naval operations, during a Monday morning ceremony at the Naval Academy.

Franchetti took charge of the service from retiring Chief of Naval Operations Adm Mike Gilday. Members of the official party, which included Franchetti, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro and...

https://news.usni.org/2023/08/14/vcno-lisa-franchetti-takes-command-of-navy

VCNO Franchetti Set to be Interim Navy Head as White House Stays Silent on CNO Nominee

Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, speaks to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) over the ship’s public address system on Feb. 25, 2023. US Navy Photo

However, since news broke that Paparo was the pick following a report from NBC, there has been no official nomination or intent to nominate announcement from the White House.

A Wednesday request for comment from USNI News to the National Security Council on the status of the nomination was not immediately returned.

Ad...

https://news.usni.org/2023/07/12/vcno-franchetti-set-to-be-interim-navy-head-as-white-house-stays-silent-on-cno-nominee

Philippines Announce 4 New Locations to Host U.S. Troops

Philippine Marines embark a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey during KAMANDAG 6 at Naval Base Camilo Osias, Philippines, Oct. 2, 2022. US Marine Corps Photo

MANILA — The Philippines announced Monday four additional locations that will host visiting American troops under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), sites that the country said will boost its disaster response as they would also be used for humanitarian and relief operations during emergencies and natural disasters.

The four...

https://news.usni.org/2023/04/03/philippines-announce-4-new-locations-to-host-u-s-troops

Pentagon: Red Hill Defueling on Track, Joint Task Force Starting Environmental Assessment

Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Pearl Harbor employees uses tools to relocate contaminated soil onto a wheelbarrow as part of NAVFAC Public Works Department and Joint Task Force-Red Hill’s (JTF-RH) hazard material spill recovery operation at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF) in Halawa, Hawaii, Dec. 1, 2022. US Army Photo

The Navy is on target to meet the July 2024 deadline to defuel the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/17/pentagon-red-hill-defueling-on-track-joint-task-force-starting-environmental-assessment

High Cost of Taiwan Invasion Will Dissuade China, Pentagon Official Says

Taiwanese Marines on Jan. 11, 2023. Taiwan Ministry of National Defense Photo

China will not attempt to invade Taiwan before the end of the decade because it understands the high cost, the senior Pentagon official in charge of Indo-Pacific security said Thursday.

“Deterrence is real; deterrence is strong” today and tomorrow, said Ely Ratner, the assistant secretary for the Indo-Pacific. The United States can likely deter Beijing from attacking the self-governing island 100 miles off the Chinese...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/02/high-cost-of-taiwan-invasion-will-dissuade-china-pentagon-official-says

Defense Primer: U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces

The following is the Feb. 2, 2023, Congressional Research Service report, Defense Primer: Strategic Nuclear Forces.

From the report

The Nuclear Triad

Since the early 1960s, the United States has maintained a “triad” of strategic nuclear delivery vehicles. These include long-range land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), long-range submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and long-range heavy bombers equipped to carry nuclear-armed cruise missiles and gravity bombs. The number...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/08/defense-primer-u-s-strategic-nuclear-forces

U.S., Philippines Add Four More Sites to EDCA Military Basing Agreement  

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is welcomed to the Philippine Department of National Defense in Manila, Feb. 2, 2023. DoD Photo

MANILA – The United States and the Philippines have designated four additional bases for U.S. troops to operate from as both countries agreed to accelerate the full implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) that will house American troops and their equipment in Philippine military camps located in strategic areas of the country.
The new sites...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/02/u-s-philippines-add-four-more-sites-to-edca-military-basing-agreement

Pentagon Rescinds COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate, Questions Remain for Separated Sailors

Seaman Apprentice Johnnese Poomaihealani, from Waianae, Hawaii, receives a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot during a shot event in the foc’sle aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) on Jan. 3, 2022. US Navy Photo

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin officially rescinded the COVID-19 vaccine mandate Tuesday evening in a memo, stopping any more military separations due to refusal to get the shot series.

Congress, through the National Defense Authorization Act 2023, ordered the Department of Defense to...

https://news.usni.org/2023/01/10/pentagon-rescinds-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-questions-remain-for-separated-sailors

PLAN Surface Action Group Operating in East China Sea; Japan and U.S. to Hold Security Talks

People’s Liberation Army Navy destroyer CNS Kaifeng (124). JSDF Photo

A People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) surface action group and surveillance ship have returned to the East China Sea from the Pacific Ocean after operating there for the last few weeks.
On Monday at 11 p.m., three PLAN ships were sighted sailing northwest in an area 160 kilometers southeast of Yonaguni island, according to a Wednesday news release from Japan’s Joint Staff Office (JSO) of the Ministry of Defense. Yonaguni...

https://news.usni.org/2023/01/06/plan-surface-action-group-operating-in-east-china-sea-japan-and-u-s-to-hold-security-talks

U.S., South Korea Extend Air Force Exercise in Response to North Korea Missile Launches

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and South Korean Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-Sup conduct a press conference at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., on Nov. 3, 2022. U.S. Air Force Photo

The United States and the Republic of Korea will extend a joint Air Force exercise in response to missile launches from North Korea, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced Thursday.

The U.S. and Korea decided to extend Vigilant Storm, which began Oct. 31, in order to continue to show its...

https://news.usni.org/2022/11/03/u-s-south-korea-extend-air-force-exercise-in-response-to-north-korea-missile-launches

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