Pentagon Not Pursuing Separate Reentry Path For Vaccine Separated Service Members

Lance Cpl. Carlos Benitez, assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, receives a COVID-19 booster shot aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) on March 23, 2022. US Navy Photo

The Department of Defense will not issue a separate policy to bring back service members who were separated for failing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, a top Pentagon personnel chief testified to Congress on Tuesday.

Service personnel who were separated for failing to get vaccinated...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/28/pentagon-not-pursuing-separate-reentry-path-for-vaccine-separated-service-members

Navy Lifts Deployment Restrictions on Sailors Not Vaccinated Against COVID-19

COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are pre-staged for a shot event in the hangar bay aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) on Dec. 28, 2021. US Navy Photo

SAN DIEGO – The Navy will no longer consider COVID-19 vaccination status when making decisions about sailor deployments – a reversal of more than a year of service policy, according to new Navy guidance released this week.

COVID-19 vaccination status cannot be considered when determining if someone can be deployed, according to the new standardized...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/16/navy-lifts-deployment-restrictions-on-sailors-not-vaccinated-against-covid-19

Pentagon COVID-19 Personnel Policy Delays Leave Unanswered Questions

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Alexander Roth administers the COVID-19 vaccine booster to Aircrew Survival Equipmentman Airman Kiana Briley aboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), in the Philippine Sea, on Dec. 7, 2022. US Navy Photo

The Pentagon has offered limited guidance in the three weeks since Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin officially rescinded the COVID-19 vaccination mandate, leaving service members with questions about their statuses.

Austin officially rescinded the COVID-19 vaccination...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/07/pentagon-covid-19-personnel-policy-delays-leave-unanswered-questions

SECNAV: New Virginia Attack Boat Contracts Still Stalled Over Missile Insurance Issue; Lockheed, Northrop Clear SHypersonic Deal with Navy

Rendering of Block V Virginia-class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. General Dynamics Electric Boat Image

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy and General Dynamics are still at an impasse over an insurance spat that has resulted in the 11-month delay to contracts for two Virginia-class attack submarines, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro told USNI News on Wednesday.

The service and the submarine builder disagree on the share of responsibility in the event of an accident occurring either during...

https://news.usni.org/2023/01/11/secnav-new-virginia-attack-boat-contracts-still-stalled-over-missile-insurance-issue-lockheed-northrop-clear-shypersonic-deal-with-navy

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

2,100 Sailors in Limbo as Pentagon Grapples With End of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

A Navy Corpsman prepares a vaccine booster. US Navy Photo

The Navy separated 25 active duty sailors between Nov. 28 and Dec. 28 due to their failure to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the service told USNI News. Those sailors are likely the last sea service members to receive approved separations over COVID-19 vaccine refusal under the Pentagon’s prior vaccination mandate.

A provision in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, signed by President Joe Biden on Dec. 23, removed...

https://news.usni.org/2023/01/05/2100-sailors-in-limbo-as-pentagon-grapples-with-end-of-covid-19-vaccine-mandate

Top Stories 2022: U.S. Navy Acquisition

The future USS Oregon (SSN-788) pierside at General Dynamics Electric Boat on Feb. 28, 2022. USNI News Photo

This post is part of a series looking back at the top naval stories from 2022.

This year saw the U.S. Navy moving down an acquisition path with more certainty than in 2021.

With the Biden administration embarking on its second budget cycle, the U.S. Navy released its first long-range shipbuilding plan in several years, providing more clarity to the industrial base on where the service is...

Biden Signs FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act

Marine One lands on White House lawn on 2021. White House Photo

President Joe Biden on Friday signed the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act into law while both the House and Senate passed the FY 2023 funding bill.

The House and Senate each passed the agreement version of the policy bill earlier this month.

“America’s global leadership is not only measured in our modern military capabilities but in our strength and vitality here at home. With this NDAA, Congress authorizes a 4.6...

https://news.usni.org/2022/12/23/biden-signs-fy-2023-national-defense-authorization-act

Virginia Attack Boat Program Stalled Over Tomahawk, Hypersonic Missile Insurance Rift

Rendering of Block V Virginia-class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. General Dynamics Electric Boat Image

THE PENTAGON — Advanced procurement contracts for two of the Navy’s Block V Virginia-class attack submarines have been stalled for 10 months due to an impasse between the service and its lead submarine builder over insurance related to Tomahawk missiles and future hypersonic weapons, USNI News has learned.

General Dynamics and the Navy are split over which organization should be...

https://news.usni.org/2022/12/15/virginia-attack-boat-program-stalled-over-tomahawk-hypersonic-missile-insurance-rift

U.S. Defense Policy Bill Calls for Pentagon to Prevent Taiwan Takeover by Military Force

Taiwan’s indigenous fighter. CNA Photo

The U.S. military must be able to deter China from taking over Taiwan by force, a provision in the compromise Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act stipulates.
In accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. must “maintain the ability of the United States Armed Forces to deny a fait accompli against Taiwan in order to deter the People’s Republic of China from using military force to unilaterally change the status quo with Taiwan,”...

https://news.usni.org/2022/12/14/u-s-defense-policy-bill-calls-for-pentagon-to-prevent-taiwan-takeover-by-military-force