Former SECNAV Richard V. Spencer Named Next Austal Chairman

Secretary of the Navy, Richard V. Spencer on May 10, 2019. US Navy Photo

Australian shipbuilder Austal named former Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer as its next chairman, according to a late Wednesday notification to the Australian Security and Exchange Commission.

Spencer – who served as SECNAV from 2017 until 2019– will replace outgoing chair and Austal founder John Rothwell on July 1, according to the announcement, which was issued on Thursday morning Australia time.

According to the...

https://news.usni.org/2024/06/27/former-secnav-richard-v-spencer-named-next-austal-chairman

White House Formally Announces Braithwaite Nomination for SECNAV

Kenneth Braithwaite, the U.S. ambassador to Norway, arrives aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) on Nov. 15, 2018. US Navy photo

President Donald Trump formally announced his intention to nominate retired Navy Rear Adm. Kenneth Braithwaite to serve as the next secretary of the Navy.

Braithwaite currently serves as U.S. ambassador to Norway and previously served for 27 years in the Navy and Navy Reserve in both the aviation and communications fields.

USNI News first...

https://news.usni.org/2020/02/28/white-house-formally-announces-braithwaite-nomination-for-secnav

Underway on USS Gerald R. Ford: Navy Marks Progress on Carrier as Scrutiny on Program Grows

An MH-60S Knight Hawk helicopter assigned to the Dragonslayers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 11 flies by the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) on Oct. 27, 2019. US Navy Photo

ABOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS GERALD R. FORD – The Navy’s newest aircraft carrier left a pier from Naval Station Norfolk, Va., late last month with its reputation arguably at an all-time low.

The world’s most modern expensive warship, loaded with unique and largely unproven technology designed to reduce...

https://news.usni.org/2019/12/09/navy-marks-progress-on-uss-gerald-r-ford-as-scrutiny-on-program-grows

Acting SECNAV Modly Cancels Trident Review Boards for 3 SEALs

Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly is canceling review boards for three SEAL officers that could have stripped them of their special operations status, according to a late Wednesday statement provided to USNI News.

“I have directed the Chief of Naval Operations to terminate the Trident Reviews for three Naval Special Warfare officers,” Modly wrote. “Given the unique circumstances of these three remaining cases, I have determined that any failures in conduct, performance, judgment, or...

https://news.usni.org/2019/11/27/acting-secnav-modly-cancels-trident-review-board-for-3-seals

SECDEF Esper Says SECNAV Spencer Ousted For Going Outside Chain Of Command

Former Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer, right, with Secretary of Defense Mark Esper at the U.S. Naval Academy. Navy photo.

THE PENTAGON – Richard V. Spencer, former secretary of the Navy, was fired because it became clear his conversations inside the Pentagon did match what he secretly discussed with White House officials, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Monday morning.

Esper, speaking to members of the media, said removing Spencer was not about the legal case of Navy SEAL Chief...

https://news.usni.org/2019/11/25/secdef-esper-says-secnav-spencer-ousted-for-going-outside-chain-of-command

SECNAV Richard V. Spencer Resigns Over Gallagher Deal With White House; Modly Now Acting SECNAV

Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer speaks during an all-hands call onboard U.S. Fleet Activities (FLEACT) Yokosuka on July 12, 2018. US Navy Photo

The secretary of defense asked Richard V. Spencer to step down as the Secretary of the Navy after Spencer proposed a deal to the White House that would guarantee Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Gallagher would retire as a SEAL, despite public statements affirming he would let the process dictate the outcome, according to a late Sunday...

https://news.usni.org/2019/11/24/secnav-spencer-to-resign-over-gallagher-deal-with-white-house-modly-now-acting-secnav

SECNAV Defends Moving Ahead With Gallagher Trident Review Board

Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer addresses the crew of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) via the ship’s 1MC during a visit to the ship at sea on Oct. 27, 2019. US Navy Photo

Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer defended the Navy’s decision to move ahead with a Naval Special Warfare Command review board that could strip SEAL Chief Edward Gallagher of his Naval Special Warfare rating — despite pressure from President Trump.

Spencer told Reuters a review of Gallagher’s rating should continue, despite...

https://news.usni.org/2019/11/22/secnav-defends-moving-ahead-with-gallagher-trident-review-board

SECNAV Spencer: Carrier Ford Challenges Tied to Costs Caps, Requirements Process

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) conducts high-speed turns in the Atlantic Ocean on Oct. 29, 2019. US Navy Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The secretary of the Navy said a congressional cost cap on the first Ford-class aircraft carrier led to bad decisions that are reverberating today, and he hopes smarter discussions around cost, risk and requirements will be had for future ship classes such as the upcoming frigate program.

As the Navy and shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding...

https://news.usni.org/2019/10/30/secnav-spencer-carrier-ford-challenges-tied-to-costs-caps-requirements-process

SECNAV Spencer, Jim Webb Honor Lost South Vietnamese Soldiers in California Ceremony

Attendees of a ceremony honoring of 81 unidentified South Vietnamese soldiers who were killed on 1965. USNI News Photo

WESTMINSTER, Calif. – Following a final prayer by a Navy chaplain, pallbearers lifted a casket containing the remains of 81 unidentified South Vietnamese soldiers and walked to a waiting white hearse.

At a cemetery a mile away, the soldiers – paratroopers killed in 1965 when their U.S. Air Force transport plane crashed in South Vietnam – were laid into the ground by a granite...

https://news.usni.org/2019/10/28/secnav-spencer-jim-webb-honor-lost-south-vietnamese-soldiers-in-california-ceremony