News & Analysis

House, Senate Defense Bills Differ In Approach to Indo-Pacific Security, But Stress Region’s Importance

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) training ships JS Kashima (TV 3508), left, and JS Shimayuki (TV 3513), right, sail alongside the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) during an exercise, June 23, 2020. Gabrielle Giffords, part of Destroyer Squadron Seven, is on a rotational deployment, operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force. US Navy photo.

The House and the...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/30/house-senate-defense-bills-differ-in-approach-to-indo-pacific-security-but-stress-regions-importance

Nimitz Strike Group Participates in Second Dual-Carrier Operation in a Week

Seaman Noah Rodenberg, from St. Louis, watches ships assigned to the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group and the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group participate in dual carrier operations from aboard the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52), June 23, 2020. Dual carrier operations unify the tactical power of two individual carrier strike groups, providing fleet commanders with an unmatched, unified credible combat force capable of operating indefinitely. US Navy photo.

The...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/29/nimitz-strike-group-participates-in-second-dual-carrier-operation-in-a-week

Ingalls Shipbuilding Wins Contract for 3rd DDG in FY 2020

Ingalls Shipbuilding in May 2019. HII Photo

Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi won a second Arleigh Burke-class destroyer for the current fiscal year, after competing with General Dynamics Bath Iron Works for the additional hull Congress funded.

The Navy in September 2018 awarded 10 Flight III DDGs to the two builders – six to Ingalls, four to BIW – as a baseline for the program if Congress continued to fund it at a two-a-year rate. The Navy had hoped to move to three a year, though, and the...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/29/ingalls-shipbuilding-wins-contract-for-3rd-ddg-in-fy-2020

Navy ‘Education for Seapower’ Program Under Review by New SECNAV

U.S. Naval War College (NWC) holds a graduation ceremony, March 3, 2020. US Navy Photo

A push to boost education across all ranks the Navy and the Marine Corps is under review by the office of the Secretary of the Navy and could face cuts in the future, USNI News has learned.

The Education for Seapower initiative was a key program crafted by Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer and former Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly to improve learning across the Department of the Navy as a national security...

Slavonic Formally Tapped to Serve as Acting Under Secretary of the Navy

Hon. Gregory Slavonic, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, speaks with Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Jay Cherluck, from Detroit, assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) during a tour of the ship on Dec. 17, 2019. The tour provided an opportunity to discuss Ford and Ford-class unique manning and training developments, while also highlighting the capabilities and differences between the Ford and Nimitz classes of ships. US Navy photo.

Greg Slavonic...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/29/slavonic-formally-tapped-to-serve-as-acting-under-secretary-of-the-navy

USS Carney Departs Rota, Returns to Florida After 5 Years In Forward-Deployed DDG Fleet

The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) departs Naval Station Rota for the last time as part of the Forward Deployed Naval Force-Europe fleet, on June 27, 2020. Carney will return to Naval Station Mayport, Fla. US Navy photo.

Destroyer USS Carney (DDG-64) is on its way back to Florida after serving for five years as part of the Forward Deployed Naval Force-Europe (FDNF-E) out of Naval Station Rota, Spain.

The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer left Rota on June 27 and will return to its...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/29/uss-carney-departs-rota-returns-to-florida-after-5-years-in-forward-deployed-ddg-fleet

Japan Officially Ends Aegis Ashore Plans After National Security Council Deliberations

Romanian Aegis Ashore site. U.S. Missile Defense Agency Photo

Japan has formally ended its plans to procure two Aegis Ashore missile defense sites, citing concerns that the booster on the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA interceptor missile couldn’t be guaranteed to land on military property instead of nearby civilian communities.

Defense Minister Taro Kono announced his intentions to pause the program on June 15. On Thursday, after speaking to the National Security Council chaired by Prime Minister...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/26/japan-officially-ends-aegis-ashore-plans-after-national-security-council-deliberations

Foggo: Changing Conditions Require New Arctic Strategy, International Code of Conduct

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78), front, the Royal Navy Type-23 Duke-class frigate HMS Kent (F78), the fast combat support ship USNS Supply (T-AOE 6) and USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) conduct joint operations to ensure maritime security in the Arctic Ocean, May 5, 2020. Royal Navy photo.

The head of U.S. naval forces in Europe would like to see more coordination and more dialogue in the Arctic, where military and commercial traffic are increasing, and so is the risk...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/26/foggo-changing-conditions-require-new-arctic-strategy-international-code-of-conduct

Navy Sets Rules for Sailor Moves During Pandemic

Sailors render honors as the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) transits past the USS Arizona Memorial while pulling into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for a scheduled port visit on Jan. 8, 2020. US Navy Photo

The Navy is working through a backlog of about 42,000 sailors and their families who have been in stuck in place after the end of a stop-movement order that froze the permanent change of station process for sailors, Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. John Nowell told reporters...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/26/navy-sets-rules-for-sailor-moves-during-pandemic

On Korean War Anniversary, Military Tensions Between North and South On the Rise

Republic of Korea Army soldiers stand resolute at the iconic Joint Security Area where South and North Korean soldiers stand face to face across the Korean Demilitarized Zone, Panmunjom, South Korea, June 19, 2018. US Army Photo

Tensions on the Korean peninsula are on the rise as North Korea is reasserting an aggressive military posture — cutting hotline communications, blowing up a liaison office and issuing threats to send armed soldiers into guard posts along the Demilitarized Zone.

The...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/25/on-korean-war-anniversary-military-tensions-between-north-and-south-on-the-rise

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