News & Analysis

Navy Announces New VCNO, Other Top Assignments, in First Notification Since Policy Reversal

Top Row (left to right): Vice Adm. William Lescher, Vice Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Rear Adm. Gene Black Bottom Row (left to right): Rear Adm. Kenneth Whitesell, Rear Adm. Yancy Lindsey, Rear Adm. John Mustin

The Navy announced several new assignments for its top officers, the first public announcement of its kind since December 2018, when the service stopped announcing senior flag moves in the name of cybersecurity.

Vice Adm. William Lescher has been nominated to serve as the next vice chief of naval...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/06/navy-announces-new-vcno-other-top-assignments-in-first-notification-since-policy-reversal

Marines Will Resume Planned Deployment to Australia After COVID-Related Delay

U.S. Marines with Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D), arrive as part of the force enhancement for the 2019 rotation at RAAF Base Darwin, Australia, on July 17, 2019. Marine Corps Photo

U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific will resume its annual deployment to Australia, after the U.S. and Australian governments previously announced a delay due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions.

“The decision to resume the deployment comes as the government of Australia is granting an exemption to current...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/06/marines-will-resume-planned-deployment-to-australia-after-covid-related-delay

Japan-Based Carrier USS Ronald Reagan is Underway as SECDEF Warns of Chinese Military Moves in South China Sea

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) at Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY), Japan on April 25, 2020. US Navy Photo

The U.S. aircraft carrier forward deployed to Japan is back at sea for trials after its annual repair period and ahead of its spring patrol in the Western Pacific, USNI News has learned.

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) left on Monday from its berth in Yokosuka following an extended quarantine period for the crew of the carrier, as well as its escorts, as part of the Navy’s attempts to keep...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/06/japan-based-carrier-uss-ronald-reagan-is-underway-as-secdef-warns-of-chinese-military-moves-in-south-china-sea

Marine Corps Announces New Aviation, Pacific Leadership Assignments

Top row (left to right): Lt. Gen. Lewis Craparotta, Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder, Maj. Gen. Mark Wise; Bottom row (left to right): Maj. Gen. Karsten Heckl, Maj. Gen. Dennis Crall, Maj. Gen. David Ottignon 

The Marine Corps announced a shuffle of its two- and three-star generals, with nominations of new leadership for Marines in the Pacific, the aviation community, training and education and more.

Lt. Gen. Lewis Craparotta was nominated to serve as the next commanding general of the Training and...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/06/marine-corps-announces-new-aviation-pacific-leadership-assignments

SECDEF Esper: Theodore Roosevelt Outbreak Probe Will ‘Follow the Facts Wherever They Go’

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper in the Pentagon Briefing Room on April 16, 2020. DoD Photo

The ongoing Navy investigation into the COVID-19 outbreak aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) could lead to an expanded probe outside the Navy if there are still unanswered questions by senior leaders, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said in response to questions from USNI News.

Last week, acting Secretary of the Navy James McPherson directed the service’s military leadership to open a new command...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/05/secdef-esper-theodore-roosevelt-outbreak-probe-will-follow-the-facts-wherever-they-go

Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Maker Sees Support For 2nd Virginia-Class Attack Boat in FY 2021

Virginia-class submarine Washington (SSN-787) under construction in 2016 at Newport News Shipbuilding, Va. HII Photo

Support for adding a second Virginia-class fast attack submarine to the Fiscal Year 2021 budget is growing on Capitol Hill, according to executives from BWX Technologies, the maker of the Navy’s nuclear propulsion units.

The $2.7-billion second Virginia-class submarine tops the Navy’s $5.4-billion unfunded priorities list for FY 2021. When President Donald Trump submitted his FY...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/05/navys-nuclear-propulsion-maker-sees-support-for-2nd-virginia-class-attack-boat-in-fy-2021

SEALs Resume Training Under Extreme COVID-19 Isolation Measures

SEAL candidates participate in “surf immersion” during Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training at Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Center in Coronado, Calif., May 4, 2020. NSW Center restarted paused portions of its SEAL and Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman (SWCC) selection-and-assessment training following careful planning that included implementing COVID-19 mitigation efforts based on CDC recommendations and Department of Defense medical guidance. The health, safety and well-being...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/05/seals-resume-training-under-extreme-covid-19-isolation-measures

Eastern Shipbuilding Lays Keel for 2nd Offshore Patrol Cutter As Program Re-Compete Continues

Eastern Shipbuilding laid the keel for its first-in-class offshore patrol cutter, the future Argus, on April 28, 2020. Eastern Shipbuilding image.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group laid the keel for the first Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) for the Coast Guard, in an audience-free ceremony at the company’s Panama City, Fla., yard.

The ceremony for the future Argus (WMSM-915) was held on April 28, the shipyard announced in a May 4 news release, and was conducted in accordance with Centers for Disease...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/05/eastern-shipbuilding-lays-keel-for-2nd-offshore-patrol-cutter-as-program-re-compete-continues

Navy to Resume Announcing Flag Promotions After Congressional Criticism

The Navy will resume announcing flag officer promotions after more than a year of keeping the moves of senior leaders under wraps and claiming the move was in the interest of cybersecurity, USNI News has learned.

In a brief April 28 response to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), obtained by USNI News, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said the service would restart announcements of flag officers this week in line with a provision in the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/04/navy-to-resume-announcing-flag-promotions-after-congressional-criticism

SASC Will Consider Braithwaite SECNAV Nomination in Thursday Hearing

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

Kenneth Braithwaite, currently the U.S. ambassador to Norway and President Donald Trump’s nominee to become Secretary of the Navy, is scheduled to appear at a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Thursday.

In November, Trump announced his intent to nominate Braithwaite, a 1984 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and retired rear admiral, to...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/04/sasc-will-consider-braithwaite-secnav-nomination-in-thursday-hearing

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