The Houthis will target any ship it believes is connected to a company supplying Israel and block it from passing through the Red Sea if Israel invades Rafah in the Gaza strip, its military spokesman announced via social media Friday.
The Houthi threat also includes targeting any ship heading to Israel that it can reach with its missiles and attack drones, including those approaching the country from the Mediterranean Sea, Houthi Brig. Gen. Yahya Sare’e said...
Pentagon
GAO Report on DoD Artificial Intelligence Guidance
The following is the June 29, 2023, Government Accountability Office report, Artificial Intelligence: DOD Needs Department-Wide Guidance to Inform Acquisitions.
From the reportWhat GAO Found
The Department of Defense (DOD) designated artificial intelligence (AI) a top modernization area and is allocating considerable spending to develop AI tools and capabilities. AI refers to computer systems designed to replicate a range of human functions and continually get better at their assigned tasks. DOD...
https://news.usni.org/2023/06/30/gao-report-on-dod-artificial-intelligence-guidance
Annual Pentagon Sexual Assault Study Shows Increase in Navy Reports, Overall Trends Unclear
Sexual assault reporting by service members increased around 1 percent between Fiscal Year 2021 and 2022, according to the annual Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Report released Thursday.
In FY 2022, there were 8,942 reports, according to the annual report. The Navy reported receiving 2,052 reports, up 9 percent over the previous fiscal year, according to the Navy-specific report. Of the reports, 1,363 were unrestricted, meaning the case can be forwarded on to criminal and prosecutorial...
Biden Announces Nominations for New N9, Naval Surface Forces
Rear Admiral Brendan McLane, Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic is piped aboard during a retirement ceremony for Captain Zoah Scheneman on Aug. 12, 2022. U.S. Navy Photo
President Joe Biden has nominated the next deputy chief of naval operations for warfighting requirements and capabilities, the commander of Naval Surface Forces and the deputy commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, the Pentagon announced Monday.
Biden nominated Rear Adm. James Pitts to serve as the deputy chief of naval...
https://news.usni.org/2023/04/24/biden-announces-nominations-for-new-n9-naval-surface-forces
Pentagon: Russia Unlikely to Recover Anything Helpful From Downed Drone
MQ-9 Reaper UAV. US Air Force Photo
It’s unlikely Russia will recover anything useful from a downed U.S. drone, the Pentagon press secretary said Thursday.
Russia is likely looking to recover a U.S. MQ-9 drone that fell into the Black Sea after a Russian aircraft hit it, damaging its propeller. The U.S. decided to shoot the drone down after it was deemed uncontrollable due to the damage, USNI News previously reported.
In taking down the drone, the U.S. took steps to protect it, said Pentagon...
Guertin Appears Before Senate Committee Seeking Assistant Navy Secretary Job
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility successfully undocked USS Charlotte (SSN 766) Jan. 26 from Dry Dock #3. The undocking was a major milestone in the submarine’s engineered overhaul availability.
Cutting the Navy’s ship maintenance backlog will require recruiting and retaining skilled workers in the nation’s public and private shipyards, the nominee to head the sea service’s acquisition office testified Wednesday.
Nickolas Guertin appeared...
Report to Congress on Libya and U.S. Policy
The following is the March 7, 2023, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Libya and U.S. Policy.
From the report
Twelve years after a 2011 uprising that toppled longtime authoritarian leader Muammar al Qadhafi, Libya has yet to make a transition to stable governing arrangements. Elections and diplomacy have produced a series of interim governments (Figure 1), but militias, local leaders, and subnational coalitions backed by competing foreign patrons have remained the most powerful...
https://news.usni.org/2023/03/08/report-to-congress-on-libya-and-u-s-policy
GAO Report on Contested Information Environments
The following is the Jan. 26, 2023, Government Accountability Office report, Contested Information Environment: Actions Needed to Strengthen Education and Training for DOD Leaders.
From the report
What GAO Found
Department of Defense (DOD) guidance for operating in a contested information environment continues to evolve as DOD works to develop and prepare leaders to make effective decisions. The information environment––that is, the aggregate of factors that affect how humans and automated...
https://news.usni.org/2023/01/31/gao-report-on-contested-information-environments
2022 Pentagon Report on Chinese Military Development
The following is the Nov. 29, 2022, Pentagon’s report to Congress, Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.
From the report
The 2022 National Security Strategy identifies the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the only competitor with the intent and, increasingly, the capacity to reshape the international order. The Department of Defense (DoD) annual report on military and security developments involving the PRC charts the current course of the PRC’s national,...
https://news.usni.org/2022/11/29/2022-pentagon-report-on-chinese-military-development
Pentagon 2021 Annual Report on Suicide in the Military
The following is the Oct. 20, 2022, Department of Defense Annual Report on Suicide in the Military.
From the report
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Annual Report on Suicide in the Military serves as the official source for annual suicide counts and rates for DoD. This annual report satisfies requirements established by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD[P&R]) in October 2018, requiring a report that serves as the official source for annual suicide counts and...
https://news.usni.org/2022/10/20/pentagon-2021-annual-report-on-suicide-in-the-military