Secretary of Defense Mark Esper

Marine Corps Crisis Response Force Will Remain In Baghdad

U.S. Army Paratroopers assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, deploy from Pope Army Airfield, North Carolina, Jan. 1, 2020. U.S. Army photo

THE PENTAGON – After sending Marines from Kuwait to beef up security at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said a battalion of Army paratroopers will now serve as the regional quick-response force, a role previously filled by the Marines.

The additional...

https://news.usni.org/2020/01/02/marine-corps-crisis-response-force-will-remain-in-baghdad

Retired Rear Adm. Kenneth Braithwaite Tapped to be Next SECNAV

Kenneth Braithwaite, the U.S. ambassador to Norway, arrives aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) Nov. 15, 2018, in the port of Oslo, Norway after participating in Trident Juncture 2018. Navy photo

THE PENTAGON – President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate retired Rear Adm. Kenneth Braithwaite, the current U.S. ambassador to Norway, to be the next secretary of the Navy.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper suggested Trump consider Braithwaite, a 1984...

https://news.usni.org/2019/11/25/retired-rear-adm-kenneth-braithwaite-tapped-to-be-next-secnav

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

Panel: South Korean Officials Concerned with ‘Ad Hoc’ U.S. Policy

USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) arrives at Commander, Republic of Korea Fleet base in Busan, the new home on March 12, 2016. US Navy Photo

WASHINGTON — South Koreans increasingly wonder whether the White House’s transactional approach to foreign relations means the United States will honor its commitment to come to their aid in a crisis, a panel of security experts said this week.

South Korea and other U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific, “worry what [the U.S.] transactional approach to allies” means in...

https://news.usni.org/2019/11/20/panel-south-korean-officials-concerned-with-ad-hoc-u-s-policy

Truman Escorts Now Supporting Carrier Lincoln on Extended Deployment

USS Mason (DDG-87) moors pierside at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. Mason, USS Bainbridge (DDG-96), and USS Nitze (DDG 94), returned to their homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, Va. on Nov. 5, 2019. US Navy Photo

Three guided-missile destroyers escorts returned to their Norfolk, Va. homeport on Wednesday while their carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), remains on station just outside the Persian Gulf, a Navy official confirmed to USNI News on Thursday.

Destroyers USS Bainbridge (DDG-96), USS Mason (D...

https://news.usni.org/2019/11/07/truman-escorts-now-supporting-carrier-lincoln-on-extended-deployment

Electric Boat Building Columbia-Class Subs, Waiting on Block V Virginia Contract

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

General Dynamics Electric Boat is preparing for Columbia-class submarine production while a contract for Block V Virginia-class submarines is in limbo as company and Navy officials work out final details.

Work on both classes of submarines is progressing, Phebe Novakovic, chief executive of General Dynamics, said during a Wednesday conference call with analysts. General Dynamics is spen...

https://news.usni.org/2019/10/24/electric-boat-building-columbia-class-subs-waiting-on-block-v-virginia-contract

Navy, Shipbuilders Working On Final Details Of Block V Virginia-Class Submarine Deal

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

GROTON, Conn. – The Navy is close to inking a multi-billion-dollar deal to build the Block V Virginia-class fast-attack submarines, but doing so requires the service, shipyards and suppliers to balance their sometimes-competing program priorities, the service’s top acquisition official said Tuesday

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for...

https://news.usni.org/2019/08/29/navy-shipbuilders-working-on-final-details-of-block-v-virginia-class-submarine-deal

Esper: Pentagon Evaluating How To Expand Indo-Pacific Presence

U.S. Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper and wife, Leah Esper, arrive at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Aug. 2, 2019. DoD photo.

NEWPORT, R.I. – The Pentagon is evaluating how to expand its Indo-Pacific region presence, including freedom of navigation operations and adding new bases, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Tuesday morning.

Speaking to the student body of the U.S. Naval War College, Esper told the group of mostly lieutenant commanders and commanders that the challenges...

https://news.usni.org/2019/08/27/esper-pentagon-evaluating-how-to-expand-indo-pacific-presence

VIDEO: U.S. Tests First Post-INF, Ground-Based Cruise Missile

The Defense Department conducted a flight test of a conventionally configured ground-launched cruise missile at San Nicolas Island, Calif. on Aug. 18, 2019. DoD Photo

Over the weekend, the U.S. military fired what appears to be Tomahawk Block IV missile with a range of more than 500 kilometers, likely the first such test of an American missile previously banned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

The Pentagon did not release many details about the test, other than it occurred...

https://news.usni.org/2019/08/19/video-u-s-tests-first-post-inf-ground-based-cruise-missile

Esper: U.S. Will Provide Intel to Allies to Keep Middle East Merchant Ships Safe, Not Warship Escorts

U.S. Secretary of the Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper speaks to reporters during an on record press gaggle at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. on July 24, 2019. DoD Photo

THE PENTAGON – American forces are willing to provide allies with intelligence on potential maritime threats in the Middle East, but countries will need to bring their own escorts, defense officials told USNI News on Wednesday.

Operation Sentinel is the emerging U.S. Central Command plan to keep merchant traffic in the Middle East...

https://news.usni.org/2019/07/24/esper-u-s-will-provide-intel-to-allies-keep-middle-east-merchant-ships-safe-not-warship-escorts

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