Sen. Jack Reed

SASC Chair Reed Defends Pentagon’s ‘Difficult Decisions’ to Decommission Legacy Warships

Freedom-class littoral combat ships USS Sioux City (LCS-11) and USS Milwaukee (LCS-5) moor alongside one another during a nesting evolution on Naval Station Mayport, Fla. on March 25, 2019. US Navy Photo

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said the U.S. military doesn’t have a choice in retiring legacy systems, like the Littoral Combat Ship, to make way for future shipbuilding investments.

The Pentagon and Congress must make “difficult decisions” as to what stays and what goes in...

https://news.usni.org/2023/04/25/sasc-chair-reed-defends-pentagons-difficult-decisions-to-decommission-legacy-warships

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...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/15/guertin-appears-before-senate-committee-seeking-assistant-navy-secretary-job

SECNAV Del Toro Tells Industry to Hold Down Costs, Resist Requirements Creep

Attack boat Vermont (SSN-792) float-off on March 29, 2019. General Dynamics Electric Boats Photo

The Navy needs to resist “requirements creep” in changing designs to complete its number one strategic priority, the Columbia class ballistic missile submarine program (SSBN-826), Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said on Monday at a virtual conference hosted by the Southeastern New England Defense Industrial Alliance.

Del Toro stressed that the defense industry needs to be equally observant in holding...

https://news.usni.org/2021/08/30/secnav-del-toro-tells-industry-to-hold-down-costs-resist-requirements-creep

SASC Chairman: 355-Ship Fleet is ‘Arbitrary’ Goal, Navy Needs To Pursue Autonomous Vehicles

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) steam in formation during a Strait of Hormuz transit, Sept. 18 on Sept. 18, 2020. US Navy Photo

Rather than focusing on the “arbitrary” 355-ship fleet total, the service should concentrate more effort on developing autonomous vehicles, the top lawmaker on the Senate Armed Services Committee said today.

Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Institute, SASC Chairman Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) emphasized the importance of capability...

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/11/sasc-chairman-355-ship-fleet-is-arbitrary-goal-navy-needs-to-pursue-autonomous-vehicles

Pentagon Conducting ‘Relook’ of FY-22 Budget; Directive Targets Shipbuilding

In this aerial photograph, the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) sits at Pier 3 at Newport News Shipbuilding division. The ship is approximately 76 percent complete and is progressing through final outfitting and testing. Huntington Ingalls Industries photo.

The Pentagon is performing a “budget relook” of the Trump administration’s Fiscal Year 2022 proposal, with Navy shipbuilding topping the list of items for reassessment, USNI News has learned.

The directive, issued on Feb. 17, calls...

https://news.usni.org/2021/02/24/pentagon-conducting-relook-of-fy-22-budget-directive-targets-shipbuilding

Senate Confirms Kathleen Hicks As Deputy Defense Secretary

Deputy Secretary of Defense nominee Kathleen Hicks reacts to the start of her Senate confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C. Feb. 2, 2021. DoD Photo

The Senate on Monday voted to confirm Kathleen Hicks as the deputy defense secretary.

Hicks, who also worked in the Pentagon under the Obama administration, is the first woman confirmed to the Defense Department’s number-two position.

“Today, Dr. Hicks made history and I know she will get right to work in this critical role. She is a highly regarded...

https://news.usni.org/2021/02/09/senate-confirms-kathleen-hicks-as-deputy-defense-secretary

Senators Clash Over $8B Nuclear Security Admin Funding Holdover

Virginia-class submarine Delaware (SSN 791) was moved out of a construction facility into a floating dry dock using a transfer car system in 2018. HII Photo

A group of senators pressed the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration on Thursday to explain why her agency carries over approximately $8 billion in unspent funds year-over-year that lawmakers argued could be put toward building a second Virginia-class submarine next year.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) noted the second...

https://news.usni.org/2020/09/17/senators-clash-over-8b-nuclear-security-admin-funding-holdover

Thornberry: Final NDAA Bill Won’t Be Ready Until After Election

Rep. Mac Thornberry, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, met with journalists from the Defense Writers Group, an association of news outlets with reporters that cover national security issues, at the George Washington University on Tuesday, June 11, 2019. GWU Photo

The final conference report on the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act won’t be ready until after the Nov. 3 election, the outgoing ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee said on...

https://news.usni.org/2020/09/09/thornberry-final-ndaa-bill-wont-be-ready-until-after-election

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

Gilday Acknowledges Ship Maintenance Challenges, Vows to Study Barriers to Readiness

Hull Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Lashavya Barber welds aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). Eisenhower is undergoing a Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. US Navy photo.

CAPITOL HILL – Vice Adm. Michael Gilday says he’s ready to get smart on ship maintenance and tackle the Navy’s ongoing readiness challenges if confirmed as the next chief of naval operations.

Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee today in his confirmation...

https://news.usni.org/2019/07/31/gilday-acknowledges-ship-maintenance-challenges-vows-to-study-barriers-to-readiness

+ More
Join Our Newsletter
Enter your email to receive a weekly round-up of shipping news.
icon
By subscribing, you agree with our privacy policy and our terms of service.