Thomas Modly Archives - Maritime Shipping News

White House to Nominate DOT&E Head Nickolas Guertin as Navy Acquisition Chief

2 September 2022

Nickolas Guertin. DoD Photo

The Pentagon’s chief weapons tester will be nominated to lead the Navy’s acquisition efforts, the White House announced on Friday.

Nickolas Guertin, the current Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, is now set to be the White House’s nominee as assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition (RDA), according to a late Friday release from the Biden administration.

The director of DOT&E reports directly to both Secretary of Defense Lloyd...

https://news.usni.org/2022/09/02/white-house-to-nominate-dote-head-nickolas-guertin-as-navy-acquisition-chief

Biden To Nominate Senate Staffer Erik Raven for Navy Under Secretary

14 December 2021

Erik K. Raven, minority staff director, United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, gives remarks during a sunset parade reception at the Women in Military Service for America War Memorial, Arlington, Va., July 5, 2016. U.S. Marine Corps Photo

President Joe Biden on Monday disclosed plans to nominate a Senate staffer to serve as the new under secretary of the Navy.

Erik Raven, who is currently the majority clerk for the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee, is Biden’s pick...

https://news.usni.org/2021/12/14/biden-nominates-senate-staffer-erik-raven-for-navy-under-secretary

Navy Tries to Cut Four Littoral Combat Ships to Save $186M in FY 22 Budget

28 May 2021

The crew of USS Little Rock (LCS-9) man the rails during the ship’s commissioning ceremony Dec. 16, 2017 in Buffalo, N.Y. US Navy Photo

The Navy wants to cut four Littoral Combat Ships from the fleet as part of a cost-saving measure that will net the service $186 million, according to the service’s latest budget request.

The request to cull the ships from the battle force inventory comes despite criticism from Congress over last year’s proposal to retire the first four Littoral Combat Ships early.

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/28/navy-tries-to-cut-four-littoral-combat-ships-to-save-186m-in-fy-22-budget

Navy to Decommission Littoral Combat Ships USS Freedom, USS Independence Later This Year

18 May 2021

Littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) returns to Naval Base San Diego from her final deployment, April 12, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Navy will decommission the service’s first two Littoral Combat Ships later this year, USNI News has learned.

USS Independence (LCS-2) will decommission on July 31, Navy spokeswoman Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman confirmed to USNI News. Meanwhile, USS Freedom (LCS-1) will leave the active fleet on Sept. 30, according to a decommissioning memo reviewed by USNI News.

Both...

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/17/navy-to-decommission-littoral-combat-ships-uss-freedom-uss-independence-later-this-year

Defense Department Investigation into Navy COVID-19 Response

9 February 2021

The following is the Feb. 4, DoD Inspector General report, Evaluation of the Navy’s Plans and Response to the Coronavirus Disease-2019 Onboard Navy Warships and Submarines. The report was released on Feb. 8.

From the report

Objective

We determined whether the Navy had, and implemented, policies, plans, and procedures to prevent and mitigate the spread of infectious diseases, such as coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), on its warships and submarines. The focus of this evaluation was at the Navy...

https://news.usni.org/2021/02/09/defense-department-investigation-into-navy-covid-19-response

Acting SECNAV Harker’s First Message to the Fleet

20 January 2021

The following is the text from the Jan. 20, 2021 message from Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Harker sent to the Department of the Navy.

To all of our Sailors, Marines, Civilians, and Military Families,

I am honored to return to the Department of the Navy Team as your Acting Secretary.

From my years on active duty in the Coast Guard and as a Career Civilian at several federal agencies, I am keenly aware of the sacrifices all of you make, and the dedication you show, every day in service to...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/20/acting-secnav-harkers-first-message-to-the-fleet

Department of Navy Comptroller Harker to Serve as Acting SECNAV

14 January 2021

Thomas Harker, who for the last few years has served as the Department of the Navy’s chief civilian financial official, will assume the role of acting Navy secretary once President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in, a Navy official confirmed to USNI News.

Since 2018, Harker had served as the assistant secretary of the Navy for financial management and comptroller.

On July 2, 2020, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman announced that Harker would serve as the acting undersecretary of defense and...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/14/department-of-navy-comptroller-harker-to-serve-as-acting-secnav

USS Gerald R. Ford Making Steady Progress Ahead of Deployment

25 November 2020

Rear Adm. Craig Clapperton, left, commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12, receives a brief from Lt Cmdr. Chabonnie Alexander, middle, USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN-78) ordnance handling officer, on Ford’s Advanced Weapons Elevators June 3, 2020. US Navy Photo

Ford is more than halfway through this post-delivery test and trials stage – an 18-month period where the carrier spends about half the time at sea and half in port – which should wrap up in April. In addition to the shipyard crew finishing...

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