Top Stories 2019

Top Stories 2019: U.S. Navy Acquisition

This post is part of a series of review stories looking back at the top naval news from 2019.

2019 started with a surprise in the Navy budget request: the service needed to buy and test unmanned surface vehicles immediately to reach its ultimate goals for the surface force, and it was willing to sacrifice almost anything – including sidelining an aircraft carrier – to free up the funds to do so.

The year continued with a contract award for the first carrier-based unmanned aircraft, troubles with...

https://news.usni.org/2020/01/03/top-stories-2019-u-s-navy-acquisition

Top Stories 2019: Law, Policy and the Navy

This post is part of a series of review stories looking back at the top naval news from 2019.

The Gallagher Case, Aftermath

Arguably no criminal case has changed the Navy more than the service’s troubled prosecution of Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Gallagher.

After an investigation sparked from complaints from fellow SEALs, the service charged Gallagher “with murder, attempted murder and a string of other alleged war crimes,” as part of a deployment in 2017 with SEAL Team 7, reported Navy...

https://news.usni.org/2020/01/02/top-stories-2019-law-policy-and-the-navy

Top Stories 2019: Marine Corps Operations

A Marine with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, assigned to the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Central Command (SPMAGTF-CR-CC) 19.2, participates in a tactical vehicle driving course in Kuwait on Dec. 21, 2019. US Marine Corps Photo

This post is part of a series of review stories looking back at the top naval news from 2019.

The Marine Corps put into practice the concepts it has been writing and wargaming in recent years, showing what its Expeditionary Advance Base...

https://news.usni.org/2020/01/01/top-stories-2019-marine-corps-operations

Top Stories 2019: U.S. Navy Operations

A sailor walks across the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) on July 26, 2019. US Navy Photo

This post is part of a series of review stories looking back at the top naval news from 2019.

While China and Russia are the long-term focus of the National Defense Strategy, the Navy’s 2019 operations were still heavily centered on countering threats in the Middle East.

In June, the Navy had more personnel deployed to the Middle East than anywhere else. The Boxer...

https://news.usni.org/2019/12/31/top-stories-2019-u-s-navy-operations

Top Stories 2019: Marine Corps Acquisition

Colored oil smoke indicates rotor wake and wind effects while external “tufts” adher to the outside of the CH-53K King Stallion showing surface airflow. These efforts validate a modification mitigating Exhaust Gas Re-ingestion for the new Marine Corps aircraft. US Navy photo.

This post is part of a series of review stories looking back at the top naval news from 2019.

The Marine Corps in 2019 continued on its path to modernize aging systems to allow Marines to move across the air, land and sea in...

https://news.usni.org/2019/12/30/top-stories-2019-marine-corps-acquisition

Top Stories 2019: International Operations

Undated photo of Russian AGI Viktor Leonov.

This post is part of a series of review stories looking back at the top naval news from 2019.

The U.S. Navy pushed its interoperability with foreign allies and partner nations in 2019 to counter increased naval activity by Russia and China.

China and Russia, though, did not sit still during the year. Each nation’s navy took great strides in attempting to bolster their fleets. The work to increase capabilities, though, was not smooth, as Russia’s and...

https://news.usni.org/2019/12/25/top-stories-2019-international-operations