USS Delaware (SSN-791) transits the Atlantic Ocean after departing Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding division during sea trials in August 2019. Navy photo courtesy of HII
USS Vermont (SSN-792), the Navy’s first block IV Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine, joined the fleet over the weekend in a subdued administrative action transitioning the boat to normal operations without the pomp and circumstance of a comissioning ceremony ashore.
COVID-19-related restrictions...
USNI News Graphic
These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of April 20, 2020, based on Navy and public data. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship.
Total U.S. Navy Battle Force:297Ships Underway
| Deployed Ships Underway | Non-deployed Ships Underway | Total Ships Underway |
| 68 | 22 | 90 |
Ships Deployed by Fleet
| Fleet Forces | 3... |
https://news.usni.org/2020/04/20/usni-news-fleet-and-marine-tracker-april-20-2020
A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter assigned to 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 265 takes off from the flight deck of amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) on April 18, 2020. US Navy Photo
KUALA LUMPUR — USS America (LHA-6) is steaming towards waters in the South China Sea where a Chinese government survey ship and its China Coast Guard escorts are in an international maritime dispute with Malaysia.
As of Saturday, America was operating with at...
https://news.usni.org/2020/04/20/uss-america-now-steaming-near-south-china-sea-standoff
Sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) depart the ship to move to off-ship berthing on April 10, 2020. US Navy Photo
To better refine how the Navy fights COVID-19, the service and the Center for Disease Control are mounting a study see how the virus spread aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).
Starting Monday, the Navy is going to ask volunteers from Theodore Roosevelt for blood samples and swabs to begin a serology (pronounced: SIR-all-ah-gee) study into the...
https://news.usni.org/2020/04/17/navy-cdc-to-study-covid-19-outbreak-on-carrier-theodore-roosevelt
Equipment Operator 3rd Class Tyler Dowling, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5, speaks with Capt. Eric Correll, Commander, Task Force 75 during Expeditionary Medical Facility (EMF) site preparations on April 16, 2020. US Navy Photo
The Navy reported 1,017 active duty COVID-19 cases throughout the fleet, the service announced on Friday. Of those, infected sailors on USS Theodore Roosevelt account for the majority of the Navy’s active duty cases.
“As of today, 94 percent of...
Tripoli (LHA-7) is launched at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. on March 1, 2017. US Navy Photo
The Navy’s acquisition community is trying to “leverage the condition we’re in, not be a victim of it,” with the service’s top buyer saying he’s confident his workforce can take unexpected lessons learned adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic and actually be more efficient in the long term.
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition James...
Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding Division contractors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) conduct phase 2 testing on a lower stage weapons elevator on Feb. 27, 2020. This testing marks another milestone in the certification of Gerald R. Ford’s Advanced Weapons Elevators. US Navy photo.
The Navy and Newport News Shipbuilding have finished building and testing the first lower elevator on aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and will soon announce...
Sailors assigned to the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD-8) review charts in the Combat Information Center on April 8, 2020. US Navy Photo
The Navy is continuing to refine procedures to prevent another outbreak of COVID-19 aboard its ships but is facing a barrier in fielding enough tests to root out the virus from deploying crews.
This week, the service released a new set of revisions for guidelines to the fleet to prevent and mitigate viral outbreaks onshore and at sea. The two...
https://news.usni.org/2020/04/16/navy-adjusting-to-operational-realities-of-covid-19
Aviation Ordnanceman Chief Petty Officer Charles Robert Thacker Jr.
The first sailor to die of COVID-19 was a chief petty officer assigned to USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), the Navy announced on Thursday.
Aviation Ordnanceman Chief Petty Officer Charles Robert Thacker Jr., 41, died in U.S. Naval Hospital Guam on Monday after being admitted to intensive care after being found unresponsive days earlier during a medical check of personnel who had been moved off the carrier. He was moved to the...
https://news.usni.org/2020/04/16/navy-identifies-carrier-roosevelt-sailor-who-died-from-covid-19
Eleven Irananian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) harrassed U.S. military vessels in international waters in the North Arabian Gulf, the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet said Wednesday. The Navy said the unsafe and unprofessional interactions took place Wednesday, April 15, as U.S. Naval...