USS Kidd (DDG-100)

13th Sailor Dies From COVID-19 Complications

Gas Turbine System Technician (Mechanical) 1st Class Ryan Crosby, 39. US Navy Photo

A Virginia Beach, Va., sailor assigned to Expeditionary Warfare Training Group Atlantic died on Sunday after complications from a COVID-19 infection, the Navy announced today.

Gas Turbine System Technician (Mechanical) 1st Class Ryan Crosby, 39, tested positive for the virus on Aug. 26 and was admitted to Naval Medical Center Portsmouth on Sept. 8, and was transferred to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital on Sept....

https://news.usni.org/2021/09/20/13th-sailor-dies-from-covid-19-complications

Navy, Marine Corps Issue Policy, Deadlines for Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccinations for Active, Reserve Forces

Sailors with Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Bremerton administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to all unvaccinated active duty personnel assigned to commands in Puget Sound, Wash., Aug. 31, 2021. US Navy Photo

All active-duty Marines and Navy personnel must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Nov. 28, and reservists by Dec. 28, to comply with the Department of the Navy’s latest immunization policy, the services announced in all-hands messages.

The vaccines are...

https://news.usni.org/2021/09/01/navy-marine-corps-issue-policy-deadlines-for-mandatory-covid-19-vaccinations-for-active-reserve-forces

Navy Destroyer, Coast Guard Cutter Make Eighth U.S. Taiwan Strait Transit in 2021

Legend-class U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) transits the Taiwan Strait during a routine transit with Arleigh-burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100), Aug. 27. US Navy Photo

A Navy guided-missile destroyer and a Coast Guard National Security Cutter moved through the Taiwan Strait on Friday, marking the eighth transit of the waters this year by an American warship.

USS Kidd (DDG-100) and USCG Munro (WMSL-755) performed the transit, U.S. 7th Fleet said in...

https://news.usni.org/2021/08/27/navy-destroyer-coast-guard-cutter-make-eighth-u-s-taiwan-strait-transit-in-2021

Pentagon Mandating Pfizer Vaccine After FDA Approval; 2 Sailors, Marine Die of COVID-19 Complications

Navy Installations Command Force Master Chief Greg A. Vidaurri receives his second COVID-19 vaccine at Branch Health Clinic Washington Navy Yard, on Feb. 16, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Defense Department will begin requiring Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccination now that it has received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the Pentagon’s spokesman said today.
The Pentagon is still working on the guidance it will issue to U.S. forces about the vaccine requirement, Defense Department...

https://news.usni.org/2021/08/23/pentagon-mandating-pfizer-vaccine-after-fda-approval-2-sailors-marine-die-of-covid-19-complications

Navy Surgeon General Expects Little Resistance to COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement from Sailors, Marines

Hospitalman William Lansing, from Las Vegas, administers a vaccine aboard amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2), on May 14, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Navy surgeon general is confident the sea services will have sufficient supplies available to meet the Pentagon’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and expects little resistance from sailors and Marines.

Speaking to the Defense Writers Group Thursday, Rear Adm. Bruce Gillingham said that “72 percent are fully vaccinated” in the Navy while “the Marine...

https://news.usni.org/2021/08/19/navy-surgeon-general-expects-little-resistance-to-covid-19-vaccine-requirement-from-sailors-marines

Defense Department Investigation into Navy COVID-19 Response

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

USNI News 2020 Fleet and Marine Review

When 2020 closed, the Navy’s aircraft carrier forces spent a collective 896 days deployed across the world – 200 more days than in 2019. As reported by USNI News in November, the carrier force has been under strain over the last 20 years, and the use of the force accelerated in 2020. Likewise, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps amphibious ready groups and Marine expeditionary units saw deployments to the Western Pacific and U.S. Central Command.

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Top Stories 2020: COVID-19 Pandemic

Sailors prepare to man the rails as the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), returns to Yokosuka, Japan following a six-month underway period. US Navy Photo

This post is part of a series of stories looking back at the top naval news from 2020.

The coronavirus pandemic affected almost everything the Navy did in 2020, from the way the service deploys forces, to the way its contractors built ships and weapons, to the way sailors and officers were educated and...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/28/top-stories-2020-covid-19-pandemic

Destroyer USS Pinckney Pulls into San Diego After Extended Deployment

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) returns to its homeport of Naval Base San Diego following the successful completion of a nine-month deployment. While deployed, Pinckney spent time in the U.S. 4th and 7th Fleet areas of operation. U.S. Navy Photo

Destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG-91) pulled into the San Diego harbor on Monday after an extended deployment that lasted nearly nine months, the Navy announced.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer first...

Destroyers USS Stout, USS Kidd Wrap Up Long-Haul Deployments

The guided-missile destroyer USS Stout (DDG-55), right, and the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD-5) transits the Arabian Gulf April 26 2020. U.S. Navy Photo

Destroyer USS Stout (DDG-55) recently achieved a record-breaking deployment length after operating at sea for more than 200 days, the Navy announced.

As of Sept. 26, the destroyer had been at sea for 208 straight days, breaking cruiser USS San Jacinto’s (CG-56) and aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower’s (CVN-69) records, according...

https://news.usni.org/2020/09/29/destroyers-uss-stout-uss-kidd-wrap-up-long-haul-deployments

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