Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener

New Leaders Take Command of I MEF, Naval Surface Forces

U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Bradford Gering, the incoming commanding general for I Marine Expeditionary Force, gives his remarks during the I Marine Expeditionary Force succession of command ceremony on Camp Pendleton, California, Aug. 18, 2023. US Marine Corps Photo

Two major three-star commands changed leaders in separate southern California ceremonies on Friday.

At Camp Pendleton, Calif., Lt. Gen. George Smith relinquished his command of I Marine Expeditionary Force to Maj. Gen. Bradford...

https://news.usni.org/2023/08/20/new-leaders-take-command-of-i-mef-naval-surface-forces

Biden Announces Nominations for New N9, Naval Surface Forces

Rear Admiral Brendan McLane, Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic is piped aboard during a retirement ceremony for Captain Zoah Scheneman on Aug. 12, 2022. U.S. Navy Photo

President Joe Biden has nominated the next deputy chief of naval operations for warfighting requirements and capabilities, the commander of Naval Surface Forces and the deputy commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, the Pentagon announced Monday.

Biden nominated Rear Adm. James Pitts to serve as the deputy chief of naval...

https://news.usni.org/2023/04/24/biden-announces-nominations-for-new-n9-naval-surface-forces

SWO Boss Sets Goal for 75 Mission-Capable Surface Warships Ready to Deploy

Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, speaks with Capt. Wayne P. Liebold, executive officer of the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2), during a scheduled visit to the ship on Jan. 5, 2023. US Navy Photo

The Navy has set a new goal to have 75 mission-capable surface ships that are prepared to deploy at any given moment

The readiness objective to keep a little less than half of the surface ship inventory ready to deploy is part of a larger...

https://news.usni.org/2023/01/10/swo-boss-sets-goal-for-75-mission-capable-surface-warships-ready-to-deploy

SWO Boss: Surface Fleet Reforms See Positive Results Five Years After Fatal Collisions

Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, commander, Naval Surface Force, speaks with junior officers at the Mariner Skills Training Center, Pacific (MSTCPAC) on May 6, 2022. US Navy Photo

Surface warfare reforms crafted to improve mariner skills and manage demand for ships are trickling into the fleet five years after two fatal collisions in the Western Pacific forced the Navy to retool how the service trains the surface fleet.

Multiple investigations and criminal prosecutions found that basic failures in...

https://news.usni.org/2022/06/17/swo-boss-surface-fleet-reforms-see-positive-results-five-years-after-fatal-collisions

CNO Blames Culture of Poor Self-Assessment for Major Navy Problems; SWOBOSS Unveils New Surface Vision

Chief of Naval Operations Mike Gilday speaking on Jan. 11, 2022 from his office in the Pentagon. US Navy Photo

ARLINGTON, Va. – The reluctance across the Navy to be self-critical and a tendency to hide mistakes and minimize flaws have resulted in systemic problems in the service and stalled efforts to improve, Chief of Naval Operations Adm Mike Gilday said on Tuesday.

“We are not operating to our full potential. Over these last few years, I think we have learned some hard truths about ourselves,”...

https://news.usni.org/2022/01/11/cno-blames-culture-of-poor-self-assessment-for-major-navy-problems-swoboss-unveils-new-surface-vision

SWOBOSS: Littoral Combat Ships Positioned to Supplement EABO Mission

USS Kansas City (LCS-22) off the coast of California on Aug. 16, 2021. USNI News Photo

The Navy and Marine Corps are testing out whether Littoral Combat Ships armed with anti-ship missiles could be key to how the Marines employe their island-hopping strategy in the Pacific.

The platform, which has struggled to find its footing in the surface fleet, could aid the Marine Corps in its Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) mission, Naval Surface Forces commander Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener said...

https://news.usni.org/2022/01/10/swoboss-littoral-combat-ships-positioned-to-supplement-eabo-mission

GAO: Navy Struggling to Retain Surface Warfare Officers; SWOs Want More Training, Specialization

Sailors on the bridge of USS Antietam (CG-59). US Navy Photo

Surface warfare officers are leaving the Navy at a higher rate than other unrestricted line officers despite reforms in training the service has instituted since two fatal collisions in 2017, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

Compared to aviators, submariners and the special warfare/explosives ordnance disposal community, “SWOs had shorter average careers and higher separation rates compared with...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/18/gao-navy-struggling-to-retain-surface-warfare-officers-swos-want-more-training-specialization

Navy Taps One-Star To Drive LCS Program Improvements

Information Specialist 1st Class Matthew Stephenson mans the lines as the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS-11) gets underway on Aug. 30, 2020. US Navy Photo

The Navy has installed a one-star admiral to oversee a task force focused on refining the employment, maintenance and reliability of the Littoral Combat Ship program, the service announced today.

Rear Adm. Robert Nowakowski, the deputy commander of Navy Recruiting Command and Naval Education and Training Command Force...

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

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 Working on Better Maintainability, Self-Sufficiency for LCS and Rest of Surface Fleet

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. US Navy Photo

Navy officials in Washington and on the waterfront are trying to help the Littoral Combat Ships grow more reliable and maintainable, amid a surface navy-wide effort to focus on crew-level maintenance as a means of improving...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/20/navy-working-on-better-maintainability-self-sufficiency-for-lcs-and-rest-of-surface-fleet

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