WEST 2020

Mission Capable: How the Navy Harnessed Its Data to Achieve 80% Fighter Readiness

Vice Adm. DeWolfe Miller III, commander of Naval Air Forces, addresses T-34C Turbo Mentor aircraft maintainers and midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy at Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI) before taking a flight with Lt. Jason “JB” Ely of Strike Fighter Squadron 122 (VFA-122) on Aug. 6, 2019. US Navy photo.

This post is the first in a two-part series on the naval aviation community’s effort to build better readiness and how that is changing the future of naval aviation.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. –...

https://news.usni.org/2020/04/22/mission-capable-how-the-navy-harnessed-its-data-to-achieve-80-fighter-readiness

Coast Guard Struggling to Get Ships Repaired as Navy Expands Use of Smaller Yards

Coast Guard Cutter Waesche prepares to refloat from drydock in Seattle, Wash., May 22, 2018. The Waesche is a 418-foot Legend-class National Security Cutter homeported in Alameda, California. US Coast Guard photo.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Coast Guard is struggling to get ship repair yards to bid on its work as the Navy is leaning on more of these same companies to help dig out of its own ship maintenance backlog – and with the Navy contracts being larger and more lucrative, the Coast Guard is...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/16/coast-guard-struggling-to-get-cutters-repaired-as-navy-expands-use-of-smaller-yards

Navy Reservist, Miramar Marine Test Positive for Coronavirus; 2nd Marine Under Watch at Camp Pendleton

Marine Corps Photo

A Marine stationed at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego, Calif., tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus and is being isolated while receiving treatment, I Marine Expeditionary Force officials announced Thursday.

A second Marine, stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., is being restricted at the base as a precaution and is being checked daily by medical officials, I MEF officials said in a news release. The identities of the Marines were not released.

Meanwhile,...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/12/navy-reservist-miramar-marine-test-positive-for-coronavirus-2nd-marine-under-watch-at-camp-pendleton

U.S. Sailor in Naples has Navy’s First Known Coronavirus Case

Bay of Napoli. US Navy Photo

A sailor in Naples, Italy has tested positive for the COVID-19 strain of coronavirus, marking the first time the virus has been discovered in the Navy, according to a Saturday statement from U.S. European Command.

The sailor, who worked at Naval Support Activity Naples, was found to have the virus on Friday, according to the statement and is the first confirmed case of a U.S. service member in Europe

“The member is currently restricted to their residence, receiving...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/07/u-s-sailor-in-naples-has-navys-first-known-coronavirus-case

CNO, Commandant Asking for Fleet Wholeness Amid Pause in Future Force Structure Planning

USS America (LHA-6) sails in the Gulf of Thailand in support of Exercise Cobra Gold 2020 on March 1, 2020. US Navy Photo

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Navy and Marine Corps are caught in a battle with Pentagon leadership over the right force size to aim for and how quickly to try to get there, but the top officers in the sea services insist that everyone is on the same page about maintaining wholeness and readiness as the service grows.

Almost as soon as Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger and...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/03/cno-commandant-asking-for-fleet-wholeness-amid-pause-in-future-force-structure-planning

INDO-PACOM Commander: New Warfighting Concept Requires More Joint Training, Ranges to Prep for Tougher Fights

Adm. Phil Davidson, participates in an honors ceremony at the Brunei Ministry of Defence on September 10, 2020. U.S..S. Navy Photo

SAN DIEGO, Calif. –The future force must transform into one that’s jointly trained and integrated across all warfighting domains and with regional allies and partners to counter threats including China’s growing military and global influence, the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific said on Tuesday.

“New geopolitical realities, expanding warfighting domains, and...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/04/indo-pacom-commander-new-warfighting-concept-requires-more-joint-training-ranges-to-prep-for-tougher-fights

CNO Gilday Defends 36-Month Carrier Cycle, Says Navy Has Never Missed a Deployment

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Gilday meets with Sailors during his visit to Naval Expeditionary Intelligence Command. US Navy Photo

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The chief of naval operations defended the Navy’s force-generation model, saying that it could be tweaked to change the balance of deployed forces versus those ready to surge if needed – but the 36-month maintenance, training and deployment cycle fundamentally works.

Adm. Mike Gilday was responding to last week’s comments by Defense...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/02/cno-gilday-defends-36-month-carrier-cycle-says-navy-has-never-missed-a-deployment

U.S. Issues Formal Protest to China Over P-8A Lasing Incident in Philippine Sea

Type 052D Destroyer Hohot (161). Photo via Naval News

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The U.S. government has issued a formal protest to China over a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy destroyer shining a military-grade laser at a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft operating in the Philippine Sea last month.

USNI News first reported on Feb. 27 that a Chinese Type 052D or Luyang III-class destroyer, the Hohhot, lased a P-8 on Feb. 17 during operations over international waters and airspace...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/02/u-s-issues-formal-protest-to-china-over-p-8a-lasing-incident-in-philippine-sea

Coast Guard Key to Coronavirus U.S. Response; Marines, Navy Increasing Measures to Ward Off Disease Spread

This illustration of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). CDC illustration

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The U.S. sea services have yet to feel a major effect from the coronavirus but are keeping a wary eye on its spread, the service chiefs said on Monday.

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday and Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger outlined how each service was handling the growing outbreaks of the virus that originated in Wuhan, China, during a...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/02/coast-guard-key-to-coronavirus-u-s-response-marines-navy-increasing-measures-to-ward-off-disease-spread