Sam LaGrone

About Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone is the editor of USNI News. He has covered legislation, acquisition and operations for the Sea Services since 2009 and spent time underway with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Canadian Navy.


Recent Posts By the Author


Junior Sailors on USS George Washington Endured Some of the Toughest Living Conditions in the Military, Says New Navy Investigation

Junior Sailors on USS George Washington Endured Some of the Toughest Living Conditions in the Military, Says New Navy Investigation

Sailors assigned to weapons department aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), prepare to operate the elevator during a general quarters drill, in Newport News, Virginia April 7, 2023. US Navy Photo

Since 2017, junior sailors assigned to aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) were subject to some of the toughest living conditions in the military, according to a new Navy investigation released on Thursday. Read More

Procedural Problems, Maintenance Lapses Led to Water Contamination Aboard Carriers USS Nimitz, USS Abraham Lincoln

Procedural Problems, Maintenance Lapses Led to Water Contamination Aboard Carriers USS Nimitz, USS Abraham Lincoln

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W Bush (CVN-77) transits the Adriatic Sea on March 17, 2023. US Navy Photo

Water contaminated with jet fuel accidentally pumped throughout aircraft carrier USS Nimitz‘s (CVN-68) potable water system and resulted in widespread contamination that made 11 sailors sick in September, according to an investigation the Navy released on Monday. Read More

Carrier USS Ronald Reagan Now Underway Ahead of Spring Patrol

Carrier USS Ronald Reagan Now Underway Ahead of Spring Patrol

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) pulls into port in Busan, Republic of Korea, Sept. 23, 2022. US Navy Photo

Aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) and guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG-54) departed Japan on Friday for an underway period ahead of the forward-deployed U.S. carrier strike group’s spring patrol, according to ship spotters. Read More

SECDEF Austin: Tuberville's ‘Unprecedented’ Hold on Pentagon Nominees Creates ‘Perilous Precedent’

SECDEF Austin: Tuberville’s ‘Unprecedented’ Hold on Pentagon Nominees Creates ‘Perilous Precedent’

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley address the media during a press conference in April. DoD Photo

An Alabama senator’s hold on all Department of Defense civilian and military nominations is “unprecedented in its scale and scope” and “a clear risk to U.S. military readiness,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin wrote in a Friday letter to Congress, obtained by USNI News. Read More

Submarine Supply Chain Largest Barrier to Improving Virginia Attack Sub Schedule, Says Boykin

Submarine Supply Chain Largest Barrier to Improving Virginia Attack Sub Schedule, Says Boykin

Newport News Shipbuilding president Jennifer Boykin speaks at the christening of attack submarines Massachusettes on May 7, 2023. HII Photo

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Availability of parts, not people, is the largest barrier right now to catch up with the delays in constructing Virginia-class nuclear attack boats, company officials at submarine builder Newport News Shipbuilding told USNI News. Read More