Category Archives: Education Legislation

Senate Passes FY 2021 Defense Authorization Bill by Large Margin

Senate Passes FY 2021 Defense Authorization Bill by Large Margin

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The Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Missouri (SSN 780) departs Pearl Harbor on May 10, 2020, after completing a scheduled extended dry-docking selected restricted availability (EDSRA). Missouri’s routine maintenance and modernization work was completed five days ahead of schedule after successful sea trials and certification. US Navy photo

The Senate passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act with an 86 to 14 vote, following the House passing its version of the bill on Tuesday. Read More →

SECDEF Esper: U.S. Will ‘Keep Up the Pace’ of South China Sea Freedom of Navigation Operations

SECDEF Esper: U.S. Will ‘Keep Up the Pace’ of South China Sea Freedom of Navigation Operations

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USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) conducts routine operations near the Panamanian flagged drill ship, West Capella on May 12, 2020. US Navy Photo

KUALA LUMPUR – The U.S. will continue to keep up the pace of freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea, which hit an all-time high in 2019, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on Tuesday. Read More →

HASC Chair Smith: Troops 'Not Ready to Fight' Without Resource-Informed Strategy

HASC Chair Smith: Troops ‘Not Ready to Fight’ Without Resource-Informed Strategy

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U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, Chairman of the House Armed Service Committee, is briefed on the capabilities of the F-35A Lightning II during his visit at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., Oct. 10, 2019. The congressman learned about several aspects of the 56th Fighter Wing F-35 pilot training and how the wing works to enhance lethality and readiness. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jensen Stidham)

The House Armed Services Committee chairman praised an ongoing review of the combatant commanders’ force posture, saying he worried the military was “flailing” as its resources didn’t align with COCOM requests or the National Defense Strategy. Read More →

House Appropriations Bill Includes Funding for Second Virginia-Class Submarine

House Appropriations Bill Includes Funding for Second Virginia-Class Submarine

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Sailors aboard to Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Delaware (SSN-791) on Nov. 5, 2019. US Navy Photo

The House Appropriations defense subcommittee today released its draft Fiscal Year 2021 defense funding bill that would buy nine Navy ships, including the second Virginia-class attack submarine that the House Armed Services Committee is fighting to include in next year’s ship-buying plans. Read More →

House Armed Services Committee Adds Money for EPF, Footstomps Need for Second Virginia SSN

House Armed Services Committee Adds Money for EPF, Footstomps Need for Second Virginia SSN

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Moon over U.S. Capitol on Nov. 13, 2016. NASA Photo

This post has been updated to note the markup ended and the bill will next be heading to a House floor vote. 

The House Armed Services Committee reiterated its support for Navy shipbuilding today in an all-day markup of its annual defense bill, voting to include money for an additional Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) and issuing an opening argument to the Senate for an additional Virginia-class attack submarine. Read More →

House, Senate Defense Bills Differ In Approach to Indo-Pacific Security, But Stress Region's Importance

House, Senate Defense Bills Differ In Approach to Indo-Pacific Security, But Stress Region’s Importance

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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. Gabrielle Giffords, part of Destroyer Squadron Seven, is on a rotational deployment, operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force. US Navy photo.

The House and the Senate agree they need to prioritize the Indo-Pacific region in their annual defense policy and spending bills. They don’t quite agree on how far to go in doing that, but an overriding sense that they need to start somewhere this year will likely get them to the creation of a Indo-Pacific fund to counter China, akin to the European Deterrence Initiative created in 2014 to push back against Russia. Read More →

House Defense Bill Pushes Hypersonic Weapons for Zumwalt Destroyers, Slows LUSV Procurement

House Defense Bill Pushes Hypersonic Weapons for Zumwalt Destroyers, Slows LUSV Procurement

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Sailors man the rails aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) as the ship pulls into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on April 2, 2019. US Navy Photo

The House Armed Services Committee may force the Navy to begin integrating hypersonic weapons onto the Zumwalt class of destroyers, something the sea service has talked about but not prioritized in its budget. Read More →

Delayed by Pandemic, Marines Send Smaller Force to Darwin to Test New Marine Warfighting Concepts with Aussies

Delayed by Pandemic, Marines Send Smaller Force to Darwin to Test New Marine Warfighting Concepts with Aussies

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U.S. Marines with Marine Rotational Force – Darwin receive COVID-19 test at Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin in NT, Australia on June 18, 2020. US Marine Corps Photo

This year’s deployment to Darwin, in Australia’s Northern Territory, hasn’t gone as initially planned. Travel restrictions and quarantining requirements due to the novel coronavirus drove the Marine Corps to send a smaller, 1,200-member force for the rotational deployment program, now in its ninth year. That’s less than half the size that deployed in 2019, the first time Marine Rotational Force-Darwin reached its 2,500-personnel maximum. Read More →

Senate FY 21 Authorization Bill Buys 7 Ships, Adds Oversight on Future Unmanned Air and Surface Ships

Senate FY 21 Authorization Bill Buys 7 Ships, Adds Oversight on Future Unmanned Air and Surface Ships

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USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) departs Huntington Ingalls Industries – Ingalls Shipbuilding’s Pascagoula shipyard to conduct comprehensive at-sea testing on Feb. 3, 2020. US Navy Photo

The Senate Armed Services Committee version of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act keeps shipbuilding in line with the Navy’s budget request from February but adds additional oversight to the service’s plans for unmanned ships and unmanned aviation, committee staffers told reporters on Thursday. Read More →

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