Category Archives: Education Legislation

SECNAV Announces the Return of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Focus Will be on Russian Threat

SECNAV Announces the Return of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Focus Will be on Russian Threat

USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), left, and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman (DDG-98) transit behind the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG-60) in the Atlantic Ocean on July 10, 2019. US Navy Photo

The Navy plans to rename U.S. Fleet Forces Command to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, harkening back to a time when the Navy was fully focused on maritime operations in the Northern Atlantic rather than the Global War on Terror, the secretary of the Navy told a Senate panel today. Read More

SECDEF Esper Calls for 500-Ship Fleet by 2045, With 3 SSNs a Year and Light Carriers Supplementing CVNs

SECDEF Esper Calls for 500-Ship Fleet by 2045, With 3 SSNs a Year and Light Carriers Supplementing CVNs

The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group transits in formation with the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group while conducting dual carrier and airwing operations in the Philippine Sea on June 23, 2020. US Navy Photo

This post has been updated to include additional information from Secretary Esper’s rollout of Battle Force 2045.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced a new future fleet plan for the Navy that would grow the attack submarine force, supplement nuclear-powered aircraft carriers with light carriers to achieve greater day-to-day presence, and invest heavily in small and unmanned ships for distributed operations. Read More

Navy Retools COVID Rules for Ships After 6 Months of Practice

Navy Retools COVID Rules for Ships After 6 Months of Practice

Chief Quartermaster David Weathers from Hines, Ore., assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53), stands watch in the pilothouse during a replenishment-at-sea on Sept. 29, 2020. US Navy Photo

The Navy released the third iteration of its guidance on how to continue operating a global navy in the midst of a global pandemic. Read More

Esper: Unmanned Vessels Will Allow the Navy to Reach 355-Ship Fleet

Esper: Unmanned Vessels Will Allow the Navy to Reach 355-Ship Fleet

Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks to sailors aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) on Sept. 17, 2020, during a visit to California. USNI News photo.

ABOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CARL VINSON, OFF THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA – Defense Secretary Mark Esper told sailors today that heavy investment in unmanned systems would be key to the Navy reaching 355 or more ships and having the lethality and survivability needed if a conflict were to break out with China. Read More

Thornberry: Final NDAA Bill Won’t Be Ready Until After Election

Thornberry: Final NDAA Bill Won’t Be Ready Until After Election

Rep. Mac Thornberry, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, met with journalists from the Defense Writers Group, an association of news outlets with reporters that cover national security issues, at the George Washington University on Tuesday, June 11, 2019. GWU Photo

The final conference report on the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act won’t be ready until after the Nov. 3 election, the outgoing ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee said on Wednesday. Read More

Geurts: Early Contract Awards During Pandemic Giving Navy Bandwidth to Plan for Possible Continuing Resolution

Geurts: Early Contract Awards During Pandemic Giving Navy Bandwidth to Plan for Possible Continuing Resolution

Attack boat Vermont (SSN-792) float-off on March 29, 2019. General Dynamics Electric Boats Photo

The Navy has created stability for the defense industrial base during the coronavirus pandemic by awarding contracts early to create a plentiful backlog of work, and the service’s acquisition chief said he doesn’t want to lose that stability heading into the new fiscal year, which could kick off with a continuing resolution. Read More