Category Archives: China

Berger: Marine Corps May Have to Shrink to Afford Modernization, Readiness Goals

Berger: Marine Corps May Have to Shrink to Afford Modernization, Readiness Goals

U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, currently attached to 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, conduct morning accountability before dawn on April 5, 2019 during Exercise Balikatan at the Navy Education Training Command, Philippines. US Marine Corps Photo

CAPITOL HILL – The next commandant may need to reduce the size of the Marine Corps and focus on a smaller number of priority missions, to ensure that the service can stay ready to meet its requirements under the National Defense Strategy in a resource-constrained budget. Read More

U.S. Will Unveil New Indo-Pacific Strategy Next Month

U.S. Will Unveil New Indo-Pacific Strategy Next Month

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), left, and the Japanese helicopter destroyer JS Hyuga (DDH 181), right, sail in formation with 16 other ships from the U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) during Keen Sword 19 on Nov. 08, 2018. US Navy Photo

KUALA LUMPUR — The Pentagon will unveil a new Indo-Pacific strategy at the Shangri-La Dialogue this May, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Randall Schriver told a media roundtable in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last week. Read More

Next Chief of Naval Operations Will Lead a Navy Facing Readiness, Personnel, Technology Challenges

Next Chief of Naval Operations Will Lead a Navy Facing Readiness, Personnel, Technology Challenges

Adm. Bill Moran, the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, speaks with sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73). US Navy Photo

When Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson took charge of the Navy in 2015, the service was still largely a support element for the larger U.S. effort in the Middle East. When Richardson leaves this summer, his successor will be at the helm of a service that is being grown and reshaped into a key role for the U.S. military’s drive toward high-end warfare in a new era of great power competition. Read More

Two U.S. Warships Pass Through Taiwan Strait in 7th Transit Since 2018

Two U.S. Warships Pass Through Taiwan Strait in 7th Transit Since 2018

Navy file photos of guided-missile destroyers USS William P. Lawrence (DDG-110) (top) and USS Stethem (DDG-63) (bottom).

Navy file photos of guided-missile destroyers USS William P. Lawrence (DDG-110) (top) and USS Stethem (DDG-63) (bottom).Two U.S. guided-missile destroyers conducted a transit through the strait separating Taiwan and mainland China on Sunday, U.S. 7th Fleet officials told USNI News on Monday. Read More

Former USS Fitzgerald CO Outlines Defense in Rebuttal to SECNAV

Former USS Fitzgerald CO Outlines Defense in Rebuttal to SECNAV

Cmdr. Bryce Benson, then-executive officer, assists in bringing down the battle ensign aboard USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) in 2016. US Navy Photo

The former commander of USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) is pushing back against a rebuke from the Secretary of the Navy, disputing major facts in the service’s argument he was criminally negligent leading up a June 17, 2017, fatal collision, according to a copy of the April 26 rebuttal obtained by USNI News. Read More

UPDATED: VT Halter Marine to Build New Coast Guard Icebreaker

UPDATED: VT Halter Marine to Build New Coast Guard Icebreaker

An artist’s rendering of VT Halter Marine’s winning bid for the U.S. Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter. VT Halter Marine image used with permission

This post has been updated to include a rendering of the VT Halter Marine bid and the names of the two other shipyards who bid for the Polar Security Cutter contract.

VT Halter Marine Inc. has been awarded a $745M detailed design and construction contract for the Coast Guard’s next-generation heavy icebreaker, according to a Tuesday Pentagon contract announcement. Read More

The U.S. Coast Guard's Mission to Africa

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Mission to Africa

Ensign Panashe Mutombo, an officer aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Thetis (WMEC-910), looks out from the starboard side flying bridge on March 3, 2019 during the cutter’s transit to Africa to support U.S. Africa Command, U.S. 6th Fleet. US Coast Guard Photo

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Thetis (WMEC-910) is halfway through a 90-day mission to Africa’s Atlantic coast and already the crew has helped enforce fishing rights, combat smuggling and piracy and rescue two fishermen who had been declared dead. Read More

Panel: U.S. Base in Djibouti Key to American Interests in Africa

Panel: U.S. Base in Djibouti Key to American Interests in Africa

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 22 (NMCB 22) and Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 5, assigned to the San-Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD-18) unloads equipment off Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) 43 and 62, on the beach of Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti in 2016. US Navy Photo

Camp Lemonier, the American base in Djibouti, is becoming more integral to U.S. interests in the volatile region surrounding the Red Sea, a leading regional expert said Thursday. Read More

Pacific Commander Davidson Asks Congress to Fund ‘Regain the Advantage’ Plan Aimed at China

Pacific Commander Davidson Asks Congress to Fund ‘Regain the Advantage’ Plan Aimed at China

Adm. Phil Davidson participates in an honors ceremony at the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in New Zealand in 2018. US Navy Photo

The head of U.S. forces in the Pacific has asked Congress to support several new initiatives to increase American military power in the region beyond what has been set aside in the Fiscal Year 2020 budget request, according to a March 22 letter obtained by USNI News. Read More