Category Archives: U.S. Navy

House to Hagel: Downgrade the UAV and Cyber Medal

House to Hagel: Downgrade the UAV and Cyber Medal

US House Leaders are calling for Secreatary of Defense Chuck Hagel to reduce the ranking of a new medal for unmanned aerial vehicle pilots and cyber troops. US Navy Photo

US House Leaders are calling for Secreatary of Defense Chuck Hagel to reduce the ranking of a new medal for unmanned aerial vehicle pilots and cyber troops. US Navy Photo

Almost 50 House leaders called on Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to lower the precedence of a new medal designed to recognize the warfare contributions of unmanned aerial vehicle pilots and cyber troops, The Hill reported Monday. Read More

Budget Cuts Could Pull Navy Out of The War on Drugs

Budget Cuts Could Pull Navy Out of The War on Drugs

U.S. Coast Guardsmen unload 3,500 pounds of cocaine in Miami March 16, 2012. The crew seized the cocaine from a 35-foot vessel in the Caribbean Sea as part of Operation Martillo. US Coast Guard Photo

U.S. Coast Guardsmen unload 3,500 pounds of cocaine in Miami March 16, 2012. The crew seized the cocaine from a 35-foot vessel in the Caribbean Sea as part of Operation Martillo. US Coast Guard Photo

U.S. Navy frigates will stop patrolling for drug runners by April because of forced sequestration budget cuts, a Navy spokesman told USNI News on Monday.

On Saturday, U.S. 4th Fleet was informed by Navy leadership it would suspend deployments of two ships—part of the Joint Interagency Task Force South’s Operation Martillo—by April because of the 1 March sequestration cuts, said the 4th Fleet’s Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker. Read More

China's New Frigate by the Numbers

China’s New Frigate by the Numbers

By:
Type 056 Jiangdao class frigate under construction. Xinhua News Agency.

Type 056 Jiangdao class frigate under construction. Xinhua News Agency.

The first 056 class No. 582 was officially handed over to PLAN on Feb. 25 as Wu Shengli, Commander of People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) personally came to inspect the ship. While it is referred to as light frigate by Chinese news, the ship should be classified as a corvette or offshore patrol vessel (OPV) based on its size and displacements. This class is expected to be the next mass produced PLAN shipping class. Read More

Secretary Ray Mabus' Sequestration Message

Secretary Ray Mabus’ Sequestration Message

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus at Naval Air Facility Misawa, Japan on February, 21 2013. US Navy Photo

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus at Naval Air Facility Misawa, Japan on February, 21 2013. US Navy Photo

DTG 022300Z Mar 13

FM SECNAV WASHINGTON DC
TO ALNAV
INFO SECNAV WASHINGTON DC
CMC WASHINGTON DC
CNO WASHINGTON DC
BT
UNCLAS
ALNAV 014/13

MSGID/GENADMIN/SECNAV WASHINGTON DC/-/MAR//

SUBJ/DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY RESPONSE TO SEQUESTRATION// Read More

African Piracy's Next Front

African Piracy’s Next Front

Cameroon navy Lt. j.g. Yves Itondo during Exercise Obangame Express. The exercise is an at-sea maritime exercise designed to improve cooperation among participating nations to promote maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea.

Cameroon navy Lt. j.g. Yves Itondo during Exercise Obangame Expressin February. The exercise is an at-sea maritime exercise designed to improve cooperation among participating nations to promote maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea. US Navy Photo

Portions of this article were first published with OCEANUS Live

Pity the Somali pirates, who after an abysmal year in 2012, have only managed to (unsuccessfully) attack two vessels thus far in 2013. Piracy is now much more lucrative in West Africa, where there have been at least 10 reported attacks in the past month alone. In the waters of Nigeria, a dozen mariners from three separate vessels were kidnapped by pirates during a single 10-day period. Côte d’Ivoire had never witnessed the hijacking and large-scale robbery of an oil tanker before October 2012, but already has had two such vessels pilfered from its waters this year. Read More

Cuts Mean Veterans Wait Longer for Arlington Burial

Cuts Mean Veterans Wait Longer for Arlington Burial

ima Black, widow of the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy , Delbert Black, visits the grave of her late husband on Sept. 27. US Navy Photo

ima Black, widow of the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy , Delbert Black, visits the grave of her late husband on Sept. 27. US Navy Photo

The ten percent sequestration cuts across the Department of Defense budget will increase wait times at Arlington National Cemetery, a cemetery spokesperson told USNI News on Thursday. Read More

Camouflaged Ships: An Illustrated History

Camouflaged Ships: An Illustrated History

Friday’s deployment of USS Freedom (LCS 1) will revive a tradition of camouflaging warships. Outside of smaller patrol boats, the U.S. largely abandoned elaborate color schemes and stuck with haze gray. 

USS Freedom in its new paint scheme on Feb. 22. US Navy Photo

USS Freedom in its new paint scheme on Feb. 22. US Navy Photo

But with the advent of the Littoral Combat Ship, a combatant designed to operate close to shore, the concept has returned. To put Freedom’s new look in context, the following are some examples of patterns from the past.

Read More

LCS CO: Freedom is 'A Mean Looking Ship'

LCS CO: Freedom is ‘A Mean Looking Ship’

USS Freedom will deploy March 1 for Singapore with a new paint pattern inspired by World War II ship camouflage. US Navy Photo

USS Freedom will deploy March 1 for Singapore with a new paint pattern inspired by World War II ship camouflage. US Navy Photo

USS Freedom (LCS-1) leaves Naval Station San Diego, Calif. on Friday for a new deployment with a new camo paint job, courtesy of Cmdr. Pat Thien and his crew. Read More