USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) departs Los Angeles on May 15, 2020. US Navy Photo
A Los Angeles County supervisor is appealing to California’s governor to request a Navy hospital ship return to the city’s port to help hospitals battling COVID-19. Read More
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) sails towards the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) while conducting routine underway operations. McCain is assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest forward-deployed DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force. U.S. Navy Photo
The Navy’s annual tradition of writing its first deck log of the New Year in verse homed in on the global pandemic and how it affected the crew of one Pacific-based guided-missile destroyer. Read More
The crew of USS Benfold (DDG-65) trains in the Combined Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD)/Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Trainer (CIAT) in San Diego, Calif., on March 5, 2020. USNI News photo.
The surface navy continues to expand and evolve its use of virtual trainers, as it looks to train and certify individual sailors and watch teams ashore so they can make best use of their time at sea. Read More
Sailors prepare to man the rails as the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), returns to Yokosuka, Japan following a six-month underway period. US Navy Photo
This post is part of a series of stories looking back at the top naval news from 2020.
The coronavirus pandemic affected almost everything the Navy did in 2020, from the way the service deploys forces, to the way its contractors built ships and weapons, to the way sailors and officers were educated and trained. Read More
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) transits the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 18, 2020. US Navy Photo
Aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), its escorts and its embarked air wing began its second deployment in a year, the service announced on Wednesday. Read More
Daniel Murphy, a deck cadet with United States Merchants Marine, supervises as cargo is transported into the Green Cove with equipment being sent to the Distribution Management Office Yermo, Calif., on July 6 at Naha Port in Okinawa, Japan. MSC Photo
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted why mariners – from ferry crews to masters of Triple E-class container ships – are “essential workers,” while questioning future shipbuilding and threatening the survival of smaller shipping companies, two experts in maritime commerce told USNI News. Read More
The following is the Dec. 14, 2020 Congressional Research Service report, COVID-19: Potential Implications for International Security Environment—Overview of Issues and Further Reading for Congress. Read More
U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Christopher Tenney, an aerial observer with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 164 (Reinforced), 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, observes U.S. Navy Landing Craft, Air Cushions 39 and 79 assigned to Assault Craft Unit 5 return to the amphibious transport dock ship USS Somerset (LPD-25) during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Singapore on Dec. 11, 2020. US Marine Corps Photo
The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group and the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit are now operating in the Indian Ocean after spending some time in the South China Sea, USNI News has learned. Read More
Amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD-8) underway in the eastern Pacific on April 20, 2020. US Navy Photo
Chinese reports accuse the U.S. of “muscle-flexing” after an American amphibious ready group quietly deployed to the South China Sea earlier this week.
Read More
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) leaves its San Diego homeport on Oct. 13, 2020. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated to include a statement from U.S. 3rd Fleet.
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and its escorts left San Diego today ahead of a second 2020 deployment, according to ship spotters. Read More
