Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.). Naval Institute Photo
The recent revision to the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard’s maritime strategy is ‘light years ahead’ of the 2007 original draft, the chairman of the House Armed Service Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces told USNI News last week. Read More
Almost two years into its four-year midlife upgrade, Nimitz-class carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) left dry dock at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. to begin the next steps of its almost $4 billion overhaul, the Navy and Huntington Ingalls Industries annouced this week. Read More
Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.). Naval Institute Photo
Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) is “concerned at the deficit of strategic thinking” in the Navy and how long time institutional restrictions inside the Pentagon produce, “flag officers who are focused on managerial concerns such as budgeting and engineering rather than executive concerns such as strategy,” according to a July letter sent to Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert and recently obtained by USNI News. Read More
“Do you need those cruisers or don’t you? Do you need that carrier or don’t you?” was one way the chairman of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee described Congress’ role in fostering innovation in the armed forces. Read More
An E/A-18G Growler from the Scorpions of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 132 flies by the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73).
This post has been updated to include a statement from Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.).
The U.S. Navy’s chief shipbuilder told Congress the service plans to reshuffle $7 billion in funds to refuel and maintain the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73). The fate of the carrier was an open question at the start of the year due to ongoing military funding pressures.
Members of a special battle force stand on China’s missile destroyer Haikou at a naval port in Sanya, south China’s Hainan Province, June 9, 2014. Xinhua Photo
A senior member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) has called on the Navy and the Pentagon to have more open discussion about Chinese military capability and not grant, “Beijing a veto over what we can and cannot say.” Read More
The following is a Feb. 18, 2014 letter addressed to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus concerning the requirements of the future Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance-Stirke (UCLASS). Read More
USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) in 2013. US Navy Photo
The following is a letter from members of the House Armed Services Committee to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel in support of an 11 carrier U.S. Navy. The U.S. is obligated to maintain an 11 carrier fleet under law. Read More
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus speaks with Randy Forbes in Forbes’ office on June 13, 2013. US Navy Photo
Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA) — chairman of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee — sat down with USNI News on Sept. 18 to talk about the challenges of sequestration, how he feels about the Littoral Combat Ship program, China, what the Navy is doing right and—more important—what the Navy is doing wrong. Read More
Seaman Apprentice Robert Nunez, left, from Suffolk, Va., and Seaman Apprentice Amy M. Haskins, from Kansas City, Mo., stand watch on the signal bridge aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68). US Navy Photo
As I consider the likely national security issues facing the United States in the coming decade, I am struck by the decidedly maritime character of these challenges. From China’s rapid naval modernization to Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, the United States is increasingly facing a security environment requiring robust naval and air forces.
While the previous decade was characterized by the predominance of large ground forces, I firmly believe that the next decade will be defined by the strength of our sea power and projection forces. Read More
