Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John M. Richardson addresses guests during the U.S. Naval Academy’s change of command ceremony on July 26, 2019. US Navy Photo
THE PENTAGON – The U.S. Navy and the world it operates in are a far cry from what they were four years ago. Read More
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
Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group participates in a strait exercise in the Atlantic Ocean on April 7, 2019. US Navy Photo
THE PENTAGON – The Navy’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget request includes tectonic shifts in how the Navy does business – swapping a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier for unmanned surface vehicles and other technologies – and it comes even as the service is reevaluating what sized fleet and what mix of ships the Navy needs to meet future challenges. Read More
Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer, right, talks with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, at Lincoln Financial Field prior to the Army-Navy football game on Dec. 9, 2017. US Navy photo.
USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2017.
The following is part of a series. Please also see Top Stories 2017: Navy Acquisition, International Acquisition, Navy Operations, Marine Corps Operations, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Acquisition and International Operations.
2017 saw a changeover in Navy and Defense Department leadership after the 2016 elections. Both departments had to contend with awaiting the nomination and confirmation of new leaders, beginning to implement new priorities, and trying to do so in the midst of continuing resolutions coming out of Congress that have made it more challenging to begin to shift spending patterns. Read More
The following is a Dec. 14, 2016 executive summary of the Navy’s 2016 Force Structure Assessment. Read More
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus speaks during an all-hands call at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton on Oct. 21, 2016. US Navy
The biggest surprise Navy Secretary Ray Mabus had when he took office was how slowly the bureaucracy moves and the different tactics it uses to kill a program it doesn’t want. Read More
Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Department of Navy’s fiscal year 2017 budget and posture. US Navy Photo
Navy leadership will change how it crafts its budget in an effort to focus on strategic needs rather than starting the process with spending limits front and center, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran told USNI News last week. Read More
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus speaks to Marines and Sailors at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Oct. 19, 2016. US Marine Corps Photo
CAMP PENDLETON MARINE CORPS BASE, Calif. — On a self-described “sort of a thank-you tour,” Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus told a crowd of Marines that changes implemented during his tenure have bettered and strengthened the Marine Corps and is preparing them for the unpredictable future operational environment. Read More
Navy and Marine Corps officials gathered in the Arizona desert at midday Friday to dedicate a solar farm that will generate one-third of the electricity to power 14 Navy and Marine Corps installations in California. Read More
A modified Littoral Combat Ship design based on the Austal USA Independence-class. US Navy Image
The Navy plans to release a draft request for proposal for its planned new class of frigate – based on one of the two existing Littoral Combat Ship hulls – to shipyards later this year, the Program Executive Officer LCS said. Read More
