Cmdr. Ronald Cappellini, Naval Air Station Sigonella executive officer, receives his COVID-19 vaccine booster from Lt. j.g. Aracely Duerkop, during a mass-immunization exercise on Naval Air Station Sigonella, Dec. 7, 2021. U.S. Navy Photo
The Pentagon is discussing the possibility of mandating a COVID-19 booster, although no decisions have been made, a department spokesman said today.
Guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal (CG-73) transits the Strait of Hormuz, Feb. 8, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo
Congressional authorizers are approving 13 battle force ships and saving two of the seven aging Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers the Navy tried to decommission, according to a draft of the National Defense Authorization Act. Read More
Hospitalman Christopher Ramirez, right, from Kimberly, Idaho, assigned to PCU John F. Kennedy’s (CVN-79) medical department, administers a COVID-19 vaccine to Lt. Cmdr. George Stegeman, Kennedy’s psychological officer, during USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) joint vaccination evolution with Kennedy in Ford’s aft weapons handing area, Sept. 30, 2021. US Navy Photo
This story has been updated with new information on from the Navy.
The Navy has not yet approved any religious exemptions for the COVID-19, according to new numbers released by the Navy Tuesday night. Read More
U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Emily Pierce, left, from Bremerton, Washington, assigned to the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), administers the COVID-19 vaccine to Information Systems Technician 1st Class Correy Bushman, from Rochester, Minnesota, assigned to the John C. Stennis, during a Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic led vaccination effort in conjunction with Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. US Navy Photo
The Navy has 97 percent of its active-duty sailors fully immunized with four days to go before the service’s deadline to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Read More
Steady sticklers with Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Bremerton began a Shot Exercise to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to all unvaccinated active duty personnel assigned to commands in the nation’s third largest fleet concentration area of Puget Sound, Aug. 31, 2021. US Navy Photo
Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. John Nowell will decide the career outcomes of active-duty sailors who have started the vaccination process but will not meet the impending deadline to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Read More
Hospital Corpsman Julio Trujillo, from Orlando, Fla., administers a flu vaccine aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG-67) transits the Philippine Sea on Oct. 25, 2021. US Navy Photo
Sailors who are not granted an exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine will have five days to initiate the vaccination process before facing separation, according to new Navy guidance. Read More
Target in the shape of a U.S. carrier in the Xinjiang region. Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies Used with Permission
A second suspected missile target in the shape of a U.S. aircraft carrier has been spotted in a rural Chinese desert, according to satellite photos obtained by USNI News. Read More
Flu shots are placed at the ready during a large-scale vaccination effort by the New Jersey Air National Guard’s 108th Medical Group at the 108th Wing, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., on Nov. 6, 2021. US Air National Guard Photo
The military gave its service members an ultimatum. Get vaccinated or face separation. Read More
A screenshot of DF-26 launching in China.
China continues to pursue both aviation and maritime capabilities to counter the United States in the Indo-Pacific region, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday. Read More
An Oct. 20, 2021 satellite image of a target in the shape of a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Taklamakan Desert in Central China. H I Sutton Illustration for USNI News Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies Used with Permission
The Chinese military has built targets in the shape of an American aircraft carrier and other U.S. warships in the Taklamakan desert as part of a new target range complex, according to photos provided to USNI News by satellite imagery company Maxar. Read More
