USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN-78) island on Oct. 22, 2020. US Navy Photo
ABOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS GERALD R. FORD – USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) has been in and out of port for more than a year as the Navy continues to wring out the bugs from the new technologies on the next-generation carrier. While progress is steady, the program still has several milestones to achieve before it’s ready for its inaugural deployment. Read More
Defense Secretary Mark Esper tours the avenger class minesweeper USS Devastator, docked at Naval Support Activity Bahrain on Oct. 28, 2020. DoD Photo
At the beginning of the year, the Navy and Marine Corps sent a new fleet plan to Pentagon leaders that called for relying on smaller ships and unmanned vessels to meet future missions and defeat future adversaries. The Pentagon rejected the plan.
Nine-months later, Pentagon leaders reached the same conclusion: the Navy needed to be more distributed and weighted towards small combatants and unmanned craft.
What did that additional effort really get the sea services? Not much, according to some officials involved in both processes.
Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite speaks with U.S. sailors and Marines while visiting HMS Queen Elizabeth at sea off the coast of Flamborough, United Kingdom on Oct. 1, 2020. UK Royal Navy Photo
Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite made a full-throated call for U.S. naval expansion, citing the growing Chinese Navy as the prime driver of the need for a larger fleet. Read More
USS Constellation (FFG-62). Fincantieri Image
BALTIMORE, Md. – The Navy will name the first of its new class of frigates USS Constellation (FFG-62), in a nod to one of the original six frigates the Navy bought just after the Revolutionary War. Read More
Capt. Brett Crozier
The following is the complete June 19, 2020 command investigation and appendices into the chain of command response to the COVID-19 outbreak aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt. Read More
Hon. Gregory Slavonic, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, speaks with Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Jay Cherluck, from Detroit, assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) during a tour of the ship on Dec. 17, 2019. The tour provided an opportunity to discuss Ford and Ford-class unique manning and training developments, while also highlighting the capabilities and differences between the Ford and Nimitz classes of ships. US Navy photo.
Greg Slavonic is now formally serving as the acting under secretary of the Navy, after having been “performing the duties of” that role since late April. Read More
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper meets with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) staff members during a visit to FEMA. DoD Photo
The Navy has lost much of its power on deciding what its future fleet will look like, with a Pentagon-led effort set to produce secretary of defense directives to the service by the end of the summer on what the fleet’s future plans should include. Read More
The investigation of the COVID-19 outbreak on USS Theodore Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) outlined the chain of events that led to more than 1,200 sailors assigned to carrier contracting the virus, the removal of the commanding officer Capt. Brett Crozier and the eventual resignation of former acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly. Read More
Capt. Brett Crozier
THE PENTAGON — Capt. Brett Crozier, who commanded USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) until April, will not be reinstated to lead the ship, will not be eligible for future command and faces additional administrative punishment that will be overseen by U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. John Aquilino, the Navy announced today. Read More
An MH-60S Sea Hawk assigned to the Eightballers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 flies next to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) while they transit the Pacific Ocean, Feb. 15, 2020. US Navy photo.
The Navy and the Department of Defense haven’t finished their homework needed to inform how the Navy builds its future fleet, a panel of naval experts told a House panel on Thursday. Read More
