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USS Wichita (LCS-13) conducts acceptance trials on Lake Michigan on July 11, 2018. Lockheed Martin Photo
A Littoral Combat Ship, with an embarked Coast Guard law enforcement detachment, will hunt for drug runners in U.S. Southern Command later this year, the command’s top officer told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. Read More
Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG-60) in 2014. US Navy Photo
The Navy has not made a final determination if it will reactivate decommissioned Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates in its push to expand to a 355 ship fleet despite an internal report that said reactivating the ships could cost in the billions. Read More
USS Rentz (FFG-46) in 2009. US Navy Photo
THE PENTAGON — If recommissioned, seven retired Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates would serve as basic surface platforms, stay close to U.S. shores, assist drug interdiction efforts or patrol the Arctic without an extensive upgrade to its combat systems, the Secretary of the Navy said on Wednesday.
USS Lassen (DDG-82) operating in U.S. Southern Command in February 2016 on its way to Mayport, Fla. US Navy Photo
The head of Southern Command told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday that he does not have the ships or aircraft to fully carry out the interdiction mission to stop the flow of drugs and migrants from Central America into the United States. Read More
Vice Adm. Kurt Tidd
Vice Adm. Kurt Tidd was confirmed by the Senate last week as head of Southern Command and will assume his duties following a formal change-of-command ceremony on Jan. 14. He will receive his fourth star in a private promotion ceremony before the change of command. Read More
Then-Rear Adm. Kurt Tidd, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet, speaks with service members aboard High Speed Vessel (HSV 2) Swift in 2012. US Navy Photo
The current assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and career surface warfare officer Vice Adm. Kurt Tidd has been nominated to lead U.S. Southern Command, according to a Thursday Pentagon announcement. Read More
The following is the U.S. Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy, released in January. Read More
