Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, addresses the crew aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) on Feb. 21. US Navy Photo
The following is a March, 6 message from Adm. Bill Gortney, commander U.S. Fleet Forces, to the Fleet on implementation of sequestration and Continuing Resolution budget cuts that expects to trim almost $9 billion from Navy coffers this fiscal year.
SUBJ: CONTINUING RESOLUTION SEQUESTRATION FLEET IMPLEMENTATION// Read More
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies about the devastating affects of the continuing resolution and sequestration on military readiness. US Navy Photo
The House passed a full Fiscal Year 2013 spending bill allowing the military more flexibility in programming sequestration cuts on Wednesday, according to several press reports. Read More
Villagers carry the body of a dead gunmen that was killed on Saturday for removal at Simunul village in Sabah’s Semporna district. Reuters Photo
The standoff between the Malaysian armed forces and followers of the Sultanate of Sulu, who three weeks prior invaded the Malaysian province of Sabah, Borneo, escalated Tuesday. Read More
USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) in February. US Navy Photo
Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) will depart for a Middle East and the Mediterranean deployment on Friday, U.S. Fleet Forces told USNI News on Wednesday. Read More
Sean Stackley at a June 15, 2012 ceremony at the Pentagon. U.S. Navy Photo
The U.S. Navy’s chief shipbuilder is defending Monday’s $1.4 billion awards for the next four Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) in the midst of the current congressional battle over military funding, the service told USNI News on Monday. Read More
An Aegis interceptor is launched from the USS Lake Erie (CG-70) during a Missile Defense Agency and Navy test in the mid-Pacific. US Navy Photo
Lockheed Martin beat Boeing and Raytheon to win a $100.7 million contract to for five years worth of upgrades to the Aegis combat system, Naval Sea Systems Command told USNI News on Tuesday. Read More
U.S. Coast Guardsmen unload 3,500 pounds of cocaine in Miami March 16, 2012. The crew seized the cocaine from a 35-foot vessel in the Caribbean Sea as part of Operation Martillo. US Coast Guard Photo
U.S. Navy frigates will stop patrolling for drug runners by April because of forced sequestration budget cuts, a Navy spokesman told USNI News on Monday.
On Saturday, U.S. 4th Fleet was informed by Navy leadership it would suspend deployments of two ships—part of the Joint Interagency Task Force South’s Operation Martillo—by April because of the 1 March sequestration cuts, said the 4th Fleet’s Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker. Read More
Type 056 Jiangdao class frigate under construction. Xinhua News Agency.
The first 056 class No. 582 was officially handed over to PLAN on Feb. 25 as Wu Shengli, Commander of People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) personally came to inspect the ship. While it is referred to as light frigate by Chinese news, the ship should be classified as a corvette or offshore patrol vessel (OPV) based on its size and displacements. This class is expected to be the next mass produced PLAN shipping class. Read More
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus at Naval Air Facility Misawa, Japan on February, 21 2013. US Navy Photo
DTG 022300Z Mar 13
FM SECNAV WASHINGTON DC
TO ALNAV
INFO SECNAV WASHINGTON DC
CMC WASHINGTON DC
CNO WASHINGTON DC
BT
UNCLAS
ALNAV 014/13
MSGID/GENADMIN/SECNAV WASHINGTON DC/-/MAR//
SUBJ/DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY RESPONSE TO SEQUESTRATION// Read More
Cameroon navy Lt. j.g. Yves Itondo during Exercise Obangame Expressin February. The exercise is an at-sea maritime exercise designed to improve cooperation among participating nations to promote maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea. US Navy Photo
Portions of this article were first published with OCEANUS Live
Pity the Somali pirates, who after an abysmal year in 2012, have only managed to (unsuccessfully) attack two vessels thus far in 2013. Piracy is now much more lucrative in West Africa, where there have been at least 10 reported attacks in the past month alone. In the waters of Nigeria, a dozen mariners from three separate vessels were kidnapped by pirates during a single 10-day period. Côte d’Ivoire had never witnessed the hijacking and large-scale robbery of an oil tanker before October 2012, but already has had two such vessels pilfered from its waters this year. Read More
