HSV-2 Swift departs from Naval Station Mayport to begin Southern Partnership Station 2013. US Navy Photo
The U.S. Navy is examining low-cost high-speed ships to replace aging surface ships in U.S. Southern Command’s fight against drug traffickers, U.S. 4th Fleet officials told USNI News on Tuesday. Read More
Brig. Gen. James W. Lukeman, 2nd Marine Division commanding general, at a Tuesday press conference at Camp Lejeune.
A 60mm mortar malfunction is being blamed for the Monday death of seven North Carolina Marines killed at a Nevada training ground, Marine leaders said on Tuesday. Read More
Hawthorne Army Depot. US Army Photo
Seven Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force were killed in a training accident at Hawthorne Army Depot, Nev. on Monday. Read More
From the March 14, Congressional Research Service report: In order to encourage holistic consideration of national security issues, some members of this inchoate school have called for the use of “unified national security budgeting” (UNSB). To be clear, their goal is not to refine the U.S. federal system of budgeting, but rather to use budgetary mechanisms to drive changes in U.S. national security practices. Within this broad school of thought, various proponents call for the adoption of a number of different approaches, from a single shared funding pool for all national security activities, to mission-specific funding pools, to crosscut displays, to more strategically driven budgeting. In turn, various proponents apparently aim to achieve quite different kinds of change with their proposed remedies—from rebalancing the distribution of roles and responsibilities among executive branch agencies, to saving money, to revisiting fundamental understandings about how U.S. national security is best protected. Read More
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel during a Pentagon press briefing on March 15, 2013. DOD Photo
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is tasking the Pentagon with reexamining the U.S. military’s strategic assumptions in a more fiscally austere budget environment, the Pentagon announced on Monday. Read More
USS Miami (SSN-755) on March, 15 2012 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. US Navy Photo
The Navy may not repair a nuclear attack submarine damaged in May by an act of arson, according to the Associated Press. Read More
A proposed international variant of the Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship. Lockheed Martin Photo
The commander of U.S. Surface Forces wants to look at a move to one design of the controversial Littoral Combat Ship and recommends a new large surface combatant to succeed the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, according to a Sunday report from Defense News. Read More
Casey James Fury. Dover Police Photo
The admitted arsonist that set fire to the nuclear attack submarine USS Miami was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison on Friday, according to several press reports. Read More
Coast Guard rendering of the planned Offshore Patrol Cutter. The service plans to announce the final three designs later this year. US Coast Guard Photo
The U.S. Coast Guard has in place ambitious programs to revitalize the U.S. cutter force to meet the daunting requirements of the 21st century. Three cutter classes are under way as of this month. Read More
Coast Guardsmen from Air Station Detroit and Station St. Clair Shores, Mich., conduct joint ice-rescue training on Lake St. Clair, Feb. 12, 2013. US Coast Guard Photo
The Coast Guard plans to reduce surface and air operations by 21 percent and defer depot level maintenance due to budget cuts, according to a February draft memo obtained by USNI News. Read More
