Release from U.S. Coast Guard

******* 

HONOLULU — In recent weeks, the U.S. Coast Guard has continued to monitor a Russian vessel, believed to be an intelligence gathering ship, off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands, the Coast Guard 14th District said in a release. 
  
While foreign military vessels may transit freely through the U.S. economic exclusive zone (EEZ), as per customary international laws, foreign-flagged military vessels have often been observed operating and loitering within Coast Guard District Fourteen’s area of response. 
  
The Coast Guard continues to coordinate with Department of Defense partners, providing updates to foreign vessel movements and activities and to appropriately meet presence with presence to encourage international maritime norms.   
  
“The U.S. Coast Guard is currently monitoring the Russian vessel operating in the vicinity of Hawaii,” said Cmdr. Dave Milne, chief of External Affairs. “As part of our daily operations, we track all vessels in the Pacific area through surface and air assets and joint agency capabilities. The Coast Guard operates in accordance with international laws of the sea to ensure all nations can do the same without fear or contest. This is especially critical to secure freedom of movement and navigation throughout the Blue Pacific.” 
  
As a part of the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard is the lead federal agency for at-sea enforcement of U.S. fisheries laws; additionally, the Coast Guard assists in the enforcement of laws on the high seas subject to the jurisdiction of the United States’ exclusive economic zone. Law and treaty enforcement account for approximately 1/3 of the Coast Guard’s annual budget.  

Release from U.S. Coast Guard 

*******

PENSACOLA, Fla. — The crew of the USCGC Decisive (WMEC 629) returned to their homeport in Pensacola, Jan. 13, following a 33-day patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, concluding 55 years of service to the Nation, the Coast Guard Atlantic Area said in a Jan. 18 release. 

Decisive patrolled the Eastern Pacific Ocean in the Coast Guard Eleventh District’s area of operations. While underway, the Decisive’s crew supported the Coast Guard’s drug interdiction and search and rescue missions to promote safety of life at sea and deter the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States.   

While deployed, Decisive’s crew collaborated with Coast Guard assets and foreign military aircraft to detect, deter, and interdict illegal narcotics voyages. At one point, Decisive disrupted two vessels suspected of drug trafficking in the same night. Decisive also collaborated with the USCGC Alert (WMEC 630) to safely transfer three suspected smugglers. While aboard Decisive, the detainees received food, water, shelter and medical attention. 

“The crew’s remarkable professionalism, competence and determination were on full display as we met the diverse challenges of operations at sea,” said Cmdr. Aaron Delano-Johnson, commanding officer of Decisive. “Whether it was conducting simultaneous boardings or our skilled engineers conducting voyage repairs in Panama, the crew exceeded expectations at every turn. After a successful, final patrol for Decisive, we are looking forward to returning home to our family and friends on shore.” 

During the patrol, Decisive traveled more than 6,000 miles and traversed through the Panama Canal. By transiting the historic waterway, Decisive’s crew earned their Order of the Ditch certificates, a time-honored nautical tradition recognizing mariners who have crossed the Panama Canal between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. 

Decisive is a 210-foot, Reliance-class medium-endurance cutter with a crew of 72. The cutter’s primary missions are counter drug operations, migrant interdiction, and search and rescue in support of U.S. Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere. 

******* 

ARLINGTON, Va. —The U.S. Navy’s chief of chaplains said the service expects to increase the number of serving chaplains by 90 over the next five years in order to provide chaplains to the guided-missile destroyer (DDG) fleet as those ships deploy. 

Two years ago the commander, Naval Surface Forces, requested that the Navy provide chaplains to DDGs. Previously, sea-going billets for chaplains were typically limited to ships — such as aircraft carriers and amphibious warfare ships — that had large crews. 

Rear Adm. Gregory N. Todd, chief of chaplains, speaking in an online conversation with retired Rear Adm. Frank Thorp IV, President and CEO of the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington as one of the memorial’s SITREP Speaker Series events, said the program to assign chaplains to deploying DDGs is in place and is showing good results. 

“The data that is coming as a result of that is a reduction in a lot of the bad behavior—NJP [non-judicial punishment, low morale issues, retention issues,” Todd said. “It’s apparent that the chaplains on board are change agents. Can we pinpoint exactly how that change happens? Not yet. But we do know that there is some sort of concurrent effect of attending to people’s spirituality or spiritual readiness within that [DDG’s] command, creating a venue where it’s okay and then its resultant impact on some of their negative behaviors.” 

First Increase in Chaplains Since Cold War

Todd overseas a force of about 1,100 chaplains — active and reserve — plus enlisted religion affairs specialists that provide service to 570,000 Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen and their families. 

The increase in the number of chaplains is the first time the force has grown since the end of the Cold War, Todd said. 

“The Navy is hiring, and I’m trying to beat the bushes to the religious organizations of America,” the admiral said. “Send us your best. It’s a great opportunity; it’s a great place to work.  

“If I were to hold up what’s unique about this ministry, it’s the interaction with 18-to-25-year-olds,” he said. “We’re just immersed in a world of leadership. …  It’s operating in the public square, not confined to the church on the corner. Here we are, interacting with the whole Navy trying to impact the institution for the better.”  

Todd said the Coast Guard “has put us on notice that they intend to ask for more [chaplains], and the Marine Corps as well is looking at the question of adding more chaplains. So, right now, there is a realization that spiritual readiness does have an impact on the operational forces. If you attend to individual readiness in the aggregate, you’ll also build the readiness of the unit and the team.” 

Earlier in his career, Todd served as Chaplain of the Coast Guard and Chaplain of the Marine Corps. 

******* 

ARLINGTON, Va. — A new Marine Corps squadron has been activated in Hawaii to enhance mobility of the Corps’ first Marine littoral regiment. Marine Aerial Refueler/Transport Squadron 153 (VMGR-153) was activated at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, in a Jan. 13 ceremony. The squadron is equipped with Lockheed Martin KC-130J Super Hercules tanker/transport aircraft. 

The activation of VMGR-153 is one enactment of Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David H. Berger’s Force Design 2030 concept, which is re-aligning the Corps to conduct expeditionary advance base operations inside an adversary’s weapon engagement zone. The Corps is activating three self-deployable, multi-domain Marine littoral regiments (MLRs) to conduct such operations, the first of which — the 3rd MLR — was activated last March. The 12th MLR will be activated this year in Okinawa, Japan.  

VMGR-153 brings to four the number of active-component VMGR squadrons in the Corps, three of which — including the new squadron — are positioned to support Marine Forces Pacific, the other two being VMGR-152, based at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, and VMGR-352, based at MCAS Miramar, California. The fourth squadron, VMGR-252, is based at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. 

Until last month, the Marine Corps Reserve also fielded two KC-130J squadrons. VMGR-452 was de-activated Dec. 2 at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York. Remaining is VMGR-234 at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas.  

******* 

ARLINGTON, Va. — A U.S. Navy T-6B Texan II training aircraft crashed near Foley, Alabama, Jan. 17. The instructor pilot and student naval aviator ejected successfully. 

The T-6B crashed at approximately 10:50 CST in an unpopulated area near Barin Naval Outlying Field near Foley, the Chief of Naval Air Training Public Affairs Office said in a release. The two flyers were treated for minor injuries. 

The T-6B was assigned to Training Air Wing Five at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Milton, Florida. The T-6B is flown by three training squadrons at Whiting Field, VT-2, VT-3 and VT-6, to train naval aviators for the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and some foreign militaries. The aircraft also is flown by two training squadrons — VT-27 and VT-28 — assigned to Training Air Wing Four at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. 

The aircraft loss was the Navy’s first in calendar 2023 and the first loss of a Navy T-6B since October 2020, when another — also assigned to Training Air Wing Five — crashed near Foley.  

The cause of the incident is under investigation. 

Release from U.S. Marine Corps 

******* 

FORT MEADE, Md. — The U.S. States Marine Corps continues operationalizing the Marine Corps’ seventh warfighting function, information, by activating a service retained, two-star command poised to synchronize, coordinate, and integrate capabilities across the Fleet Marine Force, Jan. 17, said Ryan Lowcher of Marine Corps Forces Cyber Command. 
 
Commanded by Maj. Gen. Ryan P. Heritage, the current commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Space Command, the Corps’ newest unit will integrate, synchronize, and enable information activities that deter adversaries and set conditions for the Fleet Marine Force across the range of military operations. 
 

“The activation of the MCIC is all about warfighting, integration and enabling the Joint Force to meet our national security objectives,” said Lt. Gen. Brian Cavanaugh, the commanding general of Marine Corps Forces Command. 

 
Serving as the primary integrator of information-related capabilities that support Service and Fleet Marine Force requirements with seamless coordination, the Marine Corps Information Command will also encompass units previously assigned to the deputy commandant for Information including the Marine Corps Information Operations Center, the Marine Corps Cryptologic Support Battalion, and the Marine Corps Cryptologic office. 
 
Heritage added, “A single commander who can leverage the authorities and approvals needed to synchronize global cyber, space, influence, and intelligence effects creates unity of support for the FMF and generates information advantages in support of commander’s objectives.” 
 
The Marine Corps Information Command will now serve as the linkage across the commands that conduct operational level planning and will enable the commander to provide task organized detachments leveraging authorities across the range of military operations and in support of campaigning objectives. 

Release by U.S. Coast Guard 

******* 

NEWPORT, R.I. — The crew of the USCGC Tahoma (WMEC 908) returned to their home port in Newport, Rhode Island, Jan. 16, following a 50-day patrol in the Caribbean Sea, the Coast Guard Atlantic Area said in a release. 

Tahoma patrolled the south Florida Straits in support of Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast and Operation Vigilant Sentry in the Coast Guard Seventh District’s area of operations. While underway, Tahoma’s crew conducted maritime safety and security missions while working with a variety of Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection assets, as well as good Samaritan vessels, to detect, deter and intercept unsafe and illegal migrant ventures bound for the United States. 

Throughout the patrol, Tahoma intercepted, cared for and safely transferred more than 650 Cuban and Haitian nationals. Notably, Tahoma worked with partners to stop a highly unstable, overloaded sailboat with 93 Haitian nationals on board, many of whom were held below decks in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. 

Tahoma’s rescues highlight the Coast Guard’s critical maritime law enforcement and lifesaving missions of maintaining safety at sea and preventing the potential for loss of life by deterring migrants from taking to the sea in dangerously overcrowded, unseaworthy vessels in an attempt to enter the United States illegally. 

“I am very proud of Tahoma’s crew for their hard work and dedication, carrying out this demanding mission while being away from family during the holiday season,” said Cmdr. Piero Pecora, Tahoma’s commanding officer. “Their focus and professionalism at all hours of the day and night saved hundreds of lives and reflects the Coast Guard’s unwavering dedication to the safety of life at sea.” 

Tahoma is a 270-foot Famous-class medium-endurance cutter with a crew of 100. The cutter’s primary missions are counter drug operations, migrant interdiction, enforcement of federal fishery laws, and search and rescue in support of U.S. Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere. 

WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro announced during the Surface Navy Association Symposium that future Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer DDG 140 will be named USS Thomas G. Kelley (DDG 140), the Navy said in a Jan. 12 release.

The future USS Thomas G. Kelley will honor retired Captain Thomas G. Kelley, a Medal of Honor recipient. The name selection follows the tradition of naming destroyers after U.S. naval leaders and heroes.   

In 2020, former Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer announced his intention to name a ship after Kelley but had yet to dedicate the name to an assigned hull number. Today, Del Toro assigns the name to DDG-140, which was appropriated in the fiscal year 2023 budget. 

“It is with great admiration and great pride that I am announcing the naming of the DDG-140 after Captain (retired) Thomas Gunning Kelley,” said Del Toro. “May we all, especially the future men and women assigned to this ship, always be inspired by Kelley’s brilliant leadership, bold initiative, and resolute determination.” 

Kelley was born in 1939 and grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1960 and was commissioned in the Navy. His early assignments as a Surface Warfare Officer included time aboard USS Pandemus (ARL-18), USS Davis (DD-937), and USS Stickell (DD-888). Kelley then volunteered to serve in Vietnam as a lieutenant commanding River Assault Division 152.  

Riverine Action

On June 15, 1969, Kelley led river assault craft boats when they fell under attack. Kelley, while severely wounded, continued to protect and lead his men to safety. For this gallant effort, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Kelley, despite his injuries, continued his naval career, taking on the position of executive officer of USS Sample (DE-1048) and commanding officer of USS Lang (FF-1060). While serving, Kelley earned his master’s degree in management from the Naval Post Graduate School and completed the Armed Forces Staff College course in Norfolk, Va. Kelley retired from naval service as a Captain after thirty years, ending his tour as the director of legislation in the Bureau of Naval Personnel.  

After his military service, Kelley became the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services commissioner and was named Secretary of the Department in 2003. In 2011, Kelley retired from public service and focused on charitable pursuits. He is close with the Medal of Honor Society, previously serving as president, Holy Cross’ O’Callahan Society, Arlington National Cemetery, the Homebase Program which treats veterans and active military with the hidden wounds of war, in partnership with the Boston Redsox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital. He also serves on the board of directors of the USS Constitution Museum. 

‘Tremendous Honor’

“It is a tremendous honor and I am truly humbled, especially as a Surface Warfare Sailor,” Kelley said. “I trust that those who sail in this ship will be reminded of service to their shipmates and that they will be carrying on a tradition greater than themselves.” 

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, built around the Aegis Combat System, are the backbone of the U.S. Navy’s surface fleet providing protection to America around the globe. They incorporate stealth techniques, allowing these highly capable, multi-mission ships to conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence to national security, providing a wide range of warfighting capabilities in multi-threat air, surface and subsurface domains. These elements of sea power enable the Navy to defend American prosperity and prevent future conflict abroad. 

Release from U.S. Coast Guard 

******* 

KODIAK, Alaska — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley returned to homeport at Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Alaska, on Jan. 12, following an extended seven-month dry dock maintenance period in Seattle, Washington, the Coast Guard 17th District said in a release.  

While in dry dock, the crew and contractors successfully completed more than $6 million worth of repairs.  

The engineering department oversaw 76 work items including major overhauls on the cutter’s controllable pitch propeller system, speed reducers, rudders, and boilers, along with inspections of fuel, sewage, and water tanks. The operations department supervised a renewal of the Alex Haley’s flight deck, navigation systems, and electronics while maintaining critical law enforcement currencies. The deck department expertly completed vast amounts of painting and topside preservation, while ensuring small boat operational readiness.  

When crewmembers were not directly involved in repairs, they took advantage of temporary duty training opportunities to gain technical proficiencies.  

Crew Helps with Other Coast Guard Missions 

Crewmembers were sent to southern California to aid in migrant operations, supported scientific missions in the Arctic, and played a key role in the Rim of the Pacific 2022 Naval Exercise, strengthening our relationships with 33 partner nations.  

The entire crew also attended advanced damage control schools hosted by Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington. Crewmembers were taught plugging, patching and dewatering techniques in the classroom then went hands-on, applying their knowledge to simulated flooding in a wet trainer.  

Firefighting tactics were also honed while combating real fires during two scenarios that mimicked plausible casualties on a cutter like the Alex Haley.  

“I am incredibly proud of the crew’s accomplishments during this extended maintenance period,” said Cmdr. Brian Whisler, commanding officer of the Alex Haley. “The crew worked tirelessly to make significant material and aesthetic improvements to the cutter which will have long-term benefits as we continue to prepare for future patrols in the Bering Sea. Seven months is a long time to be away from home and we are thrilled to be reunited with our family, friends, and our Kodiak Community.” 

Following its dry dock period, the Alex Haley will be able to continue operating as the Coast Guard’s primary asset in the Bering Sea with renewed and improved capabilities.  

The Alex Haley is a 52-year-old 282-foot Medium Endurance Cutter that has been homeported in Kodiak since 1999. The crew routinely operates throughout the Bering Sea, the Gulf of Alaska, and the Pacific Ocean. The Alex Haley’s ability to operate in extreme weather conditions provides the mission flexibility necessary to perform search and rescue, fisheries law enforcement, and vessel safety inspections across Alaska. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Coast Guard will be in “closer competition than we ever have before” with the U.S. Navy for dry dock and dockside availabilities for their ships, a Coast Guard official said during a panel on maintenance at the Surface Navy Association Annual Symposium on Jan. 12. 

Bob Thomas, U.S. Coast Guard deputy assistant commandant for engineering and logistics (CG-4D), said that the Coast Guard is competing for resources with both the industry and the Navy as retention and recruiting struggles. persist throughout the military. Along with maintenance areas that the Coast Guard hasn’t historically dealt with, such as cyber, that creates an intensely competitive environment, he said. 

The Coast Guard has seen many of the same recruiting and retention challenges as the other services, Thomas noted. 

“The workforce has almost become a migrant workforce,” he said. “They’ll shift to where the work is, [or] who’s paying the most. […] That drives the cost way up when people are competing for limited resources. You get to pay more for the same thing, or sometimes it’s not available.”

Collaborating to Retain Workforce Numbers

However, he added that the Coast Guard is working closely with the Navy to help mitigate some of these issues, mentioning a number of collaborative efforts that he thinks are “going to pay off huge for the Coast Guard.” 
 
Navy Rear Adm. Scott Brown, deputy commander for logistics, maintenance, and industrial operations, also said that 2022 was “not a great year” in terms of staffing at the public shipyards, stating that they were short by 1,200 personnel, with 37,000 total working in those shipyards. 
 
“A big focus of our efforts is to improve the recruiting and incentives for folks that come into the shipyards,” he said. 
 
Brown said he believes that, in addition to the economy, the state of the shipyards and changing demographics are the primary reasons why the Navy continues to struggle with recruiting and retention. 
 
To offset some of those challenges, the Navy is looking not only to boost pay, but to also offer career development opportunities to sailors. For example, the Navy has introduced a program to help mechanical expert tradespeople, a promotion that keeps them “turning wrenches” while still providing advancement opportunities.