NEW LONDON, Conn. — The U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s Class of 2020 is the largest and most inclusive graduating class and includes the largest number of female graduates in the institution’s history, the academy said in a May 21 release. They…
More Returning Theodore Roosevelt Sailors Test Positive for COVID-19
Note: This post was updated May 19, 2020 at 6 p.m. ARLINGTON, Va. — Despite 14 crewmembers testing positive for COVID-19 a second time, the virus-stricken aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is running a pier-side simulation to prepare for eventual…
Hospital Ship Mercy Bids Farewell to Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES — The hospital ship USNS Mercy left Los Angeles on May 15 after supporting COVID-19 response operations in the greater Los Angeles area, the U.S. Northern Command said in a release. “We came to Los Angeles to be the relief valve for local hospitals in…
Despite Isolation, Five Returning Roosevelt Sailors Test Positive for Virus
ARLINGTON, Va. — Five more Sailors from the sidelined aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for COVID-19, despite 14 days in isolation on Guam, according to the U.S. Navy. The five, who previously tested COVID positive and were…
CNO Gilday Self-Quarantines as COVID-19 Precaution
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy’s top officer has self-quarantined himself after coming in contact with a family member who tested positive for COVID-19, the Defense Department announced. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday “had contact with a COVID-positive family member and, although testing negative,…
‘Culture Trumps Everything,’ SECNAV Nominee Says
WASHINGTON — The nominee to be the next Navy secretary said the sea service needs a course correction to restore the culture of leadership and accountability that has suffered in recent controversies, saying that “culture trumps everything.” “It saddens me to say: the Department of…
Eastern Shipbuilding Group Performs Keel-Laying for Offshore Patrol Cutter
PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Eastern Shipbuilding Group held a keel-laying ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard’s first-of-class offshore patrol cutter (OPC), the Argus, the company said in a release. The April 28 ceremony, at Eastern Shipbuilding’s Nelson Street facility in Panama City, was performed and recorded without an audience to comply with U.S. Centers for Disease…
Geurts: COVID-19 Crisis Offers Opportunity to Strengthen Acquisition, Sustainment
ARLINGTON, Va. — A top U.S. Navy official said acquisition and sustainment could emerge stronger, having withstood disruptions during the COVID-19 crisis. Speaking May 4 as part of a Navy League webinar sponsored by IBM for small businesses in the defense industry, James F. Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research,…
Larger, More Capable Navy Needed, SECDEF Says
ARLINGTON, Va. — The nation’s top defense official said the U.S. armed forces need to shed some legacy forces for a more modern force, one that includes more modern naval forces. “We need a larger, more capable Navy that can implement distributed lethality…
Esper: ‘The Safest Place Is on a Deployed Navy Ship’
ARLINGTON, Va. — The secretary of defense noted May 4 that — with a couple of notable exceptions — the U.S. Navy’s ships at sea remain unaffected by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The statistics show that the safest place to be is on a deployed Navy ship compared to one that’s…
