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 also became the first class to hold a virtual commencement ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Commencement day activities began at 1 p.m. with recorded congratulatory messages from a host of flag officers, elected officials and celebrities, including TV weatherman and producer of the Coast Guard TV series Al Roker, as well as actors Gary Sinise and Kevin Costner, who referenced his portrayal of a Coast Guard swimmer in the film “The Guardian.” 

The five international students from the class were also sent congratulatory messages from officials representing their respective home countries of Haiti, Mexico, the Philippines and the Federated States of Micronesia.  

The official ceremony consisted of a combination of live streamed footage from the official party on Cadet Memorial Field at the Academy, along with a mix of pre-recorded videos that closely followed the traditional run of past events. The event ended with recorded messages from the graduates to the rest of their classmates. 

As the distinguished honor graduate of the Class of 2020, Ensign Alaric Stone gave an address that touched on the successes of his classmates despite the unprecedented circumstances they found themselves in and the bonds that hold them together. 

“It is a testament to our resilience in the face of adversity and our ability to take failure in our stride,” Stone said. “With 2020 vision we’ve been able to look beyond hardship and see what is truly important. Each other. Through trials and tribulations both big and small we have always remained a team. A family.” 

In his remarks, Rear Adm. Bill Kelly, the Coast Guard Academy’s superintendent, reminded the audience of the inclusive nature of the class. 

“This year, we graduate the largest number of African-Americans, Native-Americans and Alaska natives and we continue to graduate more Hispanic officers than ever before,” Kelly said. 

“The hard work to be more representative of the nation we serve is paying dividends, and while the demographic profile of this class is the most diverse ever, it’s the perspective, the skills and abilities each and every graduate brings to the service that makes them uniquely qualified to serve and lead during these unprecedented times.” 

Standing on the stage alongside the official party at Cadet Memorial Field, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz made brief remarks before introducing a prerecorded message from U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

Milley told the graduates that, as leaders, they would be counted on during difficult circumstances. 

“Honor, respect and devotion to duty,” Milley said. “These words can’t be abstract to you. In our profession, you must develop a bond of trust like no other occupation in the world. You have to trust each other. You have to trust the chain of command. You have to trust the petty officers and the seamen, and they must trust you.” 

In his recorded remarks, Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolfe welcomed the graduates into the U.S. Department of Homeland Security team and reminded them what it takes to serve in the current environment. 

“As frustrating as it may be, the unorthodox situation in which we find ourselves today is emblematic of what you will all find when you are on the front lines defending this country, and that is the need to be prepared for the unexpected,” Wolfe said.

“Put simply, life is going to look a lot different out there than it did inside your classrooms at the academy, and that is why I expect you to always keep learning. It is the best way to prepare yourself for the challenges that lie ahead.”

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 return to sea after months sidelined at Naval Base Guam.

The first deployed Navy warship to suffer a COVID-19 outbreak, the TR has been docked in Guam since March 27, undergoing a bow-to-stern intensive cleaning while most of the nearly 5,000 crewmembers were disembarked and quarantined or isolated on Guam. After 14 days under observation ashore and twice testing negative for the virus, crewmembers began returning to the ship by the hundreds in late April.

See: Hospital Ship Mercy Bids Farewell to Los Angeles

The returning crew are conducting a simulation called “Fast Cruise,” that recreates normal underway conditions, while still moored in Guam.

“Fast Cruise is the culmination of all systems being online and operationally checked as the crew executes major at sea evolutions while being pier side. The crew will simulate normal underway conditions and test the critical systems required to sustain the ship away from the pier,” Pacific Fleet spokesperson Cmdr. J, Myers Vasquez said in a statement March 19. “As TR prepares to return the ship to sea their way forward is conditions-based and is dependent on the recovery of the crew,” the statements added. It was not clear whether the most recent re-infections would slow the carrier’s return to its mission. “Due to operational security concerns, the U.S. Navy does not address future ship movements or operations,” Vasquez’s statement noted.

Nine more Sailors have joined five others who tested positive for COVID-19 last week, a Navy official said May 18. All were among more than 1,100 crew members who were diagnosed with the virus and taken off the ship and isolated or quarantined for 14 days. To return to the carrier after two weeks of observation, Sailors had to test negative two straight times. The initial five who were re-infected were among hundreds of crewmembers who have returned to the Roosevelt since late April.

“Fast cruise is a major milestone for the ship and for the crew,” said Capt. Carlos Sardiello, commanding officer of the Teddy Roosevelt. “Our Sailors have tested all of the ship’s systems individually, but this is our opportunity to integrate all of that together and show that Theodore Roosevelt is ready and able to go back to sea.”

Following a successful fast cruise, the ship will commence underway training and carrier qualifications to support the air wing’s return to operational readiness.

Sardiello, who previously commanded the ship, took over again in early April when his replacement, Capt. Brett Crozier, was relieved of his command. A fleetwide investigation is looking into how the COVID-19 outbreak on the Theodore Roosevelt was handled by the chain of command and whether Crozier should be restored as the carrier’s commander.

During the ship’s infection surveillance, a single active case of tuberculosis also was identified and diagnosed. The diagnosed individual was removed from the ship, isolated and will remain under the direct care of the Navy’s health system until cleared by doctors, according to a March 14 statement from the Navy. A thorough contact investigation has been conducted, and those Sailors have been medically evaluated and cleared. There are no other active cases pending.

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 the fight against COVID-19,” said Capt. John Rotruck, commanding officer of medical treatment facility (MTF) aboard the ship.

See: Despite Isolation, Five Returning Roosevelt Sailors Test Positive for Virus

“I am very impressed with how well the team came together on this rapid-response mission, completing a wide-range of high-quality medical procedures from orthopedic surgeries to interventional radiology. Sailors from across the country answered the call, forming a unified team focused on our mission to treat patients from Los Angeles. I couldn’t be more proud.” 

Mercy is scheduled to return to Naval Station San Diego, where the ship and members of its embarked MTF will remain ready for future tasking. 

At the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Northern Command, about 60 personnel assigned to Mercy’s MTF will continue supporting state and local health care providers at skilled nursing facilities. The U.S. Navy, with NORTHCOM-directed forces, remains engaged throughout the nation in support of the broader COVID-19 response. 

Mercy has been at the World Cruise Center Terminal in the Port of Los Angeles since March 27. The medical professionals aboard the Mercy performed various medical procedures, including general, orthopedic and plastic surgeries; interventional radiology; exploratory laparotomy; and skin grafting. 

“After arriving on station, the personnel aboard Mercy were able to safely execute our mission in support of FEMA and in coordination with state and local authorities,” said the mission’s commander, Capt. Dan Cobian, commodore of Destroyer Squadron 21. 

“In addition to supporting Los Angeles-area hospitals, we were able to expand our mission by providing support to a local skilled nursing facility and we also sent personnel to aid USNS Comfort for their effort in New York. Our Sailors answered the call and showed our country and the world the capability of our combined Navy Medicine and Military Sea Lift Command team in providing aid during this pandemic.”

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 taken off the carrier, retested positive after returning to the carrier, despite “rigorous recovery criteria, exceeding [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines,” Navy spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Megan Isaac said on May 15.

See: Hospital Ship Mercy Bids Farewell to Los Angeles

Meanwhile, the Pentagon inspector general’s office announced on May 11 that it had launched an evaluation of the Navy’s policies to “prevent and mitigate” the spread of infectious diseases on ships and submarines and whether “mitigation measures that are effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19 were implemented across the fleet.”

Despite the latest setback, the Defense Department and the Navy “have learned much over the last few weeks on how to confront outbreaks on ships,” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman told a press briefing, noting that only two warships — the Roosevelt and the destroyer USS Kidd — out of 90 Navy vessels at sea have confronted the virus. He noted the Navy was able to respond more quickly and limit the outbreak on the Kidd because of lessons learned with the Roosevelt.

Hoffman also cited Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley’s frequent claim that “’the TR could be at sea tomorrow if called upon and would be able to fight through this outbreak.”

The new COVID-positive results aboard the Roosevelt come as the carrier, docked in Guam since March 27, prepares to return to sea after a bow-to-stern deep-cleaning process by about 700 crew members. The rest of the ship’s crew, more than 4,000 in total, are disembarked on Guam and either isolated or quarantined. More than 1,100 Sailors from the Roosevelt tested positive for COVID. To return to the carrier after 14 days observation, Sailors had to test negative in two successive tests. The infected five were among hundreds of crew members who have returned to the Roosevelt since late April.

“While onboard, these five TR Sailors self-monitored and adhered to the strict social distancing protocols established by the Navy,” Isaac said in a statement. However, they developed flu-like symptoms “and did the right thing reporting to medical for evaluation,” the statement added.

The five Sailors were immediately removed from the Roosevelt and placed back into isolation. Their close contacts were mapped, and they are receiving the required medical care. “A small number of other Sailors who came in close contact with these individuals were also removed from the ship and tested. They will remain in quarantine pending retest results,” the statement said.

“A process has been put in place to quickly address the issue,” Hoffman told the briefing. “We do want to get to a place where there is zero infections on the ship and the entire ship’s complement is back at sea, but that may take little bit more time,” he said.

After becoming the first Navy ship to suffer a COVID-19 outbreak at sea, the Roosevelt was caught in a controversy that led to Capt. Brett Crozier’s removal from command and the resignation a week later of then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who had ordered Crozier ousted.

Following a first preliminary inquiry, the Navy initiated a probe into Crozier’s actions that was widened by Modly’s successor, acting Navy Secretary James McPherson, to include the entire Pacific Fleet chain of command. Some, including reportedly Chief of Naval Operations Mike Gilday, recommended Crozier be reinstated after the preliminary probe ended.

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, will be quarantining this week,” U.S. Army Lt. Col. Chris Mitchell, a Defense Department spokesman, said on May 11. 

Gilday is personally following guidance he issued to the Navy as a whole on May 6: “Each of us must continue to practice and follow all public health measures necessary to minimize risk to our force and our families. Take responsibility. Show courage in speaking up if you see shipmates falling short. We have obligations for operational readiness and stringent requirements for health protection measures.” 

Below are more excerpts from the CNO’s May 6 message to the fleet: 

“As we continue to learn about this virus and how to mitigate its risk, the widespread public health measures you are actively practicing — physical distancing, face coverings, minimizing group events, frequent hand-washing, sound sanitation practices, a questioning attitude on how we are feeling — must be our new normal. We must harden our Navy by continuing to focus on the health and safety of our forces and our families. The health and safety of our Sailors and their families is, and must continue to be, our No. 1 priority. Fleet operations depend on it. 

“As the forward deployed force of our country, we have a duty to ensure we are ready to respond. We cannot simply take a knee or keep everyone in port until this enemy is defeated. We are America’s away team. The uncertainty caused by COVID-19 makes our mission of protecting America at sea more important than ever. That is why the U.S. Navy continues to operate forward every day.” 

“When we entered this pandemic, we quickly closed down services to minimize interactions and the spread of the disease. We will need to take a measured approach to opening up these services to prevent a recurrence of the disease. 

“I expect local commanders to understand area conditions and to communicate prudent expectations and guidance up and down the chain of command. I trust our Sailors to follow these guidelines.” 

Special Correspondent John M. Doyle contributed to this report.

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 the Navy is in troubled waters due to many factors, primarily the failure of leadership,” Kenneth J. Braithwaite, the U.S. ambassador to Norway and the president’s nominee to be the 77th Navy secretary, said during testimony May 7 at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.  

Braithwaite said failings over the past few years — such as the “Fat Leonard” scandal, the fatal at-sea collisions in 2017, recent judicial missteps and the COVID-19 crisis aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt — were “indicative of a breakdown in the trust of those leading the service.” 

Lessons he said he took from his earlier experience as a naval aviator that the Navy Department is “resilient” and that “it all starts with culture.” 

“Successful organizations have a strong culture, which always starts with leadership,” he said. “Culture is one thing that creates for an organization a sense of belonging, a sense of good order and discipline.”  

“It is my No. 1 priority, if I’m confirmed, to restore the appropriate culture in the United States Navy,” Braithwaite said. “A culture exists; I won’t say it’s been broken; I think it’s been tarnished.” 

He stressed the importance of empowering people up and done the chain of command and that he would not intervene in the chain of command.

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 Control guidelines for combatting the spread of the COVID-19 virus.  

The keel-laying represents the ceremonial start of a ship’s life by commemorating the assembly of the initial modular construction units. Historically, to attest that the keel was properly laid and of excellent quality, the shipbuilder would carve their initials into it. This practice is commemorated by welding the initials of the ship’s sponsor into the keel authentication plate. 

The ship’s sponsor is retired Coast Guard Capt. Beverly Kelley, who was the first woman to command a U.S. military vessel. She commanded the 95-foot patrol boat, the cutter Cape Newagen, in 1979. Throughout her distinguished career, she became the first woman to command both a medium-endurance cutter and a high-endurance cutter in cutters Northland and Boutwell, respectively. 

“Eastern Shipbuilding Group is humbled and proud to have been chosen to build this next-generation ship for the world’s best Coast Guard, and we think today represents a milestone that all those involved in the program can be proud of,” said Eastern’s president, Joey D’Isernia. 

“The steel joined here today is unlike any you or I have seen before. This steel has been ravaged by 162 mph winds, generated by the third most powerful hurricane to make landfall in this country’s history. This steel has borne witness to a pandemic that has caused fear and shaken our core. But through all this, it remains sturdy, it remains resilient, and today it will join with other steel to become stronger, more  defined and more resolute. Today is representative of how we build, and of unwavering resolve in the face of adversity for a Coast Guard and a nation that deserves nothing less.” 

D’Isernia was accompanied on the podium by Capt. Andrew Meverden, representing the Coast Guard, and Bradley Remick, the welder charged with fashioning the sponsor’s initials onto the ceremonial keel authentication plate. 

The OPC will provide a capability bridge between the national security cutter, which patrols the demanding open ocean, and the fast-response cutter, which serves closer to shore. The OPC design includes the capability of carrying an MH-60 or MH-65 helicopter and three operational over-the-horizon small boats. The vessel also is equipped with a highly sophisticated combat system and C4ISR suite. 

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, development and acquisition, said he views the pandemic as a crucible, where there will be some delays in production and maintenance, but also as an opportunity to strengthen the system. 

See: Potential for 3-Month Slowdown in Defense Acquisition, DoD’s Lord Says

“What new opportunities does that enable for us to leverage?” Geurts asked. “If you would have asked me four months ago, ‘Could the team go 95%-plus telework, increase contract awards 33%, do so with 10% less contracts, and at the same time get their distance learning up by 65%, I would have laughed a little bit. And we’ve [achieved those metrics] in the last seven weeks.” 

“I don’t see it as much as a disruption to our future plans … as an accelerant to our future plans,” Geurts added. “The goal for us is, how do we come out of this stronger than we were, and how do we work now to increase the speed by which we come out of this.” 

Geurts cited the late April award of the FFG(X) frigate contract to Marinette Marine three months ahead of schedule, which brought the total of Navy contract awards $25 billion ahead of the same point last fiscal year. By his recollection, this fiscal year is the first where all financial benchmarks have been exceeded.  

“So, I don’t view it as much as a delay as an accelerant,” he said. “We will continue to adapt as the warfighter requires. I don’t see us having to adapt our programs in a major way. We’re going to have to figure out how to capture in a bottle all the great things that have occurred in the last seven or eight weeks where we’ve gained this operational effectiveness and be thoughtful of where we’re going to have to manage risk downstream. But in terms of drastic changes to programs or schedules, I don’t see that.” 

Geurts said the biggest collective challenge will be how to operate if the virus lingers for a long time. 

“We need to create a system that is resilient to disruptions,” he said. “I’m actually very optimistic that this has been a good learning method for us as an enterprise. It’s tremendously painful, horrible to see what is happening at the human element, and I don’t want to downplay any of that at the individual level or at the national level. 

“What it has done is helped shine some spotlights on where we probably were not as aggressive as we needed to be and where we’ve got an opportunity to be more effective. We’ve got to be able to ride through disruption. That’s what our Sailors, Marines and our nation expect of us, and that’s where we’ve got to be focused.” 

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 across the seven seas,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper said, speaking May 4 in a webcast hosted by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. “The Marines are doing some really innovative things with regard to how they are adjusting their force.”  

Esper said the Defense Department needs 3% to 5% annual real growth year-over-year in the budget topline to increase readiness and support the National Defense Strategy. 

Noting the probability of flat defense budgets and given the national debt and COVID-19 virus effects on the gross domestic product, Esper said he is worried that the “massive infusion of dollars into the economy … may throw us off that course … and lead to smaller defense budgets in the future.” 

He said that the Defense Department is at a critical juncture with the “Great Power Competition” against China and Russia. 

“That means shedding the legacy force and moving to a more modern force,” Esper said, noting that a modern force would include completely revitalized strategic forces — including all three legs of the nuclear triad (bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles) — “but also investing a lot of money into [artificial intelligence], into hypersonics, into our space capabilities, cyber, into directed energy.” 

He said that the Air-Land Battle Concept has been replaced by the Joint Warfighting Concept “that will make sure we’re fighting in all domains as a coherent, cohesive joint force. We have new plans to reach out to our allies and partners and make sure they are well-integrated into all of our efforts.” 

The secretary emphasized readiness concepts underway, including immediate-reaction forces and contingency-reaction forces as well as dynamic force employment and “moving toward operational deployments rather than permanently deployed forces.” 

“That said, we do need that topline growth, and if we don’t [get it], we’re just going to have to accelerate that shedding of the legacy force and turning those dollars back into building the force we need in the future.”

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 in port,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper said, speaking during a webcast sponsored by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. “Of the 90-plus ships at sea, we only have two that have been affected.”

See: Navy Provides Medical Care to Infected Sailors of USS Kidd, Will Disinfect Ship

See: Navy Opens Deeper Inquiry Into Theodore Roosevelt; Move Delays Decision on Captain’s Reinstatement

The Navy has suffered significant outbreaks of the novel coronavirus on the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd. A Sailor off the Roosevelt died from COVID-19 complications in mid-April. 

The cause of the transmission of the virus to the crews of both ships is unknown. The Theodore Roosevelt made a port call to Vietnam soon before Sailors began showing signs of illness. Another possibility: the virus was brought aboard by aircrews and passengers returning to the carrier. 

“We’re not sure where [the USS Kidd] picked [the virus] up,” Esper said. “It may have been through a counter-drug operation.” 

Esper said that “two ships out of 94 is a pretty good record. The Navy has taken a lot of good practices. They’ve learned from the Teddy Roosevelt. Before a ship is deployed it goes through multiple tests of its Sailors. They are quarantined for a couple of weeks. And, of course, we don’t bring a ship back in if it’s being replaced by one that’s going out. So, we’re being very careful of that.”  

The service is keeping the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman away from port following a major deployment to avoid the pandemic. 

“We have had ships that have been portside that have had Sailors infected but that’s not unlike what you might see at an Army base or an Air Force base where you have Sailors out in the community who may get infected by the virus,” Esper said. “Before they go to sea, we bring them in, we test, we quarantine, and we make adjustments to make sure our ships get out on time.”