MAYPORT, Fla. — The U.S. Navy commissioned the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS St. Louis on Aug. 8, Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 2 said in a release. 

Due to public health safety concerns and restrictions of large public gatherings related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Navy commissioned St. Louis at a private event. 

“Nearly 200 years after the first ship to bear the name was launched, today we commission the seventh USS St. Louis,” Navy Secretary Kenneth J. Braithwaite said. “Much like that sloop of war did in 1828, LCS-19 and her crew will protect the U.S. and our interests near and abroad.

Video from the commissioning ceremony is here on Facebook 

“Whether conducting counter-narcotic operations in the Caribbean or working to enhance interoperability with partners and allies at sea, USS St. Louis will provide maneuverability, stability and lethality in today’s era of Great Power Competition.” 

Adm. Craig Faller, commander of U.S. Southern Command, said littoral combat ships, like the St. Louis, have played an important role supporting operations in his command’s geographic area of focus. 

“The littoral combat ship has proven to be an effective and adaptable platform capable of multiple missions in our area of responsibility,” Faller said. “It has become an end-game enabler for U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement authorities who disrupt transnational criminal organizations and the smuggling of deadly narcotics. Adding the LCS to our enhanced counter-narcotics operation is helping save lives.”  

Rear Adm. Brad Cooper II, commander of Naval Surface Force Atlantic, welcomed the ship, which brings capabilities to counter diesel submarine, mines, and fast surface craft threats. 

“St. Louis brings speed and agility to the fleet,” Cooper said. “Congratulations to St. Louis’ captain and crew for all of your hard work to reach this milestone. You join a proud surface force that controls the seas and provides the nation with naval combat power when and where needed.” 

Barbara Broadhurst Taylor, the ship’s sponsor, offered congratulations to everyone who played a role in delivering USS St. Louis to service.  

“To witness the skill and commitment of the officers and crew of USS St. Louis as they brought our magnificent ship to life has been one of the greatest honors of my life. All of us in the great city of St. Louis are proud to be part of our ship’s historic legacy and extend our appreciation and lasting friendship to the crew and their families,” Taylor said. “Your patriotism and dedication to preserving peace and freedom inspires us. May God bless our ship and all who sail her.” 

Charles Williams, assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations, and environment, expressed gratitude to the ships sponsor for their commitment to the Navy. “I want to express the Navy’s deep appreciation to the Taylor family. Much of what they do is anonymous but believe me when I say they are the preeminent philanthropic family of the St. Louis community and a donor to Navy causes,” Williams said. 

St. Louis’ commanding officer, Cmdr. Kevin Hagan, reported the ship ready. 

“I’m incredibly proud of the work the crew of St. Louis put in to get this ship ready to sail. I am absolutely honored to lead this crew through all of the trials required of a brand-new ship in the fleet,” Hagan said. “Their perseverance and dedication will set the foundation for our crew and for all future crews that will call USS St. Louis their home.”  

St. Louis is the 22nd LCS to be delivered to the Navy, and the tenth of the Freedom-variant to join the fleet and is the seventh ship to bear the name. The first St. Louis, a sloop of war, was launched in 1828. It spent the majority of its service patrolling the coasts of the Americas to secure interests and trade. In addition, it served as the flagship for the West Indies Squadron working to suppress piracy in the Caribbean Sea, the Antilles and the Gulf of Mexico region.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The U.S. Coast Guard transferred custody of two suspected smugglers and 430 kilograms of seized cocaine to federal law enforcement at Sector San Juan on Aug. 5 following the interdiction of a go-fast boat in the Caribbean Sea, the Coast Guard’s 7th District said in a release.

The interdiction was the result of multiagency efforts in support of U.S. Southern Command’s enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico is leading the prosecution for this case.

The estimated wholesale value of the seized drug shipment is more than $12 million.

“The positive outcome in this case is a reflection of the professionalism and unwavering resolve of the Richard Dixon crew and of our fellow Coast Guardsmen and federal law enforcement partners involved in this case,” said Lt. Matthew Monahan, cutter Richard Dixon’s commanding officer. “Our collective efforts resulted in preventing 430 kilograms of cocaine from reaching the streets and the apprehension of two smugglers who will now have their day in court.”

The interdiction occurred on Aug. 2 afternoon following the detection of a suspicious 30-foot go-fast vessel, with two people aboard, by the crew of a patrolling U.S. maritime patrol aircraft.

The Richard Dixon responded to the sighting and interdicted the go-fast with the assistance of the cutter’s small boat. The cutter’s boarding team located 21 bales of suspected contraband aboard the go-fast that the smugglers attempted to conceal with a blue tarp. The boarding team placed the two men in custody and embarked them aboard the cutter along with the seized contraband.

The seized cocaine, destined for the United States, and two detainees were later transferred to the Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Napier and transported to San Juan, where CCSF federal law enforcement agents received custody.

The Richard Dixon and Joseph Napier are 154-foot fast-response cutters homeported in San Juan.

MIAMI — Coast Guard Cutter Legare’s crew offloaded nearly 5,000 pounds of interdicted contraband, worth an estimated $25.7 million, on Aug. 5 at Port Everglades, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release.

The Coast Guard Cutter Winslow Griesser crew also interdicted nearly 1,100 pounds of cocaine, and the Cyclone-class patrol ship USS Shamal crew with an embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment interdicted about 3,900 pounds of marijuana while on patrol in the Caribbean Sea from suspected drug smuggling vessels.

The Winslow Griesser is a 154-foot fast-response cutter homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Legare is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Portsmouth, Virginia. The USS Shamal is a 179-foot Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship homeported in Mayport, Florida.

BAHRAIN — U.S. Navy warships assigned to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), escorted two U.S. Army Frank S. Besson-class logistics support vessels (LSV), assigned to U.S. Army Central Command (ARCENT), as they transited out of the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, in July and August, U.S. 5th Fleet Public Affairs said in an Aug. 5 release. 

The two LSVs, Major General Charles P. Gross (LSV 5) and Specialist 4 James A. Loux (LSV 6), had been forward deployed to the region for 20 years in support of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) tasking and were departing Kuwait as a result of an Army-wide restructuring and asset allocation. 

Over the past two decades, U.S. naval ships regularly escorted the Army vessels as they transited the Persian Gulf, delivering supplies to U.S. Army units in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from their forward deployed homeport in Kuwait. 

“The importance of U.S. and partner forces operating together in the region while supporting our shared maritime security goals continues to be vital,” said Brig. Gen. Dianne Del Rosso, Deputy Commanding General, 1st Theater Sustainment Command. “The Logistics Support Vessels have been critical to training exercises and operations in the CENTCOM area of operations [AOR] for both the joint force and our strategic partners in the region.” 

Escort ships during the outbound transit included at various stages, USS Vella Gulf (CG 72), USS James E. Williams (DDG 95), USS Stout (DDG 55), patrol coastal ships assigned to CTF 55 and Mark VI patrol boats assigned to CTF 56. 

NAVCENT forces regularly participate in joint operations with assets from ARCENT and other component commanders. Recent examples have included U.S. Navy warships conducting live fire exercises with U.S. Army AH-64E Apache attack helicopters assigned to ARCENT, and U.S. Air Force AC-130W Stinger II gunships assigned to Special Operations Command Central. 

“The joint operations we conduct with other component commands in the CENTCOM AOR is crucial in supporting U.S. and partner nation interests in the region,” said Vice Adm. James Malloy, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. “I’m proud of the work we’ve been able to do with our ARCENT counterparts, and I look forward to what our joint team will continue to accomplish in the future.” 

The U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse is comprised of 20 countries and includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Another person has tested positive for COVID-19 at a U.S. Marine Corps installation on Okinawa, bringing to 16 the number of new cases since Aug. 1 at two installations on the Japanese island with novel coronavirus clusters, according to Marine officials.

The latest case was previously identified as a close contact of another person who tested positive within the cluster at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

“This individual has been in quarantine for over a week and was identified as a result of our policy to test all individuals prior to release from [restriction of movement] or due to close contact with a known positive,” Marine Corps Installations Pacific (MCIPAC) said in an Aug. 3 statement.

MCIPAC also reported that 33 people have recovered from infection since Aug. 1. The Marines have not specified which among the more than 200 cases diagnosed on Okinawa are military, family members or civilian employees.

On Aug. 2, the Marines announced that 15 individuals tested positive for COVID-19 in the previous 24 hours. All 15 have been in quarantine for more than a week and were identified due to the Marines’ policy to test all individuals prior to release from ROM status, MCIPAC said in a statement. Thirteen of those cases were from Camp Hansen, the hardest hit Okinawa facility, and two were from MCAS Futenma, which has the next highest number among the four Marine facilities on the island.

“We are cautiously optimistic that we have curbed the spread among the two clusters that we identified at the beginning of July at MCAS Futenma and Camp Hansen. Those clusters were largely contained in a few units that arrived from the U.S. in mid-June,” an MCIPAC spokesperson, Maj. Kenneth Kunze, said via e-mail to Seapower. Kunze added that the Corps also is monitoring COVID-19 in the Okinawa community and maintaining elevated measures to prevent spread outside the two clusters.

Meanwhile, more COVID-19 cases continue to pop up across the sea services. After months as the armed service with the most cases, the U.S. Navy, with 6,888 cumulative cases, has been surpassed by the Army, which has 9,697. The Marines reported 3,445. Under Pentagon policy, numbers of infected in individual units, facilities or geographic areas are not made public.

However, a spokesperson for Naval Air Force Atlantic did confirm that “a small number of Sailors” assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush were diagnosed with COVID-19 in late July.

“The crew members who tested positive remain in isolation at their private residences in Virginia and receive daily medical supportive care until they have recovered,” Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg said in a statement e-mailed to Seapower. “There has been no impact to readiness.”

Norfolk Naval Shipyard, where the George H.W. Bush is in dry dock, is conducting temperature checks and is screening all personnel with a symptom questionnaire, and if required, referring Sailors with symptoms for medical evaluation, Cragg added.

Also, a Marine assigned to Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1), which flies the helicopters that transport the president, tested positive for COVID-19 on July 23. The infected Marine was asymptomatic and close contact tracing is being performed in coordination with the White House Medical Unit, Maj. Joseph Butterfield, a Marine Corps spokesperson, said in a statement.

The infected HMX-1 Marine, who is in isolation and recovering, was never in direct contact with the president’s helicopter. Other Marines who may have had contact with the infected individual were removed from the squadron but have not tested positive.

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Officials with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I Marine Expeditionary Force, have identified the one Marine who was killed and seven other Marines and one Sailor who are presumed dead after an amphibious assault vehicle mishap on July 30. 

Lance Cpl. Guillermo S. Perez, 20, of New Braunfels, Texas, was pronounced dead at the scene before being transported by helicopter to Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego. He was a rifleman with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 15th MEU. 

The seven Marines — all riflemen — and one Navy hospital corpsman were from Bravo Company, Battalion 1/4 of the 15th MEU. The presumed dead are:  

• Pfc. Bryan J. Baltierra, 19, of Corona, California 
• Lance Cpl. Marco A. Barranco, 21, of Montebello, California 
• Pfc. Evan A. Bath, 19, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin 
• Pfc. Jack Ryan Ostrovsky, 21, of Bend, Oregon 
• Cpl. Wesley A. Rodd, 23, of Harris, Texas 
• Lance Cpl. Chase D. Sweetwood, 19, of Portland, Oregon 
• Cpl. Cesar A. Villanueva, 21, of Riverside, California 
• Navy Hospitalman Christopher Gnem, 22, of Stockton, California  

The injured were: 

• A Marine rifleman with Bravo Company, BLT 1/4, 15th MEU. The Marine was transported from the scene to Scripps Memorial Hospital by helicopter and was in critical condition.  
• A Marine assault amphibious vehicle crew member with Mechanized Company, BLT 1/4, 15th MEU. The Marine was transported from the scene to Scripps Memorial Hospital by helicopter and was in critical condition. He has since been upgraded to stable condition. 

In total, 16 personnel were aboard the AAV when on July 30 around 5:45 p.m. they reported taking on water while conducting shore-to-ship waterborne operations training in the vicinity of San Clemente Island off the coast of Southern California. Five Marines were rescued and brought aboard the USS Somerset. 

Defense Secretary Mark Esper issued the following statement: “A grateful nation and the Department of Defense grieves the tragic loss of the Marines and Sailor lost in the amphibious assault vehicle accident off the coast of San Clemente Island. Our prayers and condolences are with the family and friends of these brave young men. Their service, commitment and courage will always be remembered by the nation they served. 

“While the incident remains under investigation, I want to assure our service members and their families that we are committed to gathering all the facts, understanding exactly how this incident occurred, and preventing similar tragedies in the future.”

MOBILE, Ala. — The U.S. Navy’s 12th expeditionary fast transport vessel, USNS Newport, successfully competed integrated sea trials on July 30, the Program Executive Office-Ships said in an Aug. 3 release. 

Integrated trials combine builder’s and acceptance trials, allowing for the shipyard to demonstrate to the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey the operational capability and mission readiness of all the ship’s systems during a single underway period. 

During trials, the shipbuilder conducted comprehensive tests to demonstrate the performance of all of the ship’s major systems. The USNS Newport is the second EPF ship to undergo the integrated trial, signifying the stability and maturity of the shipbuilding program. 

“Achieving this milestone is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the shipbuilding team and our partners in industry,” said Tim Roberts, strategic and theater sealift program manager for PEO-Ships. “We are eager to press forward with delivering USNS Newport to the fleet this year and to enhance the operational flexibility available to our combatant commanders.” 

EPFs are designed to operate in shallow waterways and are capable of a range of activities. The vessels are versatile, noncombatant transport ships that are being used for high-speed transportation of troops, military vehicles, and equipment. Their missions include overseas contingency operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, support of special operations forces, theater security cooperation activities and emerging joint sea-basing concepts.  

EPFs can transport 600 short tons 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots. Each vessel includes a flight deck to support day and night aircraft launch and recovery operations. The ships are capable of interfacing with roll-on/roll-off discharge facilities as well as on/off-loading vehicles such as a fully combat-loaded Abrams Main Battle Tank. 

The USNS Newport is on track to be delivered later this year. Austal USA has also started construction of the future USNS Apalachicola and is under contract to build the future USNS Cody. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy is planning to build 12 Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarines (SSBNs) to replace its 14 legacy Ohio-class SSBNs, but the number could change if the threat to the United States changes. 

With the increasing concern about the growing power of China and Russia in the era of “great power competition,” the numbers in the U.S. nuclear deterrence triad — Navy SSBNs and U.S. Air Force bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles — might need to be changed to meet the future threat. 

Adm. Charles Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, speaking July 30 at a webinar sponsored by the Mitchell Institute, said that the U.S strategic deterrent is “going to be tested in ways that it hasn’t been tested before,” noting that “it has been 30 years since the United States contemplated a nuclear conflict.” 

Richard noted that Russia has been modernizing its forces for the last 15 years and that there has been a “breathtaking expansion” in China’s forces. 

“China is on a trajectory to be a peer to us by the end of the decade,” he said. 

The admiral praised the U.S. nuclear deterrent triad because of the “flexibility of its design,” which allows U.S. Strategic Command to respond to every contingency. 

“If you take away any leg [of the triad], you just took away a stack of attributes that we have found useful in that past and see being useful in the future,” he said. “Can I compensate in some respects by coming across and using other elements of the triad? Yes, but not with those same attributes. Which means you just narrowed the range of the situations that we are able to effectively deter. You just took away a future hedging capability. If you took a piece [of the triad] away, that’s going to make it that much harder for me to execute the policy of this nation as documented in the Nuclear Posture Review.” 

Richard addressed the survivability of the SSBN leg of the triad, armed with Trident missiles. 

“When we say the submarine leg is survivable, that’s not just based on individual platform survivability,” he said. “Submarines are very difficult to find. They are not impossible to find. They have to be operated correctly like any stealth platform. But you derive that from force survivability. It is the combination of the number and location and the way you are operating the force is what gives you that very high confidence that that leg is going to survive.” 

“I’m very confident that the Navy has taken the right steps to ensure that we are able to maintain force survivability,” Richard continued. “I think it’s important that when we set the requirements, particularly the numbers for the platforms, that was based on a specific threat. If you change the threat on me, then we have to come back and re-think what the right number is. That’s going up. Going down, it’s not just what the threat looks like, but it’s what it takes to maintain that attribute of the leg. There’s a minimum number of submarines you can get to. It doesn’t matter what number of weapons or missiles are on them, it’s the number of platforms I have to have to make my statement remain true on force survivability. That is why the Navy and the STRATCOM will say ‘at least 12’ [Columbia-class SSBNs]. We need to see what the threat looks like.” 

Richard praised the introduction of the low-yield W76-2 nuclear warhead into the deterrent force. “It is a very welcome addition,” he said. “It is doing exactly what it was designed to do, but it is important to remember it added into an already existing stack of capabilities.” 

He also noted that the Nuclear Posture Review “wisely talked about a sea-launched [nuclear] cruise missile … a very good beginning to offset the numbers of non-treaty-accountable weapons that has great benefit in the assurance of our allies.”

ARLINGTON, Va. — The tiered system for testing of U.S. military personnel for COVID-19, considered a key element in defeating the novel coronavirus, has exceeded the goal of 56,000 tests per week, Defense Department officials told Pentagon reporters on July 30.

Not only has the program exceeded the 56,000 tests-per-week goal set in May, the Defense Department has been administering nearly 60,000 tests per week for several months, said Air Force Major Gen. Lee E. Payne, assistant director for combat support at the Defense Health Agency and a medical doctor.

“We’ve seen testing increase five-fold in the last three months, and to date, we’ve conducted over 540,000 tests since January,” said Lee, who also leads the Pentagon’s diagnostic and testing task force.

Defense Department personnel are testing positive for COVID-19 at lower rates than the general population, except for the 18- to 24-year-old age group, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Paul Friedrichs, the Joint Chiefs of Staff surgeon. The reason is not attributable to young people’s behavior, but because they are the largest demographic group across the U.S. armed services and are tested more, especially those who are incoming recruits, he added.

The Defense Department unveiled the priority-based, four-tiered system on April 22, when the department’s testing ability was limited by equipment shortages and slow turnarounds on test results. Tier 1 targeted critical national-security capabilities, like strategic nuclear deterrent units. Tier 2 focused on engaged, fielded forces around the world, while Tier 3 was for testing forward-deployed and redeploying forces. The remainder of the military makes up Tier 4.

Even with the rise in testing, infection rates for COVID-19 among active-duty military have held steady for several weeks at 5.7%, Payne said. The cumulative number of service personnel hospitalized for COVID-19 has been far less than the number diagnosed with the virus and far less than medical experts expected in January and February, Friedrichs noted.

“There were a lot of unknowns” about COVID-19 back then, he said, adding, “We have a lot more knowledge today about how to treat those infected.”

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s top acquisition official said the service is focused on sustaining its shipbuilding industrial base and the shipyard workers, critical to avoiding the pain of losing the services of any yard and its highly trained work force.  

“The shipyard workers in that workforce are valuable members of our shipbuilding community and have built great ships and built them well for our Navy,” said James F. Geurts, speaking July 30 to reporters during a teleconference, responding to a question from Seapower about the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, whose production of Independence-class littoral combat ships and Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ships will end in the next few years. 

“I am absolutely interested in ensuring that we don’t lose large chunks of the industrial base such as that shipbuilder or others.”  

Geurts said that “restarting an industrial base that you lose is really hard, really painful, and takes a long time. We are absolutely focused on ensuring we do not lose an industrial base because we don’t have the time or resources to re-generate it later when we need it.” 

He emphasized the value of the Defense Production Act in shoring up the industrial base. “We’ve been working with Austal to enhance their capabilities to be able to be effective for future ships,” he said. “So that work is ongoing as a shared activity between the Navy and the shipbuilder there.” 

He also pointed to the current stimulus bill draft in Congress, noting that “there is certainly opportunity there to look for key capabilities that we can build in the near term that allows us to bridge to future needs.”  

Geurts said he was optimistic about the future of shipbuilding for the Navy, including for Austal. 

“For the entire shipbuilding community, it’ a heck of an exciting time here,” he said. “We have a lot of new ship types that we want to go build, both manned and unmanned, so the critical activity from my perspective is ensuring we’ve got the industrial base — both at the shipbuilder and the supplier — ready to go so we can pivot and continue to expand the number and types of ships we’re building and drive the cost out of those ships.”