ARLINGTON, Va. — Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday announced a series of investigations into the disastrous fire that severely damaged the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego this week. 

Following a July 17 tour of the damage aboard the ship, Gilday held a press conference in the afternoon to discuss the events and to praise the ship’s crew and the hundreds of other firefighters from other vessels and fire departments that came to the aid of the Bonhomme Richard, the sixth ship of the Wasp class. 

Gilday said there would be a safety investigation to determine the cause of the fire and any ancillary issues in the realm of safety. This investigation, to be conducted by Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), will be kept confidential to allow for free flow of testimony.  

A second investigation, also routine in such incidents, will be conducted by the Navy Criminal Investigative Service, to determine if the fire was caused by any malfeasance or criminal activity, the CNO announced. 

Gilday said the Navy also will conduct a third investigation that will look into several echelons of command to determine if the correct procedures were in effect during the emergency, if the Navy reacted properly to the fire, and if measures should have been in place that were not, among other factors. 

“Make no mistake,” the CNO said. “We will follow the facts of what happened here. We will be honest with ourselves. We will get after it as a Navy.”  

He also said the ship’s structure will be assessed, as will any mechanical and electrical damage, so the Navy can determine whether the amphib can be repaired. Experts from the ship’s builder, Huntington Ingalls Industries, will be involved in the assessment, as will those of NAVSEA and Norfolk Naval Shipyard. 

Gilday said four-star fleet commanders will send detailed messages to all ships in all fleets, mandating that within five days their commanding officers assess personnel training levels, see if equipment is adequately operable — “in terms of placement and in terms of numbers” — and to “red-team” their procedures “to make sure they’re adequate.” 

“I am 100% confident that our defense industry can put this ship back to sea, but, having said that, the question is, ‘should we make that investment in a 22-year-old ship?” he said. “I’m not going to make any predictions until we take a look at all of the facts, and we follow the facts, and we can make a reasonable recommendation on the future steps.”  

Gilday inspected the damage to the Bonhomme Richard down to four decks below the flight deck and up to the superstructure and spoke to many of the firefighters. He was told that the wind coming off the bay helped the fire spread out of control, up elevator shafts and into the ship’s exhaust stacks. 

There also were a series of explosions — one of which could be heard 13 miles away — that led the ship’s CO to withdraw firefighters for their safety. At one point, an explosion blew debris across the pier to another ship, Gilday said. 

“I think that the situation was very tenuous,” he said. “I think that the commanding officer made some very sound decisions in terms of how to attack the fire very deliberately.” 

The fires, which started on the morning of July 12, burned for four days. The amphib, which is based in San Diego, was being upgraded to operate F-35B Lightning II strike fighters, among other modernizations. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. interests in the Arctic Ocean and its connections to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans might be better served as a dedicated fleet’s area of responsibility, rather that divided between the U.S. 2nd, 3rd and 6th Fleets, a Navy expert on the Arctic said. 

Dr. Walter Berbrick, associate professor at the Naval War College and director of its Arctic Studies Group, was speaking July 16 during a webinar, Arctic East vs West: US Strategy in the Atlantic and Pacific Arctic, sponsored by CNA, a think tank in Arlington. 

Berbrick said the lessened ice coverage of the Arctic Ocean is inviting to nations seeking to reduce maritime transit time between continents, especially considering that maritime commerce is expected to double over the next 20 years. 

The Northern Sea Route along the Russian northern shoreline cuts 40% of the transit distance between Europe and the Far East, a route of considerable interest to China. The Northwest Passage, between the Bering Strait by Alaska and the Davis Strait by Greenland, is less viable, given the shallowness of the water and the narrow straits. More attractive, should the ice melt more, is the Transpolar Route, directly across the geographic North Pole from any direction, so far navigable only by submarines. 

He said the current forecast of when the Transpolar Route might be navigable for surface ships by anywhere between 2035 and 2050 out to 2060.  

He noted that Russia is increasing its military presence in the Arctic region with modernizing old air bases, installing air-defense missile batteries, increasing submarine activity and building polar icebreakers armed with cruise missiles. 

Berbrick said the heart of China’s Arctic strategy is use of the Arctic sea routes and gaining access to ports in northern Europe for maritime commerce. He said China’s increasing naval deployments away from home waters are likely to extend to the Arctic regions eventually, including Chinese subs making transits to the North Pole.   

Regarding U.S. policy toward Arctic presence, Berbrick said the U.S. Coast Guard has done more than any other service to step up and dominate the discussion, but that this also means closer integration between the Coast Guard and U.S. Navy in the Arctic.  

“What capabilities do we need to deter and, if necessary, to respond to any military by any nation or navy?” Berbrick asked rhetorically. “What forces do we need to assure our allies and partners in the region? How do we posture our forces to keep Arctic sea lines of communication free and open? What kind of naval power do we need [in the region] project from the Arctic to potentially gain an advantage in other places like the Pacific and the Atlantic?” 

He noted that the U.S. Navy is designed for high-end fighting in warm waters. 

The Navy also would need days or weeks to respond to a crisis in the Arctic, he said, given the distance from U.S. deep-water ports.  

The 2nd, 3rd and 6th Fleets all have responsibilities in the region, he noted, with the Navy “facing a time/space/force problem in the Arctic,” with too many other challenges around the world. 

“Perhaps we should think outside the box and create a new fleet, an Arctic fleet,” Berbrick said, saying that a total Navy battle fleet sized more toward 400 ships rather than 355 would be needed, which would allow for a fleet “permanently spread out across the Arctic region.” 

He said the supporting shore structure would require reactivating old bases in the Aleutian Islands and Greenland and establishing a port in Nome, Alaska, for example, he said.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The number of personnel testing positive for COVID-19 at U.S. Marine Corps bases on Okinawa has grown to 136, according to the provincial governor of the Japanese island.

Gov. Denny Tamaki told reporters in Tokyo that another 36 cases have been reported at Camp Hansen, one of the first two facilities reporting novel coronavirus-positive clusters on Okinawa, the Associated Press reported July 16.

Like many Okinawans, Tamaki has been critical of the large U.S. military presence there, citing increased noise, crime, and aircraft accidents. He flew to Tokyo to complain to Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono that he was not getting enough information about the outbreaks among Marines on Okinawa and asked Kono to urge the U.S. military to be more cooperative.

In keeping with U.S. Defense Department policy, the Marine Corps itself will not disclose how many Marines and Sailors on Okinawa are infected, but they have been sharing that information with health officials in the Okinawa Provincial Government. A Marine official has said the numbers Tamaki has been giving to the news media have been accurate.

In addition to outbreaks at Camp Hansen and Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which the Marine Corps has acknowledged, Tamaki said others included Camp Kinser and Camp McTureous. The Kinser and McTureous cases did not constitute additional outbreaks, the Marines maintained.

The Camp McTureous case “was directly related to someone returning from the U.S. That person didn’t test positive until showing symptoms and being tested shortly after returning home. All residents of that home were isolated upon return and that was an isolated case,” Maj. Kenneth Kunze, a spokesperson for Marine Corps Installations Pacific (MCIPAC), said in a statement. Likewise, the other case “involved a resident of Camp Kinser, but that case was related to the Camp Hansen cluster and was not a new or different outbreak,” Kunze said.

On July 11, MCIPAC ordered an enhanced lockdown at all Marine installations across Okinawa. That included closing all nonessential facilities and limiting mess halls, exchanges, commissaries, base restaurants and food courts to take-out service. The new restrictions apply to all uniformed and civilian Marine personnel based on Okinawa.

Meanwhile, a member of the Marine Rotational Force Darwin, in Australia’s Northern Territory, has tested positive for COVID-19 as well.

The infected Marine arrived with the most recent wave of Marines on July 8. All the others received initial negative results, following a strict 14-day quarantine in barracks upon arrival in Australia, according to an announcement posted July 10 on the Rotational Force’s Facebook page.

The Marine is currently under strict isolation at Royal Darwin Hospital and the Northern Territory government is providing support. All those who may have interacted with the infected Marine have been identified and placed under quarantine for a minimum of 14-days and will receive additional testing.

Medical specialists will continue to monitor the health of all Marines. Should the condition of any become serious, they will be to Royal Darwin Hospital for follow on observation, testing and treatment, the announcement said.

The Marine Corps has been deploying Marines to northern Australia for an annual six-month rotation since 2012, but this year’s deployment was postponed in March over concerns about possible COVID-19 exposure. The decision to resume in May came after Australia granted an exemption to its travel restrictions.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Firefighters have extinguished all known fires on the amphibious assault USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego, the Navy announced. 

“Our fire teams are investigating every space to verify the absence of fire,” Rear Adm. Philip E. Sobeck, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3, said in a 1 p.m. Pacific time statement. 

“Until every space is checked and there are no active fires we will not be able to commence any official investigations. We did not know the origin of the fire. We do not know the extent of the damage. It is too early to make any predictions or promises of what the future of the ship will be. We cannot make any conclusions, until the investigation is complete.” 

Some reports outside the Navy indicated the fires were the result of an explosion aboard.  

The fires, which started on the morning of July 12, burned for four days and have severely damaged the ship, the sixth ship of the Wasp class. The ship, based in San Diego, was being upgraded to operate F-35B Lightning II strike fighters, among other modernizations. 

Sobeck said that 63 personnel — 40 U.S. Navy Sailors and 23 civilians — were treated for minor injuries such as heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation. None remain hospitalized. 

“What we do know is that brave Sailors from commands all across San Diego worked tirelessly alongside Federal Firefighters to get this fire extinguished and I want to thank them for their efforts,” he said. “This was a Navy team effort. We had support from the air and sea. Three helicopter squadrons conducted more than 1,500 water bucket drops, fighting the fire and cooling the super structure and flight deck enabling fire crews to get onboard to fight the fire. Tugs also provided firefighting support from the waterline, cooling the ship’s hull. 

“The Navy continues to work together with regulators, county and state in protecting our environment and preparing to address the community’s concerns as we move forward to the next phase,” he said. “I’d like to thank our partners from state and county, the U.S. Coast Guard, and all agencies for continued support.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s top procurement official said he seeks to maintain the agility and efficiencies garnered by the Navy’s acquisition and repair workforce and procedures long after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.  

The pandemic is a “really good test of resilience and how dynamic your organization is,” said James F. Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, who spoke on July 15 during a webinar, NatSec 2020: Coronavirus and Beyond, co-sponsored by the Navy League of the United States, the Association of the United States Army and Government Matters. 

“What we’ve been working on for the last couple years of decentralizing, differentializing, digitizing the work and developing talent, in hindsight, is very important,” Geurts said in response to questions from the Navy League’s executive director, Mike Stevens. “It gave us a really sound foundation to pivot. I’ve been really impressed how fast we’ve been able to pivot. The Navy, at least in acquisition channels, has been accelerating through the crisis.” 

Geurts said the Navy is about 37% ahead in contract awards this year compared with the same period in 2019 and twice what was done by this time in 2018 — having awarded an additional $30 billion to $35 billion in contracts in motion in the middle of the crisis. He said the effort created stability and freed up bandwidth to deal with things that pop up. 

He said the pandemic has “re-taught us the value of resilience as the core attribute to an organization.” 

The assistant secretary said the Navy had been planning how to surge in the event of a security crisis and, when the pandemic hit, the “art of planning for a crisis allowed us to pivot in a really strong way.” 

He credited “empowering the workforce by massively decentralizing” as a key to success, “showing the workforce that, ‘Hey, we trust you, your decision-making, we’re going to empower you to make decisions.’” 

Geurts said he wants to preserve the momentum developed by his workforce beyond the pandemic. 

“Going back to where we were, as good as that was, is mission failure,” he said. “The fact that we were able to get 37% more efficiency in a crisis, I want to capture that efficiency … so that we’ve got both performance improvement and more resilience as we go forward. … We should get better at leading through disruption.”  

Geurts said no shipyards or repair yards — public or private — have been shut down during the pandemic. 

“To think that we had 100,000-plus shipyard workers continuously operating through the crisis is a pretty remarkable state of leadership,” he said. “We’ve had some delays, some disruption, some loss of productive work hours — which we’re going to have to manage our way through, and we’re working our way through that — but we never got to the point where we had to completely shut down.” 

The Navy recently mobilized 1,600 Reservists to shore up the shipyards during the pandemic. And Geurts noted that the Navy has not slowed down its deployments or overseas presence during the pandemic.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The firefighting efforts to save the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego carried over into a fifth day on July 16. 

Just after midnight, early in the morning, the work of firefighting teams had to be temporarily halted, the Navy reported. 

“Out of an abundance of caution the pier and ship were cleared of personnel due to an initial shift in the ship’s list,” Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, said in a release. “Personnel are now pierside. We will continue to monitor as the ship settles.” 

As of 6 a.m. Pacific time, the firefighting teams were continuing operations on board the ship, according to the Navy. The total personnel treated for minor injuries remained 63 — 40 Sailors and 23 civilians. The fires were reportedly caused by an explosion, but the Navy has not officially disclosed a cause. 

NORFOLK, Va. — The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit are returning from deployment this month, marking the end of seven months attached to the U.S. 2nd, 5th and 6th Fleets.  

The first of the ARG ships, the Harpers Ferry-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Oak Hill, returned to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on July 15. 

“I am tremendously proud of what the Sailors and Marines of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit accomplished during this deployment. Our team worked tirelessly to remain fully mission ready during the unprecedented challenge of a global pandemic,” said Capt. Lance Lesher, who was commander of Amphibious Squadron 8 through its pre-deployment workup cycle and deployment until conducting a change of command at sea on July 12. 

The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bataan and San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS New York are expected to return to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, and Naval Station Mayport, Florida, respectively, in the coming days. The MEU departed the ARG ships and returned to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, over the weekend. 

“As a ‘certain force in an uncertain world’ the 26th MEU was flexible, resilient, and adaptable while forward deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet and 6th Fleet areas of operation,” said Col. Trevor Hall, commanding officer of the 26th MEU. “This deployment presented unique challenges, but the Navy-Marine Corps team prevailed and incessantly provided our fleet commanders with a responsive, sea-based Marine air-ground task force — even during the global novel coronavirus pandemic.” 

The ARG ships and MEU departed for deployment from their respective home bases in December and remained at sea for more than 150 straight days before returning home.  

“The crews onboard USS Bataan, USS New York and USS Oak Hill should feel great satisfaction and fulfillment knowing that, during this deployment, they played a crucial role as part of a premier crisis response team across the U.S. 2nd Fleet, 5th Fleet and 6th Fleet,” said Lesher. “The daily actions of our Sailors and Marines over the past seven months have made a positive impact on the world, and I’m pleased they will now be reunited with their friends, families and loved ones.” 

Lesher turned over command of PHIBRON 8 to Capt. Jason Rimmer during a change-of-command ceremony at sea onboard Bataan in the Atlantic Ocean. 

While in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, the Bataan ARG and 26th MEU remained healthy and fully mission ready while working with regional partners. The Blue-Green team worked with partners from Saudi Arabia to coordinate multiple complex training evolutions on the uninhabited Karan and Kurayn islands in the Arabian Gulf as well as with partners from the United Arab Emirates to hold training in an isolated location within that country. 

While in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations, the ARG-MEU increased interoperability with regional allies and partners by conducting maneuvering operations and at-sea exercises with navy and coast guard ships from Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania and Turkey in the Black Sea. The crew additionally worked with allied ships from France and Italy during their time in the Mediterranean Sea.  

U.S. Marine Corps UH-1Y Venoms and AH-1W Super Cobras assigned to the 26th MEU additionally participated in a live-fire training exercise in Bize, Albania. 

The Sailors and Marines of the ARG-MEU also strengthened international partnerships by hosting the head of the Royal Jordanian Navy and deputy commander of Kuwait Naval Forces aboard Bataan in separate visits that reinforced shared goals and fostered personal relationships.  

There are more than 4,000 Sailors and Marines assigned to the units of the ARG-MEU, nearly 2,500 of which were aboard the Bataan. Also embarked on the ships of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group were the staff of Amphibious Squadron 8 and personnel from Tactical Air Control Squadron 22, Fleet Surgical Team 4, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28, Naval Beach Group 2, Assault Craft Unit 4 and Assault Craft Unit 2. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The United States needs a larger merchant fleet, including ships available for sealift and tankers to meet the challenges of the new era of “great power competition,” particularly a conflict in the Pacific, said a senior Navy League of the United States official.

Jonathan Kaskin, who spoke July 14 during a webinar, NatSec 2020: Coronavirus and Beyond, co-sponsored by the Navy League, the Association of the United States Army and Government Matters, said the “fleet itself just needs to grow.”

Kaskin, a former Navy logistics official, said “we in the Navy League would like to … advocate for a much larger Merchant Marine in order to support the tenets of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which says that we should have a [merchant] fleet large enough to support not only our domestic trade but a portion of our international trade to be able to maintain our commerce at all time in peace and war. I don’t think we have adequate capability in both areas right now.”

Maritime Administrator Mark Buzby, a retired Navy admiral and former commander of Military Sealift Command (MSC), also spoke during the webinar.

“We need more ships,” Buzby said, noting that about 50 more vessels are needed for sealift; 87 U.S.-flag international-trading cargo ships (of which 60 are enrolled in MARAD’s Maritime Security Program, a stipend paid to keep ships available for sealift), available for mobilization for military use; and 99 large Jones Act ships.

Buzby said that the nation’s Merchant Mariner workforce is short about 1,800 personnel for a sustained sealift mission.

He said he prefers to have more commercial ships operating rather than Reserve ships tied up at the pier, because they would be more ready and would have trained mariners already on board and qualified.

Kaskin said that there are two ways to grow the merchant fleet, one being an expansion of the Maritime Security Program. The other is a MARAD proposal to create a Tanker Security Program “to help mitigate a shortfall of tankers required to support a war in the Pacific.”

He said only six U.S-flag international trade tankers are available for use by the military — and three of those are already leased by the Navy to support current operations.

“The requirement that U.S. Transportation Command has shown — and earlier studies have shown — that we need more than 78 tankers. Adding 10 is not going to be sufficient,” he said. “So, what we really need to do is find ways of utilizing the tankers that we have in the domestic fleet — the Jones Act [ships] — to be able to support wartime operations.”

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy secretary and chief of naval operations announced on June 13 these flag assignments:

Rear Adm. Kathleen M. Creighton will be assigned as director, information warfare integration, N2/N6F, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Creighton is serving as Navy Cyber Security Division director, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.

Rear Adm. John V. Fuller will be assigned as deputy director for force protection, J-8, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C. Fuller is serving as director, J-5, U.S. Northern Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.

Rear Adm. James E. Pitts will be assigned as director, warfare integration, N9I, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Pitts is serving as commander, Submarine Group 7; commander, Task Force 74; and commander, Task Force 54, Yokosuka, Japan.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Douglas W. Small, selected for promotion to rear admiral, will be assigned as commander, Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, San Diego. Small is serving as program executive officer for integrated warfare systems, Washington, D.C.

Rear Adm. (lower half) William E. Chase III will be assigned as senior military adviser for cyber policy to the undersecretary of defense for policy, and deputy principal cyber adviser to the secretary of defense, Washington, D.C. Chase is serving as deputy director, command, control, communications, and computers/cyber, J-6, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Leonard C. Dollaga will be assigned as commander, Submarine Group 7; commander, Task Force 74; and commander, Task Force 54, Yokosuka, Japan. Dollaga previously served as commander, Undersea Warfighting Development Center, Groton, Connecticut.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Thomas M. Henderschedt is assigned as senior defense official/defense attaché, China. Henderschedt previously served as naval attaché, U.S. Defense Attaché Office, Beijing, China.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Nicholas M. Homan will be assigned as director of intelligence, J-2, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. Homan previously served as deputy, deputy chief of staff, intelligence, Resolute Support; and deputy director, J2, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghanistan.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Matthew N. Ott III will be assigned as executive director, operational contract support, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Washington, D.C. Ott is serving as special assistant for audit readiness, Office of the Assistant Navy Secretary (Financial Management and Comptroller), Washington, D.C.

Rear Adm. (lower half) William P. Pennington will be assigned as commander, Task Force 70; and commander, Carrier Strike Group 5, Yokosuka, Japan. Pennington served as special assistant to the deputy chief of naval operations for operations, plans and strategy, N3/N5, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.

Rear Adm. (lower half) Jeffrey S. Scheidt will be assigned as deputy chief, computer network operations, National Security Agency, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, Washington, D.C. Scheidt is serving as commander, Naval Information Warfighting Development Center, Norfolk, Virginia. Rear Adm. (lower half) Philip W. Yu will be assigned as U.S. senior defense official/defense attaché, Moscow. Yu served as China branch chief, N5I1, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy and supporting firefighting teams continued to battle blazes on the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard for the fourth straight day, a Navy spokesperson said.

“As of 06:00 a.m. Pacific time July 15, firefighting teams continue operations on board USS Bonhomme Richard — 63 personnel, 40 Sailors and 23 civilians have been treated for minor injuries, including heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation,” the public affairs office for commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet said in a July 15 release.

“Currently, there are no personnel hospitalized. Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 3 [HSC-3] has conducted more than 1,500 helicopter water bucket drops, which is cooling the super structure and flight deck enabling fire crews to get onboard internally to fight the fire,” the release said.

The Navy has not said what caused the fire, though numerous reports attribute it to an explosion aboard.

In a July 14 release the Navy listed the units that have assisted in the firefighting efforts in addition to HSC-3:

• USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6)
• USS Cowpens (CG 63)
• USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62)
• USS Decatur (DDG 73)
• USS Tulsa (LCS 16)
• USS Shoup (DDG 86)
• USS Rushmore (LSD 47)
• USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49)
• USS San Diego (LPD 22)
• USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)
• USS Stethem (DDG 63)
• USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26)

Federal Fire entities:

• Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
• San Diego
• Ventura County
• Naval Air Facility El Centro

Additional Defense Department firefighting agencies:

• Camp Pendleton Fire Department
• Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Fire Department