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. 

SAN DIEGO — Cubic Corp.’s Cubic Global Defense division has been awarded a contract worth more than $99 million to support the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division’s Surface Training Immersive Gaming and Simulations (STIGS) effort and the development, delivery and total life cycle support of a new virtual environment training system, the company said in a release. 

This system will be one of the key pillars under the Navy’s Surface Training Advanced Virtual Environment program, bringing courseware and simulator training systems into a Family of Trainers to support surface training at the point of need. 

“We are proud the U.S. Navy continues to trust in us as a key partner as it invests in state-of-the-art technologies to train Sailors,” said Mike Knowles, president of Cubic Global Defense. “Our solution will provide the baseline for a fully blended instructional training approach that seamlessly supports all levels of Surface Fleet Training.” 

Cubic brings decades of experience delivering training solutions to every training program. By applying this experience to a common baseline for the STIGS family of trainers, Cubic will provide a solution that supports the continuum of systems while remaining open for updates and improvements for emerging needs in fleet readiness. 

“Our successful performance on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Immersive Virtual Ship Environment programs have validated the benefits of our Total Learning Platform and game-based training,” said Ray Oliver, general manager of Cubic Orlando. “Both provide a common baseline for the immersive Program of Instruction used to qualify and certify Sailors.”  

This contract will also allow Cubic to deliver upgrades and modifications to previously delivered LCS courseware, in addition to new capabilities for LCS and other ships. Work for the STIGS program will be performed in Orlando and is expected to be complete by July 2025. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — As part of the national response to COVID-19, the Defense Department entered into a $31 million agreement with North American Forgemasters under Title III of the Defense Production Act, the Defense Department said in a July 31 release.   

This investment will sustain and increase critical industrial base capability for domestic production of ultra-large iron and steel forging in support of the U.S. Navy and Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.  

Using funds authorized and appropriated under the CARES Act, these Title III funds will enable North American Forgemasters to maintain and protect a skilled workforce during the disruption caused by COVID-19 while strengthening a vital domestic industrial capacity to produce ultra-large iron and steel forgings through infrastructure investments and development of specialized tooling. 

It is critical to national defense that North American Forgemasters and their affiliated companies remain viable and working to ensure the U.S. Government receives dedicated long-term industrial capacity to meet the needs of the nation for ultra-large iron and steel forging.  

North American Forgemasters headquarters is in New Castle, Pennsylvania, which is the principal place of performance. 

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.”

NASHUA, N.H. — BAE Systems has completed its acquisition of the Collins Aerospace Military Global Positioning System (GPS) business from Raytheon Technologies Corp., BAE said in a July 31 release. 

As announced in January, this asset purchase is a unique opportunity to acquire a high-quality, technology-based business that augments the existing BAE Systems Electronic Systems portfolio through the addition of world-class GPS anti-jamming and anti-spoofing technology that enables reliable navigation and guidance for a range of defense missions. 

“Today marks the culmination of a tremendous team effort, and we are extremely proud to welcome the Military GPS employees to our company,” said John Watkins, vice president and general manager of Precision Strike & Sensing Solutions at BAE Systems. “Together, we will build on our rich histories of providing superior, innovative capabilities to help protect our U.S. and allied warfighters.”  

Based in Cedar Rapids and Coralville, Iowa, with a workforce of about 700 employees, the Military GPS business has been a pioneer in its field for more than 40 years and has a global installed base in excess of 1.5 million devices on more than 280 airborne, ground, and weapon system platforms.

The business designs and produces advanced, hardened, and secure GPS products with a range of form factors, including products designed for space-constrained and harsh environments. It is also developing next-generation GPS technologies for the U.S. military — including M-Code — that will further improve security and anti-jamming capabilities for critical defense applications.

LOCKPORT, La. — Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Henry in Key West, Florida, the company said in a July 30 release. 

This is the 163rd vessel Bollinger has delivered to the Coast Guard over a 35-year period and the 40th fast-response cutter (FRC) under the current program.  

The Oliver Henry is the second of three FRCs to be homeported in Apra Harbor, Guam, increasing the presence for the Coast Guard in the Indo-Pacific theater. Additionally, later in 2020, Bollinger deliver the first of six FRCs that will be based in Manama, Bahrain, which will replace the Island-class patrol boats supporting the Patrol Forces Southwest Asia, the Coast Guard’s largest unit outside of the U.S. 

“Bollinger is proud to continue enhancing and supporting the Coast Guard’s operational presence and mission in the Indo-Pacific region with the delivery of the USCGC Oliver Henry,” said Ben Bordelon, Bollinger’s president and CEO. 

Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who distinguished himself or herself in the line of duty. Oliver Henry was the first minority service member to move from the wardroom to the engine room and rose rapidly through the ranks of enlisted mechanics. 

He was one of the Coast Guard’s first minority warrant officers and served over 15 years of his 26-year career as a warrant. As a leader and role model, he mentored many of the next generation of service leaders, including officers and enlisted men. 

The homeporting of three FRCs in Guam is part of the Coast Guard’s “doubling down on Oceania,” allowing more frequent and longer patrols in an area where the Coast Guard has increased its presence over the past 18 months and is aligned with the U.S. position on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific. 

In a speech last year, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl L. Schultz stressed the strategic importance of the service’s presence in the region saying, “We’re on a trajectory where the geostrategic importance of the Oceania region has not been higher here in decades, and it’s a place that the Coast Guard’s looking to be part of the whole-of-government solution set.”  

While the last 20 weeks of the Oliver Henry’s build occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bollinger took precautions to ensure the health and safety of employees and keep its delivery schedule. In addition to enhanced sanitization practices across the shipyard, Bollinger enacted more liberal leave and remote work policies as well as altered shift schedules to promote social distancing. 

Bordelon continued, “Delivering vessels on schedule and on budget to the Coast Guard in these unprecedented times given the COVID-19 challenges that we are all facing shows the resiliency and dedication of our incredibly capable workforce.” 

FRCs are consistently being deployed in support of the full range of missions within the Coast Guard and other branches of the U.S. armed services. FRCs have conducted operations as far as the Marshall Islands — a 4,400 nautical mile trip from their homeport. Measuring in at 154-feet, FRCs have a flank speed of 28 knots, ultramodern command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and stern launch and recovery ramp for a 26-foot, over-the-horizon interceptor cutter boat.

BOSTON — Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics has partnered with Castine-based Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) and representatives of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD)’s Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) Program to bring education about autonomous marine systems into the MMA curriculum, the company said in a July 30 release. 

The MMA will provide instruction to cadets using the academy’s 41-foot U.S. Coast Guard cutter-class workboat R/V Quickwater, which is being outfitted now with Sea Machines’ SM300 autonomous control system, and a shoreside command station located on campus. 

With education of the next generation of mariners being the primary focus of this partnership, the group will also demonstrate and document autonomous vessel technology’s ability to increase at-sea situational awareness, safety, energy efficiency, operational performance and the environmental impact thereof.  

MMA students will command and control the autonomous vessel in the Castine Harbor and surrounding areas from the shoreside station. While learning about autonomous systems and their impact on the future of the commercial marine industry, project managers and MMA students will measure the vessel’s emissions output to determine the precise efficiencies gained, documenting differences among various engines, equipment and sea states. During these hands-on trials, participants will collect additional data about the vessel’s situational awareness and operational performance, predictability and safety during missions.  

“The importance of this partnership extends beyond providing quantitative data for what we already know — that autonomous technology can be leveraged to improve vessels’ operational efficiency, productivity and predictability while reducing at-sea navigation incidents. This project is ultimately about preparing future Merchant Marine officers with the training and skills they will need to command the digital, data-driven commercial fleets of the 21st century.” 

“The goal of this initiative is to expand Maine Maritime’s current research portfolio and to provide our students with the opportunity to gain education and training on new smart-vessel technology,’’ said MMA’s Jennifer Norwood, assistant professor, marine transportation.

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.”