ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has begun to develop a policy prohibiting the display of the Confederate battle flag aboard Navy bases, ships, aircraft and submarines, a Navy official said.  

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday’s order will be “meant to ensure unit cohesion, preserve good order and discipline and uphold the Navy’s core values of honor, courage and commitment,” Cmdr. Nate Christensen, spokesman for Gilday, said on June 9.   

The U.S. Marine Corps already has issued such a policy. Commandant Gen. David Berger on June 5 delivered a message to the Corps banning display of the Confederate flag in public spaces and work areas. 

The Marine Corps policy exempts some displays, such as works of art and educational or historical displays where the flag is not the focus. State flags that include the battle flag inset, such as that of Mississippi, also are exempt, as are state-issued license plates and grave sites of Confederate soldiers. 

The Department of the Army reportedly is considering changing the names of 10 installations that bear then names of Confederate officers.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper announced June 9 that the president has made the following nominations: 

• Navy Vice Adm. James J. Malloy for reappointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as deputy commander, U.S. Central Command, Tampa, Florida. Malloy is serving as commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Central Command; commander, 5th Fleet; and commander, Combined Maritime Forces, Manama, Bahrain. 
• Navy Rear Adm. Michelle C. Skubic for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as director, Defense Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Skubic is serving as commander of Naval Supply Systems Command and chief of Supply Corps, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. 

On June 4, Esper announced the following nomination: 

• Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Robert F. Hedelund for appointment to the rank of lieutenant general and assignment as commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command and commanding general of Fleet Marine Force Atlantic and U.S. Marine Corps Forces North. Hedelund is serving as commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command and commanding general of Fleet Marine Force Atlantic in Norfolk, Virginia. 

LONDON — Elbit Systems UK completed a series of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) trials with the United Kingdon Ministry of Defence (MOD), the company said in a release. The trials were delivered via Dstl’s (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory) Progeny Framework, exploring how autonomous systems could support future ASW operations.  

Elbit Systems UK was one of a shortlist of U.K. companies selected to take part in this second phase of the project — a series of live at sea trials which took place off U.K. coast with the Ministry of Defence in late October 2019. 

Elbit Systems UK used its Seagull unmanned surface vehicle (USV) for these trials, with the USA’s L3 Harris providing the sonar. Seagull, Elbit System’s multi-mission, multi-sensor USV demonstrated its autonomous ASW utility to the U.K. MoD, across the entire trials period, utilizing its ‘ASW Toolbox’ solution throughout to show how the abilities of this system to offer a force multiplier for ASW operations. 

“Elbit Systems has world leading technology to offer to the maritime and littoral environment,” said Martin Fausset, chief executive officer of Elbit Systems UK. The Seagull USV has once again, demonstrated its superior capabilities underlining Elbit Systems UK’s competitive position to providing innovative and cost-effective solutions to the U.K. Armed Forces. We are proud of our ongoing work with the Royal Navy as we work together to maintain its operational advantage.” 

The Seagull USV has multimission capability, being able to perform ASW, mine countermeasures (MCM), electronic warfare (EW), maritime security (MS), hydrography and other missions using the same vessels, mission control system and data links. 

Meanwhile its ASW capability provides the UK navy with a tactical advantage by deterring and threatening enemy submarines using an available asset with significantly lower risk. Seagull’s MCM capability facilitates end-to-end mine hunting operations including detection, classification, localization, identification and neutralization of bottom, moored and drifting sea mines. 

The Seagull is deployable with capability to operate from port or mothership, with two vessels able to be controlled from the same mission control system and both manned and unmanned modes of operation, the latter featuring a high level of autonomy. 

Seagull offers endurance of four days and mission sea-keeping of up to Sea State 5. 

Seagull has previously participated in bi-national MCM trials in the North Sea off the Belgian Coast organized by the Directorate General of Material Resources of the Belgian Defence Ministry and has been used in a series of demonstrations alongside several global navies, including being deployed in 2018 by NATO forces in a joint ASW exercise alongside the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan and the Spanish Navy’s Santa Maria-class frigate “Victoria.” 

The Progeny Maritime Research Framework was launched by Dstl to create a community of science and technology suppliers to support current and future maritime research projects. The Progeny Maritime Research Framework is worth up to 200 million pounds over 8 years and it is anticipated that requirements will be delivered by industry, including small and medium sized enterprises and academia. 

The Progeny Maritime Research Framework is supporting science and technology research for current in-service capability and the next generation of maritime technology. Examples of research areas it is addressing include unmanned systems, future submarine platforms and underwater communications and networking.

NEW ORLEANS — U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement crews have already interdicted a record-breaking number of lanchas throughout the Gulf of Mexico for fiscal year 2020, the Coast Guard 8th District said in a release. 

Since October 2019, Coast Guard assets and personnel have detected 176 lanchas and interdicted 106. Since the first recorded lancha interdiction in the late 1980s, the Coast Guard has seen a significant uptick in detection of these vessels, particularly in the past three years, recording a seasonal record of 74 lancha interdictions during the same time frame in the previous fiscal year. 

The Coast Guard utilizes a layered approach for interdiction through aircraft, small boats and cutters as well as improved technology on those assets, resulting in the drastic increase in lancha interdictions. 

“A huge part of our mission success comes from the dedication and close coordination between our local, state and federal partners,” said Lt. Kurt Mees, Coast Guard Station South Padre Island commanding officer. “We are all committed to the protection of marine resources and the enforcement of U.S. regulations.”  

A lancha is a fishing boat used by Mexican fishermen that is about 20 to 30 feet long with a slender profile. They typically have one outboard motor and are capable of traveling at speeds in excess of 30 mph. Lanchas pose a major threat, usually entering the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone near the U.S.-Mexico border in the Gulf of Mexico with the intent to smuggle people, drugs or poach U.S. natural resources. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy is starting to see results from laws, policies and processes that make career progression more flexible and more accommodating to education, and the sea service is liking what it sees, the Navy’s deputy chief of personnel said. 

New provisions in law enacted in 2019 that allow personnel to interrupt their careers for such activities as advancing their education are bearing fruit, Rear Adm. Jeffrey W. Hughes, deputy chief of naval personnel, said June 8, speaking during a webinar sponsored by #NatSecGirlSquad, an organization that “builds and supports competent diversity in national security and defense through its professional development community and strategic advisory services,” its website says. 

Hughes cited an example of an officer eligible for promotion with a “compelling reason” — such as pursuit of an advanced degree — could defer consideration by a promotion board so that the officer was not disadvantaged by being behind his peer group in career progression. 

An officer who, for example, pursued a master’s degree for two years immediately after commissioning normally would be two years behind his year group in achieving career milestones in the fleet. By being able to defer promotion consideration at the normal milestones, the officer could compete for promotion with officers originally commissioned two years later. The same could apply to an officer who pursued advanced education mid-career.  

“This has been incredibly powerful,” Hughes said. “The first time we’ve used it is this past year. We have had seven people that have used it, and all seven of them were for in-residence graduate education at various levels, some right out of their commissioning source, some who took advantage of an opportunity at a high-end civilian institution, and some who were in residence at brick-and-mortar establishments such as the Naval War College or [Naval] Postgraduate School.”  

Hughes said that the Navy also has seen great value in a “career intermission program going for a number of years,” describing it as a “two-or three-year off ramp.” 

He said it “was not necessarily education-based but that probably more than half of the folks who take us up on this career intermission program are doing it so they can pursue education.” 

Sailors using the career intermission program transfer to the Individual Ready Reserve for two years while taking a pay cut but retaining full medical benefits and funds for making the change-of-station move. 

Hughes said the career intermission program has been used by many participants for pursuing advanced degrees or gaining the education that leads to commissioning as an officer. 

“We freeze them in time so that when they come back [to the Navy] they are not at a disadvantage from a promotion or advancement perspective,” he said. “Frankly, the numbers have been compelling. For the hundreds of folks that have taken us up on this [program] and come back, the promotion and advancement rates are in the high 90s [in percentage].”   

“We see a great return on investment,” he said, for the Navy and the individual Sailor.    

Hughes also said that educational incentives are proving to be powerful than monetary incentives in retention of Sailors, such as sending a Sailor on a demanding assignment overseas and rewarding the sacrifice with an educational opportunity afterward. 

ATLANTIC OCEAN — With Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 embarked, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) logged significant milestones this week during post-delivery test and trials (PDT&T) operations at sea, the ship’s public affairs department said in a June 7 release. 

During Ford’s largest aircraft embark to date, CVW-8 completed critical milestones on the first-in-class ship, testing secure communications and tactical data links, supporting the use of network-enabled weapons, combined fixed- and rotary-wing close air support integration and SIMDIS, a multi-dimensional interactive graphical and video display to playback large events for debriefs. 

Underway, CVW-8 conducted day and night cyclic flight operations totaling 324 catapult launches and arrested landings, qualifying 50 pilots, including Ford’s commanding officer, Capt. J.J. Cummings. To date, Ford has conducted 3,480 catapult launches and arrested landings with the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) and advanced arresting gear. Additionally, during this execution of cyclic flight operations with CVW-8, Ford moved thousands of pounds of inert ordnance via advanced weapons elevators to F/A-18 Super Hornets, employed during close air support and air-to-ground training missions. Executing cyclic operations and arming aircraft with bombs from the ship’s magazines were firsts for the team. 

The air wing’s embark provided the first opportunity for Ford’s weapons department to execute a full ordnance movement using a lower stage weapons elevator. Performing as advertised, Ford’s AWEs conducted more than 1,300 cycles during this latest at sea period that enabled the successful transfer of 176 inert bombs in support of air wing operations. Ford’s AWEs have conducted over 10,000 cycles to date. 

Commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12 also embarked Ford during this underway, marking the first time a Strike Group Commander and staff embarked Ford for operations. CSG-12 was able to successfully conduct all intended command and control operations, control and distribute the link picture, and coordinate with Ford and Truman Strike Group assets as well as higher headquarters. Rear Adm. Craig Clapperton, commander, CSG 12, assessed that the Strike Group and ship are ahead of schedule in this important command and control domain. 

Clapperton emphasized that this PDT&T phase is all about operating Ford systems with fleet operators and discovering anomalies and working solutions. These solutions will be key to ensuring that when Ford enters the fleet after operational testing, the ship is ready to support the war fighter.  

For example, on June 2, just prior to a scheduled flight deck operation cycle, the ship’s EMALS went down. Loss of EMALS curtailed flight operations to some extent, but the strike group, ship and air wing team still accomplished significant goals scheduled for the Ford-class aircraft carrier, according to the release. 

After several days of troubleshooting and assessing a fault in the launch system’s power handling elements, embarked EMALS experts and Ford’s crew restored the system to enable the safe fly-off of the air wing on Sunday morning, June 7.  

“The ship’s response to these EMALS challenges underscores our ability to identify and to correct issues impacting flight operations quickly. That’s the purpose of the PDT&T phase,” said Clapperton. “The learning and improvement that results from pushing the systems will make the ship and air wing team better and more effective in future underway events.” 

PACIFIC OCEAN — The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is underway, serving as America’s strongest symbol of resolve and navigating the global pandemic as its mission endures, in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific, the commander, Task Force 70 said in a June 8 release. 

This deployment marks USS Ronald Reagan’s (CVN 76) fifth year of service as part of U.S. forward-deployed naval forces. Reagan, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15 represent the cornerstone of the strike group. 

Following sea trials, Reagan commenced deployment by on-loading more than 1,000 tons of ordnance – enough combat power to cause the ship to sit five-inches lower on the waterline – in addition to personnel and aircraft from aviation squadrons within CVW-5. With more than 5,000 crew embarked, and 60-plus aircraft, Reagan is capable of sustaining around-the-clock maritime operations. 

While underway, the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group will work alongside allies and partners to strengthen regional capabilities, further develop warfighting concepts and improve distributed maritime operations that provide layered defense options to protect shared interests. 

The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of the Indo-Pacific region.  

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The U.S. Navy completed the first captive carry flight test of an Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER) missile on an F/A-18 Super Hornet on June 1 at the Patuxent River test range, Naval Air Systems Command said in a release. 

During the test, the F/A-18 Super Hornet conducted a series of aerial maneuvers to evaluate integration and structural characteristics of the AARGM-ER. Test points were completed across a range of flight conditions to demonstrate carriage compatibility of AARGM-ER with the F/A-18 Super Hornet.  

“This first flight represents a significant step in the AARGM-ER engineering and manufacturing development phase,” said Capt. Mitch Commerford, who oversees the Direct and Time Sensitive Strike program office (PMA-242). “Data collected from this testing will inform the planned build-up and overall expansion of flight testing with AARGM-ER.” 

Testing will continue over the next few years in preparation for initial operational capability in fiscal year 2023, he said. 

The extended range variant, which leverages the AARGM program that is currently in full rate production, has been upgraded with a new rocket motor and warhead. It will provide advanced capability to detect and engage enemy air defense systems. 

AARGM-ER is being integrated on the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G and will also be compatible for integration on the F-35A/B/C. 

BELOIT, Wis. — Fairbanks Morse has completed the build and testing of the two main propulsion diesel engines for the U.S. Coast Guard’s offshore patrol cutter (OPC), the company said in a release. Fairbanks Morse was awarded contracts by the prime contractor, Eastern Shipbuilding Group, to build the two main engines for OPC Nos. 1 and 2. 

“We are incredibly pleased to have successfully completed testing for our OPC engine,” said George Whittier, CEO of Fairbanks Morse. “We are particularly proud to work with Eastern Shipbuilding and support them in their successful build of the first new generation of patrol cutter. Together we are proud to do our part in helping the U.S. Coast Guard keep our borders safe.” 

The OPC is a 360-foot vessel that will be powered by two FM | MAN 16V 28/33D STC diesel engines, with each engine rated 7,280 kWm (9,763 brake-horsepower) running at 1,000 revolutions per minute. These engines will be delivered to Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City, Florida. The first OPC engine has been built and was delivered in January 2020. Fairbanks Morse has completed testing on the PTO engine, which is expected to be delivered to Eastern Shipbuilding this month. 

Joey D’Isernia, president of Eastern Shipbuilding, congratulated Fairbanks and said, “Today marks another successful milestone in the OPC program. Our team continues to execute, and we are very pleased and excited to take delivery of and install these engines in USCGC Argus. This highly durable and reliable engine will support USCG missions for the next 40 years.” 

The OPC will provide a capability bridge between the national security cutter, which patrols the open ocean in the most demanding maritime environments, and the fast-response cutter, which serves closer to shore. The OPCs conduct missions including law enforcement, drug and migrant interdiction, search and rescue, and other homeland security and defense operations. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Another novel coronavirus outbreak has been reported on a U.S. Navy warship in port: the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall.

The Carter Hall’s crew of 400 was being tested for COVID-19 as a proactive measure to ensure its Sailors were a healthy, surge-capable response force for the upcoming hurricane season when several tested positive for the virus on May 23, Lt. Commander Amelia Umayam, a Fleet Force spokesperson in Norfolk, Va., confirmed in an e-mailed statement. As a matter of Defense Department policy, Umayam declined to confirm the number of cases detected on the dock landing ship.

“The crew moved ashore to begin a restriction of movement (ROM) per current Navy guidance. The crew members who have been moved ashore are being checked on each day by their leadership and are receiving deliveries of food and essential items,” according to the statement.

As of June 4, the Navy still stood as the U.S. military service with the largest number of COVID-19 cases at 2,520. That compares to 6,919 for all other services and Defense Department agencies combined. The U.S. Marine Corps has had 581 cases. The Navy reported 728 active cases among uniformed personnel, only one hospitalized and 1,791 Sailors who have recovered from the virus. The Pentagon said it anticipates providing updated numbers only until August, when it will evaluate whether such reporting is still necessary.

The 609-foot, 16,700-ton Carter Hall, which can carry a complement of 400 Marines and two air cushion landing craft, remains at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia.

“A portion of the crew remains on board the ship to clean and maintain in port watchstanding requirements, and they’re enforcing social distancing, minimizing group gatherings, wearing PPE, and cleaning/sanitizing extensively as well as reporting up their chain of command, if they feel ill,” the statement continued.

Meanwhile, the first Navy warship to experience a COVID-19 outbreak while at sea, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, on June 4 left Guam — where it had been sidelined for more than two months — to continue its scheduled deployment in the 7th Fleet area of operations in the Indo-Pacific.

COVID-19 was detected on board the carrier in late March, 15 days after the ship made a port call to Da Nang, Vietnam. Stopping at Guam for a scheduled visit on March 27, most of the nearly 5,000 crew were disembarked to self-isolate or receive medical treatment, while about 700 remained on board to clean the ship from bow to stern. About 1,100 crew members became infected and several were hospitalized. One Theodore Roosevelt Sailor, Aviation Ordnanceman CPO Charles Thacker Jr., died of complications from the virus.

Testing the entire crew for COVID-19 was completed in mid-May, and they began returning to the carrier in waves after 14 days of isolation and twice testing negative for the virus. Despite those efforts, at least 14 returning Sailors tested positive again.

On May 21, the Theodore Roosevelt began a short shakedown cruise to recertify aviation activities for Carrier Air Wing 11, which was completed June 2. After returning to Guam to pick up remaining Sailors who had tested negative for COVID-19, the carrier departed Guam’s Apra Harbor, flying the iconic “Don’t Give Up the Ship” flag from the port yardarm.

Sailors who did not meet the return-to-work criteria and still require additional time ashore to recover will remain in isolation on Naval Base Guam, according to Commander J. Myers Vasquez, a spokesperson for the commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet. “Once recovered, air transportation will be coordinated to move the Sailors onboard Theodore Roosevelt or to their final duty station once TR departs the area on mission,” Vasquez said in a June 3 statement.

The Roosevelt returned to service while Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday mulls the fate of the carrier’s former skipper, Capt. Brett Crozier, who was relieved of command on April 2 after a letter he wrote to Navy leadership — pleading for faster intervention from the chain of command to assist his crew — was leaked to a San Francisco newspaper and subsequently received worldwide media attention. The Navy investigated the command climate in the Pacific and how it could have contributed to the handling of the outbreak and Crozier. The results of that investigation have been delivered to Gilday.

Lessons learned from the Theodore Roosevelt outbreak were cited by Pentagon officials among the reasons for the swift response to an outbreak on the Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd — none of whose crew needed hospitalization.

The Kidd was participating in counter-narcotics operations in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility in the Pacific in late April when several of its Sailors began exhibiting flu-like symptoms.