Navy

United States Armed Services Committee Hearing

February 28, 2008 -- (As Prepared for Delivery) -- MRAP Vehicle Issue: According to recent press reports, an internal Marine Corps study found that the General in command of our Marine forces in western Iraq sent an urgent request three years ago this month for over a thousand Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles, called MRAPs. But his urgent request was apparently lost in the bureaucracy and never made it to the senior levels of the Marine Corps.    » read more »

February 14, 2008 -- U.S. military forces, and ground forces in particular, have operated at a high pace since the attacks of September 11, 2001, including to support ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Between 2001 and July 2007, approximately 931,000 U.S. Army and Marine Corps servicemembers deployed for overseas military operations, including about 312,000 National Guard or Reserve members.    » read more »

Preliminary Injunction Limits Use of Low-Frequency Sonar to Reduce Harm to Marine Mammals; A Different Court Ruled Against the Navy Monday on Mid-Frequency Sonar.

LOS ANGELES (February 6, 2008) – A federal court in San Francisco today issued a preliminary injunction limiting the area in which the U.S. Navy may train with a low-frequency sonar system, known as Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active sonar (SURTASS LFA), that blasts vast areas of the oceans with dangerous levels of underwater noise.    » read more »

February 05, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the death of two sailors who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Chief Petty Officer Michael E. Koch, 29,of State College, Pennsylvania, and Chief Petty Officer Nathan H. Hardy, 29, of Durham, New Hampshire, died Feb. 4, from wounds suffered from small arms fire during combat operations in Iraq.

Both were assigned to East Coast-based SEAL teams.

Source: DoD

January 31, 2008 -- WASHINGTON - - The U.S. Coast Guard formalized a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy to establish a cooperative, collaborative relationship to share best-practices as each of the services work toward modernizing their business practices.    » read more »

January 28, 2008 -- LIVERMORE, CA —Jess® 7.1a3, a popular rule engine created by Sandia National Laboratories, has been licensed by Lockheed Martin Corporation to play a critical role in the Navy’s DDG 1000 destroyer ships.

According to Dr. Greg Harrison, a Lockheed systems engineer, the company chose Jess after extensive and multiple trade studies confirmed the software’s ability to interface with the information in the DDG 1000 knowledgebase. “I feel confident that we made the right choice with Jess,” says Harrison.    » read more »

1/28/2008 -- LOME, Togo (NNS) -- Africa Partnership Station (APS) pulled into Lome, aboard High Speed Vessel (HSV) 2 Swift Jan. 28, as the first U.S. Navy ship to visit Togo in 15 years.

This is Swift's second port visit after joining APS, an international effort aiming to enhance regional and maritime safety and security in West and Central Africa.    » read more »

1/25/2008 -- MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) -- With the continuing need for Sailors to serve Individual Augmentee (IA) and war on terrorism support assignments, the Navy recognizes the importance of rewarding these Sailors for their heroism. One of the rewards for these Sailors is meritorious advancement.

Since 2005, when the combat meritorious advancement program (CMAP) was announced in NAVADMIN 077/05, more than 150 Sailors have been advanced for their actions in combat situations; many of them for actions during an IA.    » read more »

January 23, 2008 -- The Navy will christen the newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, Dewey, Saturday, Jan. 26, during a 10 a.m. CST ceremony at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in Pascagoula, Miss.    » read more »

Unprecedented Waiver Imperils Marine Mammals; White House Snubs California, Federal Courts and Congress

LOS ANGELES (January 16, 2008) – The Bush administration yesterday attempted to override a federal court order requiring the U.S. Navy to minimize harm to whales and dolphins during upcoming sonar exercises off Southern California.    » read more »

Tells Surface Navy Association Members that Navy and Marine Corps Need Stable and Affordable Shipbuilding Plan, Modern Coast Guard

January 16, 2008 -- Arlington, Va. - Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) called for increasing the size of the Navy’s fleet beyond the current plan for 313 ships, as well as modernizing the surface Navy’s legacy forces by employing more competition.    » read more »

January 07, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Petty Officer Second Class Menelek M. Brown, 24, of Roswell, New Mexico, was declared dead Jan. 4 after apparently going overboard from USS Hopper in the Arabian Sea Jan. 3.

Navy aircraft and ships conducted an extensive search but did not locate him.

USS Hopper is homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Source: DoD

1/7/2008 -- PERSIAN GULF (NNS) -- Teams from USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) rescued all three aviators after an F/A-18E and an F/A-18F that crashed during operations in the Persian Gulf Jan. 7.

The three aviators are safely back aboard the aircraft carrier, and are reported in good condition following an ejection.

The Super Hornets, from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3, were providing en route close air support from Iraq when they crashed. CVW-3 is currently deployed to the Persian Gulf with the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group.    » read more »

December 31, 2007 -- The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Petty Officer 1st Class Victor W. Jeffries, 52, of Honolulu, Hawaii, died Dec. 31, 2007 as a result of injuries suffered Dec. 24 in a vehicular accident in Kuwait.

He was permanently assigned to the Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group, Kuwait.

Source: DoD

December 17, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Senate Impact Aid Coalition, today announced that the final omnibus spending bill includes a Durbin authored amendment to allow the five public schools serving the Naval Station Great Lakes to pool their students and maximize federal education assistance through the Impact Aid program. The bill will be considered in the Senate this week and could be sent to the President for his signature as early as this weekend.    » read more »