Free Republic

The two dry docks large enough to accommodate a big deck amphibious warship in San Diego, Calif., are currently occupied, complicating the repairs of USS Boxer (LHD-4), USNI News has learned. Boxer came back into port last week with one of its rudders damaged after leaving earlier this month on deployment. As of Friday, the Navy was assessing how to repair the rudder to allow the 45,000-ton capital ship to return to sea, a service official told USNI News. The service would prefer to fix the rudder underwater with the understanding that the replacement repair could take up to two...

The Navy revealed that one of the ships it deployed to support the mission of building a pier to deliver aid to starving residents in Gaza was forced to turn back last week after it suffered a fire in its engine room. The incident comes as the Pentagon's self-imposed deadline of having the pier operational and delivering the needed aid by May rapidly approaches, and experts say there are other delays and problems cropping up with the mission. ... A retired Army chief warrant officer who has significant experience in the Army's watercraft community also told Military.com in an interview...

In this episode, Sal Mercogliano - a maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner - discusses the fire onboard the US Navy's Military Sealift Command USNS 2nd Lt John P Bobo while enroute to Gaza, along with the status of the other ships sent to the Mediterranean.

That’s taking time when they go in for their upgrades, and that’s taking a little bit longer than expected.. We have been documenting the U.S. Navy’s troubles with one of its premier amphibious assault ships, USS Boxer (LHD-4). This Wasp-Class ship, per the Navy’s description, is “[t]he largest of all amphibious warfare ships [and] resembles a small aircraft carrier.” It is capable of Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL) fighter jet operations, meaning that because Boxer does not have launch catapults, it can’t launch classic aircraft carrier fighter jets like the F/A-18, but it can launch the venerable Harrier jump jet...

USS Carney (DDG-64) and USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) shot down between four and six Iranian-launched ballistic missiles, a senior military official told reporters Sunday.Both ships were in the Mediterranean. Carney most recently made a port visit to Palermo, Sicily, Italy, on April 10. Arleigh Burke is forward deployed to Rota, Spain.A senior military official said that land- and sea-based aircraft were also involved in the U.S. response. USNI News understands that the aircraft did not come from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). The aircraft carrier is in the Red Sea as part of the country’s Operation Prosperity Guardian, which aims...

US is Sending in Warships to Defend Israel 1 min clip ...

The US Navy has been mocked for posting a photo online of a sailor shooting a rifle with a back-to-front scope, in what social media users said showed America was “going to lose a major war”. The Navy’s official Instagram page issued a photo of Commander Cameron Yaste, the captain of the guided-missile destroyer USS John S McCain, shooting a rifle with a backwards-mounted scope. The image, also sent as an official press release, was captioned: “From engaging in practice gun shoots, conducting maintenance, testing fuel purity and participating in sea and anchor details, the #USNavy is always ready to...

Just in the last two days we have reported on major issues with the U.S. military, ranging from delays in every major Navy shipbuilding program, U.S. Navy Facing Major Shipbuilding Delays While China’s Navy Expansion Accelerates, to problems with military recruiting: Army Invites Retirees as Old as 70 to Return to Active Duty in Attempt to Fix Recruiting Woes. And this is just the tip of the iceberg, and all of you are likely well aware of the deteriorating state of our military under Joe Biden. But through all this, and the other foibles of today’s DEI/CRT-centric military, we always...

Amid concerns about American shipbuilding, the US Navy's top civilian official said this week that he was "floored" by a Pacific ally's capabilities in this space. The Navy secretary's comments came on the heels of an internal review that discovered that most of the Navy's top programs, including high-priority submarines, a first-in-class guided-missile frigate, and the third Ford-class aircraft carrier, are severely delayed by years, fueling worries from US officials about the ability to maintain our pace against great power rivals. During his keynote speech at the Navy League's Sea Air Space conference this week, Secretary of the Navy Carlos...

A U.S. Navy photo posted to X is being mocked for showing a commander shooting an AR-platform rifle with the scope mounted backwards. The photo shows a commander, identified as Commander Cameron Yaste by the Defense Blog, shooting an AR-platform rifle with what appears to be a Trijicon VCOG scope atop it. Problem: the scope is mounted backwards. This means the commander had no sight picture whatsoever as he fired the gun. This was shared today by the official US Navy Instagram. When you see it try not to break your phone. pic.twitter.com/udV0hyvdmJ — Zachary Bell (@zacharyebell) April 9, 2024

As the Navy’s largest U.S. trade show gets underway on Monday, officers in charge of the service’s marquee shipbuilding programs won’t offer the usual briefings with reporters and analysts about them. That break from the tradition of sharing program updates at the Navy’s Sea-Air-Space Exposition comes just days after the Navy announced that four of its most critical shipbuilding programs are years behind schedule. The Navy’s top admiral and civilian secretary have still not responded to questions about a damning Navy report released Tuesday outlining the sweeping failure of the Navy and its industrial partners to make expected progress on...

The Navy today released a rare public accounting of major delays for key shipbuilding programs, with ships from nine programs running behind, in some cases up to three years. In total, the Navy forecasts a cumulative delay of more than 11 years, at a time when lawmakers and Pentagon planners agree that the Navy needs to be modernizing and growing for a potential conflict in the Pacific.

David Walker from Norfolk, Va., was 19 years old when Japanese torpedoes sunk his battleship at Pearl Harbor in 1941. Walker was presumed dead following the attack on the Hawaii naval base, but his body was never recovered — that is, until recently. Officials announced on Thursday that Walker's remains were finally accounted for, thanks to scientists at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) whose mission is to recover and return missing service members from past conflicts. In a news release, the DPAA said that in 2018, military officials exhumed the unidentified remains of 25 people who were from Walker's...

“Huge Problem”: The Pentagon’s Rapid Wartime Response Cargo Ships Are Trapped in Baltimore After Bridge CollapseBy Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge • Mar. 29, 2024(ZeroHedge)—Two high-speed military cargo ships are stuck in the Port of Baltimore following Tuesday morning’s collapse of the 1.6-mile-long Francis Scott Key Bridge. The major US East Coast port has been paralyzed for several days as the bridge collapse prevents inbound and outbound vessel traffic along the harbor’s channel. Using the automatic identification system, or AIS, data that tracks commercial vessels, three bulk carriers, two general cargo ships, one vehicle carrier, one tanker, and four Ready Reserve...

CAMDEN, N.J. -- Residents in the Philadelphia area are about to see a rare site — a battleship floating down the Delaware River. The USS New Jersey is scheduled to move from its dock in Camden on Thursday, when it will head to the Philadelphia Navy Yard for extensive maintenance work. The vessel, guided by tugboats, will initially head to the Paulsboro Marine Terminal, where it will be balanced to prepare for dry docking, and will then go to the Navy Yard six days later. The maintenance work is expected to take about two months to complete, officials said. Three...

The major disruption caused by Yemeni Houthis in the Red Sea is hardly the only trouble spot in the world’s increasingly dangerous seas. An Indian navy warship has intercepted a hijacked cargo ship in the Indian Ocean, safely rescued all 17 crew members, and detained all 35 Somali pirates. The Indian navy vessel INS Kolkata came to the rescue of the Bulgarian ship MV Ruen, which was hijacked by pirates back on December 14, 2023. The operation lasted no less than 40 hours. The hijacking of the Ruen was the first successful action by Somali pirates in the past six...

A United States Navy medic who blew the whistle on an explosive report showing a massive increase in heart issues among military pilots has been blocked by the Department of Defense (DOD) from accessing his work computer. Navy Medical Service Corps Lt. Ted Macie shared shocking information about the surge in heart failure among military personnel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ousted the country’s navy chief after a series of humiliating Ukrainian attacks decimated Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet, according to multiple reports. Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, 61, Russia’s navy commander-in-chief since May 2019, has been replaced by Northern Fleet Cmdr. Alexander Moiseyev, reported several Russian outlets, including the St. Petersburg news service Fontanka and the pro-Putin Izvestia newspaper. Moiseyev, 61 — who holds the country’s highest honorary title, “Hero of Russia” — was said to have been tapped as acting navy commander-in-chief and will soon be appointed on a permanent basis. The Russian navy’s rank-and-file have reportedly...

Border agents in Miami have been told to prepare for a wave of migration from Haiti following the takeover of the country by bloodthirsty gangs, The Post has learned. An internal agency email leaked to The Post pointed out it is unlikely Haitians who take to the sea and enter Florida illegally will be repatriated back to their home country, given its instability. The message also warned that one vessel of migrants landing would overwhelm agency capabilities in the area. “One landing will cripple the station and our ability to respond to other traffic,” the email to agents read. Roughly...

A lot of people spent the weekend scratching their heads over this; It will take a few weeks to make the transit from Virginia to the eastern Mediterranean. The 37-year old Besson can’t even break 12-knots fully loaded. …and yes my friends - the Army has its own navy. I feel real sorry for the Operational Planners. In an area thick with poorly controlled hostile forces with everything from snipers to ATGM, how do you work this force protection problem? What are your ROE if you take fire? What if you are confronted with a wave of people wanting refuge...