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In line with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s order for troops to have their workplaces searched for “degrading or offensive” materials—part of an attempt to curb sexual assault in the military—the Navy will inspect even its bathrooms. While what’s degrading or offensive is open to interpretation, the material can include song lyrics and “inappropriate cartoons.” In a memo sent on June 13, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus ordered that all sailors, Marines, cadets and civilian employees have their workplaces searched by June 28. The “comprehensive visual inspections” of the workspaces conducted by commanding officers will “ensure they are free from materials that...

October 12 marks the 12th anniversary of the bombing of the USS Cole. The grim milestone comes as President Obama faces mounting questions about his administration's dereliction of duty during the murderous attack on our consulate in Benghazi, Libya. And it comes just a day after resurgent al-Qaida thugs pulled off the drive-by assassination of a top Yemeni security official who worked at the U.S. embassy in Sanaa. These are not "bumps in the road." These are gravesites on the blood-spattered path to surrender. Seventeen U.S. sailors died in the brutal suicide attack on the guided Navy missile destroyer as...

SAN DIEGO - The U.S. Navy released Christopher Dorner's service record early Thursday afternoon to Team 10. Dorner, a suspect wanted in connection to three slayings and several shootings, joined the service in 2002. His loss date was Feb. 1, 2013, just days before the shootings began. Dorner was stationed at several locations throughout his service years, including San Diego, Bahrain, Nevada, and the mobile inshore undersea warfare unit. He has several awards and decorations, including medals for National Defense Service, the Iraq Campaign , Sea Service Deployment, and pistol expertise. He also has honors for rifle marksmanship. Dorner's full...

I recently read the new biography of Trotsky by Oxford don Robert Service, published in 2009 by Pan Books. It is well-written and surprisingly interesting. The book does a great public service in describing the life of the actual Trotsky, whose previous “biographies” were little more than hagiographies written by his toady worshippers (people like Isaac Deutscher). The last time that I had taken any interest in Trotsky was when I was a teenager and had fleeting delusions of believing in “socialism.” Reading the new book as an adult and as an economist, I found it a useful opportunity to...

What the Secret Service could learn from drunken sailors Roberto Loiederman, a merchant seaman from 1966 to 1974, is a writer in California. He co-authored “The Eagle Mutiny,” an account of the 1970 mutiny on a U.S. vessel. What happened in Cartagena, Colombia, with the Secret Service seems unsavory to me, but not for the reasons you might think. I make no judgments about men spending a night with escorts. As far as I’m concerned, those who take a holier-than-thou attitude about this are like Inspector Renault in “Casablanca” when he says he’s “shocked, shocked” to discover there is gambling...

A Lesbian couple have become the first to share in the US Navy tradition of the 'first kiss' since the repeal of the American military's "don't ask, don't tell" rule. (Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta (L) kisses her girlfriend of two years, Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia Beach Photo: AP)Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta of Placerville, California, descended from the USS Oak Hill amphibious landing ship and shared a quick kiss in the rain with her partner, Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell of Los Angeles. Gaeta, 23, wore...

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) -- A Navy tradition has caught up with the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" rule on gays serving openly in the U.S. military. The Navy said two women shared the coveted "first kiss" Wednesday when the USS Oak Hill returned home to its Virginia base. Marissa Gaeta of Pacerville, Calif., descended from the ship and shared a quick kiss with her partner, Citlalic (SEET-lah-leek) Snell of Los Angeles. The crowd screamed and waved Navy flags around them. Both women are fire controlmen in the Navy. They met at training school and have been dating...

Rescue ships are racing to save a Russian crew who have taken to lifeboats after their fishing ship hit an iceberg taking on water. The crew of the stricken Sparta, which is listing at 13 degrees, are trying to empty water from the ship as it slowly sinks in the Ross Sea near Antarctica with a 5ft hole in the hull below the water line. But vessels speeding towards it are being hampered by heavy sea ice and are unlikely to reach the the area - about 2,000 nautical miles south east of New Zealand - for four to five...

SAN DIEGO -- Imagine joining the Navy ten years ago with a career in mind. Now, sailors with that career plan are getting pink slips as the military looks for places to save money. Since June, 16,000 mid-career sailors have been waiting to find out if they will be forced out early. Last week, the Navy began its layoffs when the first of two rounds of personnel cuts were announced. Read the original story at nbcsandiego.com "Nobody ever wants to pass this sort of bad news to somebody," said Captain Winton Smith, Naval Station San Diego's commanding officer. "It's a...

Forbes writer Rick Ungar is getting some attention for a piece arguing that history shows that John Adams supported a strong Federal role in health care. Ungar argues that Adams even championed an early measure utilizing the concept behind the individual mandate, which Tea Partyers say is unconsittutional. I just ran this theory past a professor of history who specializes in the early republic, and he said there's actually something to it. Short version: There's no proof from the historical record that Adams would have backed the idea behind the individual mandate in particular. But it is fair to conclude,...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2010 – Navy officials, current and former crew members and families of the fallen gathered today at Norfolk Naval Station, Va., to remember the 17 sailors killed and 39 others wounded in the al-Qaida attack on the USS Cole 10 years ago today. Suicide bombers launched the surprise Oct. 12, 2000, attack on the Arleigh Burke-class, Aegis-equipped guided missile destroyer as it was anchored in Aden, Yemen, for a routine refueling stop. The attackers detonated an explosive-laden boat against the ship’s port side, tearing a 40-by-40-foot hole in the hull and sending seawater gushing into the engineering...

SAN DIEGO, California (Reuters) – For sailors aboard the USS Higgins docked in San Diego, a popular question for visiting Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday was how the austerity drive he announced this week would affect them. "We are fighting two wars and so the budget is a huge deal for us," said Naval Petty Officer Michael Allen after Gates gave him and the rest of the crew aboard the guided-missile destroyer a commemorative coin. "On our level there are things we can do (to cut costs) but we don't make the decisions about it," Allen said. Gates was...

PLANTATION — He kissed and told. She kissed and said it was him. Then she wasn't sure. They drifted apart. Over the years, the memory of a shared national moment bound them. And now she is gone. Edith Shain, 91, the nurse in the iconic "kissing sailor" photograph, the Times Square clinch marking the end of World War II, died Sunday at her home in Los Angeles. Carl Muscarello, 83, a retired New York police detective who lives in Plantation, says he remembers that day well, and not just for its historic significance.

The human battleship that is spearheading the Navy's latest recruitment drive. Picture: Andreas Smetana DESPERATE to attract new recruits, the Navy has spent $53,000 on a photo shoot of a "ship" made from 100 sailors. Top fashion and advertising photographer Andreas Smetana was paid $42,000 for two days' work to snap the image at the HMAS Albatross base at Jervis Bay on the NSW south coast. Defence Force Recruiting also invested $11,000 on a "making of " video showing the 100 sailors from Albatross and Fleet Base East in Sydney making the human ship. Staff costs for the sailors would...

SEOUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Friday's Navy ship sinking might be caused by mine explosion, South Korean media YTN quoted Cheong Wa Dae sources as saying on Saturday. But both the government and the military authorities said the exact cause of the incident cannot be pinpointed yet. South Korean officials are narrowing down the possibilities that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is involved in the incident. "It is hard to say for sure now, but chances appear to be slim that North (DPRK) was related," a senior official told Yonhap on the condition of anonymity. There has been...

Push for integrating women into the submarine service and expect the language to get a little ... salty.

ABOARD THE USS CARL VINSON — Helicopters sit ready to go from this US aircraft carrier off Haiti, but there's a problem: after a day of frantic aid runs there is simply nothing left to deliver. Aboard the warship some 3,500 US military personnel have been coordinating the flights of 19 US helicopters carrying aid since early morning. SNIP In less than 12 hours, helicopters from the USS Carl Vinson made some 20 trips to scout the ravaged landscape and deliver items that were originally intended for the ship's crew. Among the supplies dropped off were thousands of bottles of...

NORFOLK Thousands of Hampton Roads sailors received orders this morning to prepare to deploy to Haiti as part of a massive U.S. effort to deliver humanitarian assistance in the wake of Tuesday’s devastating earthquake. At least four Norfolk-based ships are getting ready to leave for the impoverished country, said Ted Brown, a spokesman with Norfolk’s Fleet Forces Command. The amphibious assault ship Bataan, the guided missile cruiser Normandy and the dock landing ships Fort McHenry and Carter Hall will likely leave port by Friday, the Navy said. Expeditionary forces based at the Little Creek campus of the Joint Expeditionary Base...

KABUL, Jan. 8, 2010 – The Navy’s top officer and top enlisted sailor visited sailors assigned to the international joint command here yesterday. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead eats lunch with sailors assigned to International Security Assistance Force Joint Command in Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 7, 2010. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Master Sgt. Jon Nicolussi  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick D. West are traveling throughout the country, meeting with sailors and senior leadership. Roughead met with Army Lt. Gen. David...

BATH, Maine – Cruising through the darkness in rough seas, the USS Ross encountered a rogue wave that smashed into the destroyer's bow, sending a shudder along the entire ship that knocked sleeping crew out of their bunks and damaged the sonar housing. As alarms sounded, sleepy sailors scrambled to shore up the leak. "We cracked the hull and kept on going like it was nothing,"...

Sailor Who Survived USS Cole Attack Dies At 31 Family believes he died from a panic attack while he slept HOMESTEAD, Fla. - A survivor of the suicide bombing on the USS Cole in Yemen 10 years ago has died at his Florida home. U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Johann Gokool was found dead in his bed last Wednesday, a week after his 31st birthday. His sister, Natala Gokool, says her brother suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had frequent, violent panic attacks. Natala Gokool said her brother never recovered from the attack. "He didn't like to be in...

SILVERDALE, Wash. – This is one 21st birthday to forget. A 21-year-old man stationed at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor has been arrested after getting into multiple altercations on what one of his friends told law enforcement was the man's 21st birthday. The man was kicked out of the Old Town Bistro early Saturday morning, the first in a series of events. The Kitsap Sun reports about 12:15 a.m. a witness said the man approached him and started a conversation. The man said he was in the Marines, while the witness replied he was in the Navy. The suspect shook his hand...

NORFOLKCommodore Uriah P. Levy He left home when he was 10, running away to become a cabin boy, and eventually became the first Jewish commodore in the Navy, the highest rank available at the time. On Sunday, the Jewish chapel at Naval Station Norfolk – the oldest land-based Jewish chapel in the Navy – was rededicated to Commodore Uriah P. Levy, 50 years to the day after it was first named after him. Born in Philadelphia in 1792, Levy had a career that spanned pirate-chasing to authorship – he wrote “A Manual of Internal Rules and Regulations for Men-of-War.” It...

FAW, Iraq, Dec. 9, 2009 – Iraqi security forces are constantly stepping up their role in the protection of Iraq, from the heart of the country out to the borders, where the Iraqi coast border guard can be found at work with U.S. Army border transition teams. Iraqi Gen. Shehab discusses training options, such as close-quarters combat and detainee operations, offered by the U.S. Army border transition team, Dec. 3, 2009. Shehab and other leaders of the Iraqi coastal border guard work with the border transition team to train Iraqi troops in maintaining security of Iraq’s border with Iran. U.S....

Below is a list of all of all those who perished as a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. You may also use the letters above to narrow the list to last names starting with a specific letter.

In early November, retired Senior Chief Jeffrey Sparenberg was the guest of honor at military heritage day in Delaware. Sparenberg spent 23 years in the Navy, including time on the destroyer Cole, and he was at Fort DuPont State Park that day to donate a flag that he said flew over the Cole shortly after it was attacked nine years ago. The flag, he hoped, would be put on view at the planned Delaware Military Museum. A photograph from the ceremony shows Sparenberg on the steps of a shuttered brick building. The left side of his chest is covered with...

ABOARD USS NIMITZ IN THE INDIAN OCEAN, Nov. 16, 2009 – Two soldiers working deep inside this aircraft carrier serve as liaisons between the aviators of Carrier Air Wing 11 and coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan. Army Maj. Johnnie Gallegos and Army Sgt. 1st Class Percy Patterson joined Nimitz Carrier Strike Group as ground liaison officers when Nimitz entered the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. Their work directly supports a tactical directive issued in July by Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan, that places limitations on the use of force that could...

Interesting fun fact of the day: The G5 that Scott Rothstein flew to Morocco and back was apparently arranged for Rothstein by Blue Star Jets. Blue Star Jets is owned by Todd Rome. Todd Rome is the ex-husband of Carol Rome. Carol Rome is the current wife of Florida governor and U.S. Senate candidate Charlie Crist. Charlie Crist is a guy who counted Rothstein as a friend and huge political donor.

The community remembers the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit of 1983 as brave troops who suffered great losses in Beirut in one of the most devastating non-nuclear bombings of all time. Retired Marine Col. Timothy Geraghty remembers them as “my men.” Geraghty will be in Jacksonville today to commemorate the anniversary of the bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed nearly 300 peacekeeping troops, 241 of whom were Marines and sailors under his command. Twenty-six years after the event, he has told the story of Beirut in his own words.

CORONADO — The USS Ronald Reagan and three warships in its strike group returned to San Diego today following a five-month deployment that included air strikes in support of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and operations against pirates off Somalia. Thousands of family members lined the docks at Naval Air Station North Island to greet the arrival of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and at Naval Base San Diego to welcome home the crews of the guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville and the guided-missile destroyers USS Gridley and USS Howard. There are more than 5,000 sailors and aviators on the four ships, which...

AP) A group of Navy ships is under quarantine after several dozen sailors and Marines on board tested positive for swine flu. Health officials say at least 69 people had been confirmed with the virus, and all of them have since recovered. Navy officials say they are now quarantining an undetermined number of crew members with flulike symptoms on four ships that are part of the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, which arrived in Hawaii on Friday. The ships are docked at or near Pearl Harbor. Thousands of sailors and Marines from the ships are currently on leave in Hawaii,...

Female sailors can broaden their role in the Navy by serving on submarines, an activity currently prohibited by the Armed Service, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has advised the Senate Armed Services Committee. According to Defensetech.org, a site run by Military.com, a group boasting a membership of 10 million veterans and active duty forces, Adm. Michael Mullen told senators in a recent survey that he's long been an advocate for improving diversity in the Armed Forces. "I believe we should continue to broaden opportunities for women. One policy I would like to see changed is the one...

A Marines Disquisition ~5 minutes into the Conversation Sailors Dying from the Flu Vaccinations!

Three men convicted in the rape and slaying of a fellow sailor's wife more than a decade ago will walk free to the outrage of the victim's family—who blamed the decision on political pressure from novelist John Grisham—and the men's supporters, who say it's not enough and want them declared innnocent. Gov. Tim Kaine on Thursday granted conditional pardons to ex-sailors Derek Tice, Danial Williams and Joseph Dick Jr. They along another ex-sailor Eric Wilson were known as "The Norfolk Four" and convicted in the 1997 slaying of 18-year-old Michelle Moore-Bosko. Tice, Williams and Dick were sentenced to life in...

MANAMA, Bahrain, July 27, 2009 – The head of U.S. Central Command visited the guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge while in port here today to thank sailors for their work while deployed to U.S. 5th Fleet, as well as for their role in the rescue of Richard Phillips, the Maersk Alabama cargo ship captain held captive by Somali pirates. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, addresses sailors aboard USS Bainbridge while the ship was in port in Manama, Bahrain, July 27, 2009. Petraeus thanked sailors for their hard work while deployed to U.S. 5th Fleet as well...

Enlisted sailors with more than 20 years of service may find themselves out of a job by June, according to a Navy message Monday. Performance-based continuation boards, the Navy’s latest end-strength shaping effort, are scheduled to kick off this September and will determine if a sailor is going to be recommended for continuation in service or forced to retire. The program is focusing on sailors in the ranks of E-7 to E-9 with more than 20 years of active service. According to the Navy Personnel Command Web site, high-year tenure is currently 24 years for chief petty officers (E-7), 26...

TWO people have been charged over an assault on a group of US sailors in which one was allegedly stabbed and slashed in the face with a pair of scissors. West Australian police allege a 17-year-old boy and a 19-year-old woman approached the group, who were on shore leave, outside the Perth train station at about 1am on July 5. A fight erupted and a female sailor was left with facial injuries, while a male sailor required surgery for the wounds he received when he was attacked with the scissors. Police said a 17-year-old boy from the Perth suburb of...

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Petty Officer 3rd Class Chad Kahl never suffered from a lack of open space while growing up in North Dakota. When he told friends and family there that he had volunteered to live aboard a 350-foot-long metal tube underneath hundreds of feet of water, they thought he was crazy. Kahl had done his homework on the submarine lifestyle. But as he prepared to get under way for the first time, he wondered if his friends may have had a point. "I think everyone that goes doesn’t really know what they’re getting into," said Kahl of...

FOUR US sailors have been assaulted while on shore leave in Perth - with one slashed across the face with scissors. WA police said a group of sailors were walking through Perth train station about 1am (WST) this morning when they were confronted by six people. ` "Three males and three females have yelled abuse at the sailors and as they tried to walk past them, one sailor was punched in the face,'' said police spokeswoman Ros Weatherall ``An altercation occurred and four sailors were assaulted, with one male struck in the face with a pair of scissors.''

PERTH brothels are increasing staff to contend with the arrival of two US warships carrying more than 5400 sailors. Nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington and guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens docked off Fremantle yesterday. Prevalent in groups of five or six on the streets of Perth today, some sailors were asking locals: "Where do you go to party?". Business groups estimate the sailors' arrival will boost the local economy to the tune of $5 million during the ships' five-day stay. The owner of Perth brothel Langtrees, Beverly Clarke, said today she had put on five extra staff for...

PERTH brothels are increasing staff to contend with the arrival of two US warships carrying more than 5400 sailors. Nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington and guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens docked off Fremantle yesterday. Prevalent in groups of five or six on the streets of Perth today, some sailors were asking locals: "Where do you go to party?". Business groups estimate the sailors' arrival will boost the local economy to the tune of $5 million during the ships' five-day stay. The owner of Perth brothel Langtrees, Beverly Clarke, said today she had put on five extra staff for...

TOWNSVILLE has been forced to turn away a US warship and its 3600-strong crew, which would have brought more than $1 million a day to the port city. The USS Essex, a 258m-long amphibious assault vessel, has been diverted to Cairns for an eight-day shore leave, including the popular Fourth of July celebrations. Outraged Townsville tour operators are facing millions in losses, empty hotel rooms, cancelled tours and more than 400 seats booked for the North Queensland Cowboys home game as a result of the embarrassing backdown. Cairns officials yesterday welcomed the big-spending US seamen and the predicted $10 million...

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq, June 18, 2009 – For five brothers from a small town in Kentucky, serving in the military is a family tradition. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris Roberts holds a photo of him, his four brothers and his son, a Marine, while taking a break from his duties in the battalion's steel shop at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, June 3, 2009. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Katesha Washington   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Chief Petty Officer Chad Roberts, Petty Officers 1st Class Jody and Dwayne Roberts, and Petty Officer...

More than most nations, America has been, from its start, a hero-loving place. Maybe part of the reason is that at our founding we were a Protestant nation and not a Catholic one, and so we made "saints" of civil and political figures. George Washington was our first national hero, known everywhere, famous to children. When he died, we had our first true national mourning, with cities and states re-enacting his funeral. There was the genius cluster that surrounded him, and invented us—Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Hamilton. Through much of the 20th century our famous heroes were in sports (Jack Dempsey,...

Navy Decommissions USS Kitty Hawk Story Number: NNS090512-08 Release Date: 5/12/2009 5:37:00 PM From Kitty Hawk Public Affairs BREMERTON, Wash. (NNS) -- The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) was decommissioned May 12 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Wash., after more than 48 years of service. Members of the final crew lowered the ship's commissioning pennant from the main mast and the U.S. Flag and First Navy Jack from their staffs after Kitty Hawk Commanding Officer Capt. Todd Zecchin closed out the ship's deck log. "It's hard to capture the feeling in words,"...

5/4/2009 - BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- Air Force and Navy servicemembers teamed up in April to support and train the newly formed Iraqi navy with maritime mission along the northern area of the Arabian Gulf where a large percentage of Iraq's oil is exported. The first intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flight took place April 12 as pilots from the Navy teamed up with ISR operators from the Air Force to provide Iraq's navy with a watchful eye over the waters of the Arabian Gulf. "We flew our first ISR mission in support of Combined Task Force-Iraqi Maritime, which we feel...

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) returned to its homeport of Norfolk, Va., April 18 after a successful seven-month deployment supporting Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and maritime security and coalition operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility (AOR). TR and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 flew 3,105 sorties in support of OEF, with more than 61,000 pounds of ordnance dropped on target in support of coalition forces. "The dedication of the ship's crew and naval aviators enabled TR to successfully complete its mission supporting Sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines on the ground in Afghanistan,"...

A survivor and a rescuer in one of the deadliest episodes in U.S. Navy history — the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in World War II — will be reunited Thursday at Lakeland Regional High School. The cruiser, which carried parts for the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, was sunk by a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945, four days after it delivered the parts to Tinian Island. After it was sunk, 900 crew members spent days in shark-infested waters; only 316 survived. One of the survivors, Don Blum of Scarsdale, N.Y., will attend the program Thursday, called...

TIJUANA, Mexico -- Two U.S. sailors have been charged with the murder of a prostitute and the attempted murder of another in this northern border city, Mexican state prosecutors said. Witnesses and a hotel camera place the two men at the same hotel where a 19-year-old prostitute was smothered to death on Jan. 17, the prosecutors said Tuesday. On Feb. 4, police found the men in a bloodstained hotel room with a prostitute and a hotel employee, both of whom had suffered stab wounds, prosecutors said. The sailors were taken into custody and charged with attempted murder. They later found...

Here is video of a mother of one of the sailors killed in the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in 2000 speaking out today against President Obama for his decision to drop the charges against the mastermind of the attack. She refused to meet with Obama today at the White House, and says he is letting down America's guard against Terrorists. Very powerful statements. . . . (Watch Video)