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Alex Vraciu, who was just 25 when he reigned as the Navy’s top World War II fighter ace after downing 19 Japanese aircraft and destroying 21 more on the ground in only eight months in 1944, died on Jan. 29 in West Sacramento, Calif. He was 96. (snip) Mr. Vraciu (which rhymes with cashew) accomplished his most spectacular feat in the South Pacific when he shot down six dive bombers within eight minutes in what became known as the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot” in the Philippine Sea. He called it “a once-in-a-lifetime fighter pilot’s dream.” Two of the aircraft carriers...

The firefighting robot, known as SAFFiR for Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot, is a bipedal automated machine designed to fight fires in the place of humans, according to a U.S. Navy blog post. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Virginia Tech are working together on SAFFiR. The robot is designed to do tasks like humans, such as opening doors and using fire hoses, and has sensors, including infrared stereovision and a rotating laser for light detection and ranging (LIDAR) to move through heavy smoke.

The Navy is taking a new approach to its recruiting commercials: appealing to people who are already in uniform, have long since left the military and those who never will join. A slate of new Navy commercials have been developed to not only appeal to traditional recruits, but those already enlisted and Americans at large as the service seeks to improve retention and better position itself in the public eye in an era of shrinking defense budgets. […] Since 2009, the Navy had used the tagline “America’s Navy. A global force for good” as part of an effort to appeal...

North Korea seized the USS Pueblo and accused the crew of spying. The crew was released 11 months later. NK, however, kept the vessel.

The Laser Weapon System or LaWS is a directed-energy weapon developed by the United States Navy. The weapon was installed on the USS Ponce for field testing in 2014. In December 2014 the United States Navy reported the LaWS system works perfectly, and that the commander of the USS Ponce is authorized to use the system as a defensive weapon. The technical issues associated with the addition of LaWS (Laser Weapon System) to the Phalanx CIWS (Close in weapon system) will be somewhat different from those associated with adding a LaWS system to other weapon systems—or the provision of a...

U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus on Thursday said the Navy would rename the modified Littoral Combat Ships it plans to build in coming years as “frigates,” given their enhanced capabilities.

Once upon a time, I would have dismissed this report as the ravings of a fascist government. Now, unfortunately, this type of report has become totally believable. According to Iranian television, a US Naval destroyer fled the area of the Sea of Oman where Iran was conducting a naval drill after being 'warned' to leave. Let's go to the videotape. The 'highlight' is from the 2:00 mark to the end.

Thousands of sailors get out of the Navy every year because they want to start a family. Or to enroll in school. Or because they are burned out on frequent deployments and months away from home. With the national unemployment rate dropping and more service members leaving for the private sector, the chief of naval personnel says he wants to do everything he can to keep the best sailors in uniform longer — even if that means letting them go for a while. “We need to offer meaningful incentives to keep the best talent we can, both men and women,”...

A Muslim group is suing the Navy on behalf of a man who says he was discriminated against because of his beard. The former Navy enlisted man alleges that he requested to keep his beard for religious reasons and was later made fun of because of it. He also claims he was rejected for a promotion due to his beard. …

The U.S. Navy says it has awarded the contract to scrap the decommissioned ‘Ranger’ (CV 61) to International Shipbreaking, Ltd, marking the end of the road for the aircraft carrier with a long history of service dating back to 1957.

The Greatest Generation With each passing year, the reunion number is dwindling. The Pearl Harbor survivors are over 90 years old, and the members of that group that got together today in Hawaii numbered a little more than a dozen. Today marks the 73rd Anniversary of the attack against Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, during which 2,400 sailors, Marines, and soldiers were killed. Some have called the reunion of the USS Arizona Reunion Association the last gathering of USS Arizona survivors, but the gathering doesn’t see this meeting as the last one, just yet. The USS Arizona was a battleship that was...

At dawn on Dec. 7, 1941 the I-26 surfaced and fired a warning shot at the Cynthia Olson, the radio officer sent out an SOS from position 33.42N-145.29W which was picked up on the mainland and Minoru reported seeing lifeboats being lowered, after which he began to shell the ship. Some time during the attack the Japanese commander received the signal "Tora, tora, tora!" indicating the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor had been a success. Compaired to what was going on at Pearl Harbor his attack would be easy. Since the Cynthia Olson was unarmed she would offer no resistance,...

Some of the Navy's first female submariners were secretly videotaped while undressing and showering on board the USS Wyoming, a ballistic missile submarine, service officials confirmed Wednesday.

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WASHINGTON – Worried about collateral damage to whales, dolphins and other marine life, environmentalists are fighting the U.S. Navy in court in a bid to protect the creatures of the sea from war games in the Pacific Ocean. "The worst harm comes from the explosives going off," said David Henkin, an attorney for EarthJustice. U.S. Navy testing and war games are underway in American waters off the coasts of California and Hawaii. The drills amount to critical practice for the military and last through 2018, but environmental groups like EarthJustice say hundreds of marine mammals will die or get injured...

The Navy SEAL who shot dead al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is now reportedly living in poverty after leaving the military four years short of being eligible to receive his pension, he claims. Robert O’Neill, 38, from Montana, went public with his identity after meeting family members of 9/11 terror attack victims, he told the Washington Post. And now the heroic commando is saying he was left high and dry by the government he dedicated his life to serving. “The families told me it helped bring them some closure,” said O’Neill, of killing the al-Qaeda founder. O’Neill will also be...

One of the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angel pilots recently flew right over the Golden Gate Bridge during rush hour, and the moment was perfectly caught on camera by a fan. Tiburon, California, resident Rich Shelton captured Lt. Cmdr. David Tickle fly his F/A-18 right above San Francisco traffic Oct. 9 during Fleet Week. “They don’t always make many passes between the towers, so I was very lucky to catch this shot with my relatively slow camera!” Mr. Shelton told Navy Times. Navy Times reached out to Blue Angels for comment and was assured that all necessary safety precautions were taken...

Witnesses, attorneys and even the judge took special care not to let the phrase "Navy SEALs" pass their lips during a federal criminal trial in Alexandria this week, further cloaking an already mysterious case involving the purchase of hundreds of unmarked rifle silencers for the military. Instead, people involved in the trial referred obliquely to "the program," "operators" and "other entities in the government" when discussing who might have wanted to use the silencers, which were acquired through a classified Navy contract. On Wednesday, a key defense witness was interrupted almost immediately after he introduced himself as the weapons accessory...

The USS Ranger maintains an important place in the military and cultural history of the United States, as well as in the personal history of the thousands of Navy, Marine, and Air Force personnel who served on board. The ship served the country with distinction in the Vietnam (earning 13 battle stars) and Gulf (flying more combat missions than any other carrier) Wars, as well as in humanitarian missions. Noted entertainers, including Bob Hope, Raquel Welch, Les Brown, Suzanne Somers, Gladys Knight & The Pips and Marie Osmond entertained on the flight deck. Noted visitors to Ranger include astronaut Neil...

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