Free Republic

USS CARL VINSON, At Sea – Adm. Harry Harris, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, has directed the Carl Vinson Strike Group to sail north to report on station in the Western Pacific Ocean after departing Singapore April, 8. The 3200 Man, Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, two Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Wayne E. Meyer and USS Michael Murphy. A Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain. The Strike Group was headed to Australia after leaving Singapore, now re-routed to the Western Pacific, off North Korea, as part of the Third Fleet Forward initiative.

One day after NBC reported that the National Security Council had presented Trump with three options vis-a-vis North Korea, namely i) put American nukes in South Korea , ii) kill Kim Jong-un or iii) use the CIA to infiltrate North Korea to sabotage or take out key infrastructure, a US carrier group has departed Singapore and is headed for North Korea. According to Reuters, a U.S. Navy strike group will be moving toward the western Pacific Ocean near the Korean peninsula, a U.S. official told Reuters on Saturday, as concerns grow about North Korea's advancing weapons program. The strike group,...

The US navy will move a strike group towards the western Pacific Ocean to provide a presence near the Korean peninsula, a US official said on Saturday. The Carl Vinson strike group, which includes an aircraft carrier, will make its way from Singapore, according to the official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. The news followed a Friday report by NBC that the National Security Council had included the return of nuclear weapons to South Korea in options presented to Donald Trump for dealing with the threat posed by North Korea. Killing North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, was...

Leave it to MSNBC anchor and serial liar Brian Williams to step in it on night of breaking news. On Thursday night after the U.S. military fired over 50 missiles at a Syrian military base, Williams whined about the cost of the missiles and complained that it endangered Americans. Williams was speaking to NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel when he suggested they “look at it in brass tax terms” because “we just spent $30 million tonight.” Additionally, he complained that the operation “endangered in launching these things, as you know, every time one of these clears the tube...

My Review and Build of Trumpeter Kit #05309, 1/350 New Orleans Class Heavy Cruiser, USS Vincennes, CA-45 REVIEW & BUILD, Doolittle Raid Vessel Note: You can see all the pictures in highest resolution at My USS Vincennes, CA-44, Flickr Album, or you can cloick on any of the pictures here and get a higher resoultion image. New Orleans Class Heavy Cruisers The New Orleans-class cruisers were a class of seven heavy cruisers built for the United States Navy (USN) from 1933–36. All of them were put into commission bb 1938. They were succeeded by the Baltimore Class Heavy cruisers...but the...

News reported that up to 100 instructor pilots were refusing to fly the aircraft citing problems with its oxygen system. “We take the concerns of our aircrew seriously and have directed a ... safety pause for the T-45 community to allow time for Naval Aviation leadership to engage with the pilots, hear their concerns and discuss the risk mitigations as well as the efforts that are ongoing to correct this issue,” Navy spokeswoman Cmdr. Jeannie Groeneveld said in an email to Fox News Wednesday.

EXCLUSIVE: More than 100 U.S. Navy instructor pilots are refusing to fly in protest of what they say is the refusal of top brass to adequately address an urgent problem with training jets’ oxygen system, multiple instructor pilots tell Fox News. ADVERTISEMENT The boycott started late last week and has effectively grounded hundreds of training flights. “The pilots don’t feel safe flying this aircraft,” one instructor pilot told Fox News. Among the hundreds of student pilots affected is Marine 1st Lt. Michael Pence, son of Vice President Pence – a factor that could put added pressure on the Pentagon to...

Former U.S. Sen. Jim Webb announced Tuesday night that he will not accept a Naval Academy Alumni Association award because of recent protests from other alumni.... ... it is clear that those protesting my receipt of this award now threaten to disrupt the ceremonies surrounding its issuance," Webb said in the statement.

The US preemptive nuclear strike capability has significantly grown. The strategic nuclear forces modernization program has implemented new revolutionary technologies to vastly increase the targeting capability of the US submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) arsenal. The Bulletin of American Scientists reports that as a result of improvements in the killing power of US SLBMs, they carry more than three times the number of warheads needed to destroy the entire fleet of Russian land-based missiles. Since only part of the W76 force would be needed to eliminate Russia’s silo-based ICBMs, the United States will be left with a substantial number of higher-yield...

(WASHINGTON) -- Nine high-ranking U.S. Navy officers, including one former admiral, have been charged with trading classified information in exchange for travel, dinner and prostitution services from a foreign defense contractor -- the latest charges in the widening probe, according to the Justice Department. According to the Justice Department, the Navy officials allegedly took in expensive travel and entertainment expenses as well as prostitution services while steering contracts toward the company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), and blocking its competitors. They allegedly used fake names and foreign email address to keep their actions secret.

A U.S. Navy surveillance ship was harassed by an Iranian fast attack craft while entering the Persian Gulf on Saturday, a defense official confirmed to USNI News on Monday. USNS Invincible (T-AGM-24) was transiting the Strait of Hormuz in the early morning on March 4 with three other coalition ships when the ships were approached by several Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy fast attack craft, the official told USNI News. One of the IRGCN craft maneuvered 600 yards in front of the 2,300-ton Invincible and “went dead in the water,” the official said.

My Review and Build of Dragon Kit #1027, 1/350 Gleaves Class Destroyer, USS Grayson, DD-435 REVIEW & BUILD, Doolittle Raid Vessel Gleaves Class Destroyers The Gleaves-class destroyers were a class of 66 destroyers of the United States Navy built from 1938–42. They were designed by Gibbs & Cox. and these were the main production destroyers of the US Navy when it entered World War II. The succeeded the Benson class of which 30 were built before and into World War II. They were initially meant to be a part of a 24-ship class authorized for 1938–40. Bethlehem Shipbuilding, whichhad been...

‘3rd Fleet Forward’ One of Several Tools to Deter North Korean Aggression By: Megan Eckstein February 22, 2017 11:43 AM SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Navy forces are preparing for a conflict on the Korean Peninsula – the most likely “fight tonight” scenario they face – by shifting U.S. 3rd Fleet forces as well as the most advanced platforms into the Western Pacific. Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, commander of U.S. 7th Fleet, said North Korea is the only country in his area of operations which is not seeing an improved relationship with the United States, and “if there’s a fight tonight,...

"President Donald Trump's nominee for Navy secretary, Philip Bilden, has withdrawn his name from consideration. Bilden said in a statement he informed Defense Secretary James Mattis of his decision."...

My Review and Build of Trumpeter's 1/350 scale KIT #5605, USS Ronald Reagan CVN-76 from USS Nimitz CVN-68 US Navy Aircraft Carriers after World War II The United States learned during World War II that the aircraft carrier was the new principle combatant on the high seas, and that such a vessel, equipped with the poper, larger aircwing, made up of verious types of aircraft, and surrounded by the roper escorts, was the foremost power projection weapon...ouside of nuclear weapons...that the nation ahd. After World War II, the United States had amassed nearly 100 carrier of all sizes, ranging from...

Victim attempted to stop men from beating turtle. "They started hitting the back of my head and started punching me. I was able to fend off a little bit but I mean three of them, got the better of me," he said. Blough told them he did not want to fight, one of the attackers said “I don’t give a f—and I don’t care if I go to jail,” according to the arrest report. The suspects continued to beat Blough until neighbors came out and the suspects ran away.

Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, February 8, 2017 Former Catholic Priest Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Production and Distribution of Child Pornography A former U.S. Navy Lt. Commander and ordained Catholic priest was sentenced to 30 years in prison today for charges involving the sexual exploitation of children, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly III of the District of Delaware. John Thomas Matthew Lee, 51, of Millsboro, Delaware, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leonard P. Stark...

Years of budget cuts have taken a toll on the Navy's fleet of strike fighters. Nearly two-thirds of the Navy's strike fighters are sitting unused because there is not enough money to repair them, according to DefenseNews.com. The Navy has had to deal with declining budgets in recent years even though the demand for military aircrafts carriers remains the same. Congress was unable to produce a budget before the October 1 start of the 2017 fiscal year. Political leaders say Congress' inability to pass the military budget on time is hurting the fleet. In addition to the grounded planes, there...

U.S. considers Zumwalt for possible deployment near S. Korea 2017/02/06 SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Yonhap) -- The chief of the U.S. Pacific Command said last month that the Navy's newest Zumwalt destroyer could be deployed near South Korea to deter North Korean aggression, the defense ministry said Monday. In a meeting with South Korean lawmakers last month in Hawaii, Adm. Harry B. Harris, Jr., commander of the U.S. Pacific Command brought forth the idea of having the country's largest missile destroyer operating near the resort island of Jeju or Jinhae, 410 kilometers south of Seoul, the Ministry of National Defense confirmed....

“Our differences foster respect and trust, promote a free flow of ideas and enhance collaboration and cooperation between and within organizations.”