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WASHINGTON – Before then-President Donald Trump visited a US Navy base in Japan in 2019, his team asked officials to keep a ship named for one of Trump’s Republican rivals – the late Sen. John McCain – out of sight, newly released Navy emails confirm. When reports of the White House request initially surfaced, Navy officials told reporters a painting tarp that obscured the ship’s name from view in the days before Trump’s visit was placed there for maintenance reasons – but the documents released Wednesday confirm that was untrue. “The name of USS John S. McCain was not obscured...

The Pentagon has told the White House to stop politicizing the military, amid a furor over a Trump administration order to have the Navy ship named for the late U.S. Sen. John McCain hidden from view during President Donald Trump’s recent visit to Japan. A U.S. defense official said Patrick Shanahan, Trump’s acting defense chief, is also considering sending out formal guidance to military units in order to avoid similar problems in the future. Shanahan confirmed details about a Navy email that said the White House military office wanted the USS John McCain kept “out of sight” when Trump was...

​Meghan McCain ​on Thursday ​accused President Trump of creating an atmosphere in the military ​in which service members are afraid ​to display the name of her late father, Republican Sen. John McCain. “The president’s actions have consequences,” McCain, one of the hosts of ABC’s “The View​,​” said at the start of the program. ​”​And when you repeatedly are attacking my father and war heroes, it creates a culture in the military where people are clearly fearful to show my father’s name in one way or another. That is what I think has started this chain of events.​”​ ​McCain said Trump,...

A former commander of the USS John S. McCain pleaded guilty Friday to dereliction of duty when the destroyer collided with a commercial tanker, killing 10 sailors and injuring five in the Straits of Singapore last August. Cmdr. Alfredo Sanchez, who has served in the Navy for more than 20 years, testified during a special court-martial at the Washington Navy Yard, Stars and Stripes reported. “I am ultimately responsible and stand accountable,” Sanchez said. “I will forever question my decisions that contributed to this tragic event.” Per disciplinary proceedings, Sanchez agreed to retire from service, forfeit $6,000 in wages, and...

A US guided missile destroyer’s deadly collision with an oil tanker near Singapore in 2017 was caused by “a sudden turn” made by the warship that put it in the path of the commercial vessel, said a report by the Singapore government Thursday. The collision on Aug. 21, which killed 10 sailors and was one of a handful of incidents in the Asia Pacific region involving US Navy warships, raised questions about Navy training and led to the removal of a number of officers. “The collision between the USS John S McCain (JSM) and Alnic MC (AM) as they were...

Two Navy commanders will face negligent homicide charges related to the deadly crashes of two ships off Asia last year, the Navy announced Tuesday. The decision to file charges against service members of the USS Fitzgerald and the USS John S. McCain were decided by Adm. Frank Caldwell, who was given the authority and examined the evidence of what caused the collisions, according to Navy spokesman Capt. Greg Hicks. Former Cmdr. Bryce Benson of the USS Fitzgerald and former Cmdr. Alfredo J. Sanchez of the USS John S. McCain are among those charged...

The following is the U.S. Fleet Forces led, Comprehensive Review of Recent Surface Force Incidents. The report was released by the Navy on Nov. 2, 2017.

The fatal collisions of the two guided-missile destroyers USS John S. McCain and USS Fitzgerald between merchant ships that killed 17 sailors were rooted in fundamental failures in the crew’s ability to operate their ships effectively, according to a summary of two investigations the Navy released to the public on Wednesday. “Both of these accidents were preventable and the respective investigations found multiple failures by watchstanders that contributed to the incidents, said Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson in a statement. “We must do better.”

Two of the world’s most sophisticated warships collided with merchant ships this year in preventable incidents that killed 17 American sailors. While those inside and out of the Navy are demanding answers to what caused the failures, the root causes are many and the fixes are far from easy. On June 17, USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) collided with a merchant ship 50 miles off the coast of Japan, ripping the destroyer’s welded steel hull open under the waterline and crushing the superstructure of the warship. Seven sailors drowned in the space where they slept, unable to escape after water began pouring...

The admiral in charge of the Navy’s nuclear reactors program will oversee any additional punishments related to the fatal collisions of guided-missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) and USS John S. McCain (DDG-56), USNI News has learned. Adm. James Caldwell was appointed by Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran on Monday as the “Consolidated Disposition Authority (CDA) for administrative and disciplinary actions related to the Fitzgerald and McCain collisions,” Navy spokesman Cmdr. Bill Speaks told USNI News. “As CDA, Adm. Caldwell will review the evidence regarding causes of these collisions, and he will make a determination regarding what administrative...

USS Fitzgerald The collision between Fitzgerald and Crystal was avoidable and resulted from an accumulation of smaller errors over time, ultimately resulting in a lack of adherence to sound navigational practices. Specifically, Fitzgerald’s watch teams disregarded established norms of basic contact management and, more importantly, leadership failed to adhere to well-established protocols put in place to prevent collisions. In addition, the ship’s triad was absent during an evolution where their experience, guidance and example would have greatly benefited the ship. USS JOHN S. MCCAIN The collision between John S. McCain and Alnic MC was also avoidable and resulted primarily from...

President Donald J. Trump poses for a photo with General Zulkifeli bin Muhammad Zin, left, Director General of the Malaysian National Security Council, and Malaysian Ambassador Zulhasnan Rafique, right, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. PETALING JAYA: United States President Donald Trump met up with officials from Malaysia to thank them for their search and rescue efforts for its missing sailors after its warship the USS John S McCain collided with a merchant vessel. "Trump expressed the United States' gratitude for Malaysia’s efforts to recover the fallen US sailors of the...

The US Navy has dismissed Vice Adm Joseph Aucoin as commander of the Seventh Fleet following a string of collisions involving warships in Asia. Ten sailors are still missing after the USS John S McCain collided with an oil tanker near Singapore on Monday. Navy officials say human remains have since been found in sealed compartments on board the ship, which is now in port in Singapore.

ith the USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) knocked out of commission after a collision on Aug. 21 in the Straits of Malacca, the United States Navy is down two ballistic missile defense-capable Aegis destroyers in the Pacific. With USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) being also being knocked out of action after a June 17 collision off the Japanese coast, the loss of the two vessels from operational service could not come at a worse time for the Navy, which needs of all the ballistic missile defense assets it can get to deal with the North Korean threat. Nor does the Navy have...

The USS John S. McCain suffered a steering failure as she was beginning her approach into the Strait of Malacca, a U.S. Navy official has told news agency CNN. The destroyer collided with a tanker on Monday. “The official said it was unclear why the crew couldn't utilize the ship's backup steering systems to maintain control,” reports CNN. Steering control was apparently regained after the collision. The destroyer arrived at Changi Naval Base o Monday afternoon with significant hull damage. The damage resulted in flooding to nearby compartments, including crew berthing, machinery and communications rooms. Divers have started searching the...

The U.S. Navy announced an “operational pause” and has begun a broad investigation after the destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant vessel, leaving 10 sailors still missing, the second such incident in as many months. The response by the U.S. military signals the Navy believes it needs to examine whether there may be institutional problems behind the deadly collisions. Navy Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, made the announcement about the operational pause during a nearly four-minute video message posted on Facebook Monday morning. Adm. Richardson said he also ordered a broader investigation. “I directed...

Ever notice that this administration is only lightning-fast when it comes to shifting blame when things don’t work out perfectly? They practically left a vapor trail in their zeal to anonymously accuse the US military of being responsible for our tense situation with North Korea: So, it’s the Navy’s fault that the U.S.-North Korea spat has gone so far? That’s the apparent message from senior administration officials who, according to the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, said that they had long planned to send B-52s, B-2 stealth bombers, and F-22 fighters to the Korean Peninsula as part of preplanned wargames...

<p>A Navy captain turned the Pacific into the world's strangest drag strip -- ordering two warships to stage a bizarre race that one sailor said nearly ended in tragedy, a high-ranking military official told The Post yesterday.</p> <p>"Multiple witnesses interviewed by the [inspector general] and the commanding officers of both ships all stated that the ships were racing," said Pacific Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Jeff Davis.</p>

The USS John S. McCain is still shadowing the Kang Nam -- the North Korean vessel suspected of carrying weapons or nuclear material -- and it is currently 200 miles south of Shanghai, according to a senior U.S. defense official.

A U.S. Navy destroyer is tailing a North Korean ship suspected of carrying illicit weapons toward Myanmar in what could be the first test of new U.N. sanctions against the North over its recent nuclear test, a leading TV network said Sunday. The South Korean news network YTN, citing an unidentified intelligence source in the South, said the U.S. suspects the cargo ship Kang Nam is carrying missiles and related parts. Myanmar's military government, which faces an arms embargo from the United States and the European Union, has reportedly bought weapons from North Korea. YTN said the U.S. has deployed...