Free Republic

The attorney for an imprisoned Navy admiral told Military.com that efforts are underway to either get his conviction reversed, or to receive a pardon from President Donald Trump. Retired four-star Navy Adm. Robert P. Burke, 63, of Coconut Creek, Fla., once the second-highest uniformed Navy officer who formerly commanded forces in Africa, Europe and Russia, was found guilty in May 2025 of conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, performing acts affecting a personal financial interest, and concealing material facts from the United States following a five-day trial. He was sentenced in September to six years in prison. His case received revived...

After its unmanned vessels recently drew attention in the Iran war, Saronic Technologies, a shipbuilding start-up, announced on Thursday that it would open a new facility in the United States to make both naval and commercial ships. Saronic’s chief executive, Dino Mavrookas, said the company would break ground this year on an 850-acre shipyard in Brownsville, Texas, and begin building vessels there by 2028. Last month, the U.S. military used a Saronic drone boat to rescue the two-person crew of a downed Apache attack helicopter off the coast of Oman. This week, three of its vessels were used to attack...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a new order that any military member who is discovered to have low testosterone be immediately transferred to the Navy. Hegseth initiated mandatory testosterone testing for all members of the armed forces, and any soldier whose numbers fall below the normal range will instantly be reassigned to the Navy and issued a dandy little sailor outfit. "There are three possible results for your testosterone labs: high, normal, or welcome to the Navy," said Hegseth. "Let's trade in those fatigues for a cute hat and kerchief. Next stop, step up and...

A Florida beach erupted into chaos Wednesday when an ultra-low-altitude Blue Angels flyover sent tents, chairs and umbrellas flying into the air — leaving spectators on the shoreline stunned as the jet engines roared just feet above their heads, wild video shows. The “Breakfast with the Blues” annual flyover — part of the Pensacola Beach Air Show — sent sunbathers into a frenzy as the specialized US Navy jets flew terrifyingly close to the shore — stirring up clouds of sand and sending beach gear airborne, WEAR News reported. Tents, beach chairs and umbrellas were tossed around by the thrust...

JPMorgan Chase will inject $24 million into Philadelphia’s maritime manufacturing sector, CEO Jamie Dimon said on Wednesday, marking the bank’s latest move to rebuild domestic industrial capacity deemed critical to national defense. The funding package, which includes $18 million in loans and investments alongside $6 million in philanthropic grants, will be deployed at the historic Philadelphia Navy Yard. A primary focus is accelerating the construction of a new submarine manufacturing and assembly facility operated by Rhoads Industries, which is expected to generate 450 permanent jobs. The capital will also expand credit access for up to 100 local maritime small businesses...

Sailors whose medical conditions prevent daily shaving now have up to 12 months of treatment options before the Navy evaluates them for continued service and, in some cases, administrative separation.A safety argument has ensued around facial hair, with the service saying it can break the seal on the masks that keep a crew breathing through fire or gas. Behind this argument sits a study the Navy has kept close to the vest.NAVADMIN 162/26, released July 7 under the signature of Vice Adm. Jeffrey J. Czerewko, The order reverses the Navy’s 2022 policy, which prohibited separation solely because PFB treatment had...

A helicopter from the U.S. 5th fleet had an “emergency water landing” in the Arabian Sea on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. The emergency water landing happened at 3:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, according to an X post from the U.S. 5th Fleet. The helicopter had a crew of four people; three were recovered, but one crewmember is still missing, according to the X post. The helicopter was an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter assigned to USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), according to the X post. There is no indication that the emergency was caused by hostile...

One sailor is dead and a second sailor is in pre-trial confinement after an early morning Saturday shooting aboard carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), USNI News has learned. Boatswain’s Mate Seaman Jesse Braswell of Colorado was killed in the shooting, which happened around 5:15 a.m. on Saturday, a Navy spokesperson told USNI News.

A former Royal Navy commander has expressed concerns over reports Sir Keir Starmer could axe a new fleet of warships. Tom Sharpe, who commanded four warships during his 27-year career, said he fears ministers will take the “cheapest option” rather than the best one in the future of the Type 83 destroyer programme. Reports claim the Prime Minister is weighing up scrapping plans to build the warships, expected to replace the current Type 45s next decade. Mr Sharpe said there is a decision to be made about the programme, as the First Sea Lord pushes for a transition towards a...

A stunning military disclosure has confirmed that American naval forces have been executing highly classified, pitch black raids to seize millions of barrels of oil while simultaneously vaporizing an entire fleet of blockade runners under the cover of total darkness. The United States has been secretly conducting massive, highly coordinated maritime operations under the cover of darkness, systematically draining millions of barrels of oil from blockaded shipping lanes. This stunning development was officially disclosed during a high-profile address from the Oval Office, exposing a massive, previously unacknowledged campaign designed to economically cripple the regime. The operation has been running continuously...

A US drone boat conducted a first-of-its-kind rescue mission to save the crew of an American Apache helicopter that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the military said. The 24-foot Saronic Corsair autonomous surface vessel, powered by artificial intelligence, located the crew who had been stuck for two hours in the waters off the coast of Oman, the Wall Street Journal reported. The unmanned autonomous vessel, capable of carrying 1,000 pounds and reaching speeds of about 40 mph, quickly transported the pilots to a safe location in the waters, where they were hoisted up by a rescue chopper,...

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the pilots of a United States Army Apache helicopter gunship that went down near the Strait of Hormuz "are fine." Speaking on the runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport before returning to Washington, D.C., Trump said there was "nobody injured," adding that the US will release an incident report later on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether the Apache was shot down by Iranian fire, experienced mechanical failure, or encountered some other problem. The New York Times reported earlier on Tuesday, citing two people briefed on the incident. According to...

A US drone boat conducted a first-of-its-kind rescue mission to save the crew of an American Apache helicopter that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the military said. The unmanned vessel, powered by artificial intelligence, located the crew who had been stuck for two hours in the waters off the coast of Oman, bringing them to shore, the Wall Street Journal reported. The operation marks the first time a high-tech US Navy drone deployed to the Middle East was used to conduct a rescue mission. The Navy previous deployed a Seahawk medium unmanned surface vessel (MUSV) with an...

WASHINGTON (AP) — After Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cut nine Navy officers, including all the women, from a promotion list, several female officers say they see the unusual intervention as a sign that their careers now have a ceiling and worry for the future generation of female military leaders.The Navy had selected 31 sailors to promote from the rank of captain to one-star admiral, but Hegseth recently intervened to strike nine people from the list, including three women and two Black men, according to a defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information not permitted to be...

Capt. Wendel Penetrante, Capt. Edwin Catubig and Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Dean Howell were relieved on Wednesday. No specific reason for their firing has been given. The commanding officer, executive officer and senior enlisted leader of a Navy ship repair facility in Yokosuka, Japan, have been fired, service officials announced on Wednesday. Capt. Wendel Penetrante, Capt. Edwin Catubig and Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Dean Howell were relieved of their duties on Wednesday as commanding officer, executive officer, and command master chief, respectively, a Navy news release says. They were all assigned to the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility...

Speculation is mounting over the fate of Brig. Gen. Ali Azmaei, the newly-appointed commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, following reported US strikes on the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. The Iran Watcher, a conflict monitoring group, said "unconfirmed reports" suggest Azmaei “may have been targeted and possibly eliminated” during the strikes, though Iranian authorities have not publicly commented on his status. Senior commander Azmaei is regarded as one of the IRGC Navy’s most senior commanders, previously leading the force’s 5th Naval Region, a strategically important command overseeing operations in the Arabian Gulf and the Strait...

The Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision, initially articulated by Prime Minister Abe Shinzō in 2016...includes capacity-building assistance aimed at strengthening governance, maritime security, and navigational safety. FOIP represented a major step forward in Japan’s strategic engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly in Southeast Asia. For example, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has conducted Indo-Pacific Deployment long-range training missions, mainly in the South China Sea, since 2017. These deployments deliberately incorporate port visits and joint exercises with regional navies, reflecting broader strategic considerations. Over the past decade, China’s maritime law-enforcement capabilities and naval power have expanded significantly, fundamentally transforming the security...

Very interesting video about the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier that sank in 1942 at the Battle of Midway.

The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and its strike group have arrived in the Caribbean this week as tensions with Cuba escalate and President Trump has raised the prospect of potential military action against the island, according to initial reporting by The Hill. The Nimitz-class carrier is operating alongside its air wing — including F/A-18E Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers and C-2A Greyhounds — as well as the USS Gridley, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, and the USNS Patuxent, a Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler, according to U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in the region. “USS Nimitz has proven its...

The 2025 article marks a significant evolution. It adapts Maoist strategy as a framework for far-seas operations, showing how a weaker force might offset U.S. advantages through asymmetric means. In doing so, it envisions not only countering intervention in a Taiwan conflict, but also protecting China’s global maritime interests. The application of Mao’s doctrine at sea signals ambitions well beyond regional defense—toward a PLAN capable of contesting influence across the world’s oceans.Once in place, these seemingly civilian platforms, operating in coordination with military forces, would be poised to exploit U.S. vulnerabilities in wartime. They would target critical nodes and weak...