U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke by phone, on March 15th, with French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to discuss the situation in Ukraine, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said. “Secretary Hagel and Minister Le Drian affirmed the solidarity of the NATO alliance and disc
The U.S. Navy’s guided missile destroyer USS Truxtun (DDG 103) departed the Bulgarian port of Varna on Sunday, March 16. While in Varna, Truxtun hosted a planning conference with NATO allies to develop a future multilateral naval training event. Truxtun also had the opportunity to host the command
Guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72), departed Naval Station Norfolk March 14 on a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea and surrounding waters. “It is an honor to command USS Vella Gulf as we set sail to the 6th Fleet area of operations to enhance maritime security,” said Capt. R
The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (BATARG) with embarked 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) transited the Suez Canal March 13, entering U.S. 5th Fleet’s area of operations. While deployed to the region, Bataan will conduct maritime security operations and participate in theater security cooperat
The U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, USS Kidd, has been ordered to the Indian Ocean to search for the Malaysian missing plane, according to the Agence France-Presse. The search for the Malaysian lost flight was switched to the Indian Ocean amid reports that the plane kept “pinging” a sat
Shrunken but stable U.S. Defense Department budgets through fiscal 2015 allow the U.S. Navy an acceptable forward presence and have temporarily restored critical training and operations, but the force still faces shortfalls, backlogs and higher risks, the chief of naval operations said on Wednesday.
While an end to the crisis in Ukraine had proven elusive thus far, a peaceful solution remained possible, the Secretary-General’s senior United Nations political affairs official Jeffrey Feltman told the Security Council yesterday. The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, emphasized, how
Cmdr. Cory Blaser, commanding officer of USS Nicholas (FFG 47), decommissioned the ship during a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk March 10; 30 years ago to the date in which it was placed into commission in 1984. Nicholas’ commissioning commanding officer, retired Vice Adm. James F. Amerualt, was
The littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) arrived at its new homeport of San Diego March 10, a few weeks ahead of her commissioning ceremony scheduled for April 5 at Naval Air Station North Island. Following construction and acceptance trials at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala., Coronad
General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp (GDEB) has received a USD 57.1 mln contract modification for the planning and execution of the USS Minnesota’s (SSN 783) post shakedown availability (PSA). Electric Boat will also procure long lead time material in preparation to accomplish the maintenance, repa
A ceremony celebrating the laying and authentication of the keel of the future USNS Trenton (JHSV 5) was held at the Austal USA shipyard, yesterday. The keel was authenticated by the ship’s sponsor, Virginia Kamsky, who confirmed that it was truly and fairly laid. Although the laying of the keel h
The U.S. Dod issued contract modifications yesterday to Lockheed Martin Corporation and Austal USA under their respective Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) block buy contracts to add funding for construction of two fiscal year 2014 Littoral Combat Ships each. The amount of funds added under the block buy c
Russia Sinks Ship to Block Ukrainian Navy Ships The Russian Navy Ochakov Kara-class cruiser was sunk last night to block the Ukrainian Navy ships deployed in Novoozerne, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said in a press release today. The information was confirmed by the Ukrainian military of the So
The guided missile destroyer USS Truxtun (DDG 103) arrived in Romania for a scheduled port visit on Saturday, Mar. 8. Truxtun is to partner with regional NATO Allies and participate in a series of routine multilateral naval exercises. Scheduled events include a passing exercise (PASSEX), division
