PORTSMOUTH, VA: This is a Navy town, just minutes from the massive Atlantic Fleet base at Norfolk. But when Navy and Marine Corps leaders convened here yesterday for their annual conference on expeditionary warfare, traditionally a Navy-Marine affair, they reached out to the other services in unprecedented ways. Message No. 1: After 12 years of… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The cliff is closer than you think. Pop quiz: When does congressional gridlock start to undermine military readiness? March 2nd, when the automatic cuts known as sequestration will begin to go into effect? March 27, when the Continuing Resolution now funding the government on a stop-gap basis will expire? Give up? It’s February 15,… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Full speed ahead and damn the drawdown — that’s the confident note that the Navy’s top admiral struck today. “We’re not downsizing, we’re growing,” declared Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the Chief of Naval Operations, at the National Press Club. “The ship count is going up and the number of people is going up.” Adding up… Keep reading →

LPD-24 completes Navy sea trials: http://bit.ly/VO2CMs  . CNO Greenert says bulking up amphib fleet his biggest worry: http://aol.it/RBePpt SydneyFreedberg

The Navy will christen its newest amphibious warfare ship in Pascagoula, Miss. on Oct. 20th. The boldly-named, $3 billion America is a major departure from past designs — and, quietly, the Navy has decided not to build many more like it in the future. The Chief of Naval Operations himself, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, has said… Keep reading →

Shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls announced at 5:11 pm today that it has settled a $2.38 billion contract to build LHA-7, the Tripoli, the second amphibious assault ship of the new America class (pictured), at its Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi — and it’s a fixed-price contract. That’s a major achievement for acquisition reformers but a significant… Keep reading →